"Society is a revolving body which is apt to be
judged according to its place in each man’s heaven; and at present it was
turning its illuminated face to Lily." —American novelist and short-story
writer Edith Wharton (1862-1937), The House of Mirth (1905)
The structures and strictures of society were constant
themes of Edith Wharton throughout her four decades as a fiction writer, and
perhaps never more so than in The House
of Mirth. She wrote this luminous yet astringent novel at the beginning of
the 20th century, while a summer resident of Lenox in Massachusetts’
Berkshires. I’ll be visiting that home (built to her specifications), The
Mount, while on vacation this week in this picturesque away, and hope to write
of it soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment