Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Edith Wharton: American Jane Austen?

Edith Wharton, writing nearly a century later than Jane, is what I believe to be a cynical version of Jane Austen. At least in the House of Mirth.  She can write about the nuances of behavior and looks, the confusion between men and women about love, power, or intent in the confines of society rules.  But I find Edith a bit more cynical.  I don't believe she means for her heroine to triumph, even though I'm only 1/3 of the way through the novel.  We shall see.  But I would recommend checking out her works.  Next on my list is the Age of Innocence.

1 comment:

Moyrid said...

There is a cool movie that was made about 12ish years ago from The house of Mirth. I have not read the books but from the movie I can see what you mean. It was also very much a woman's story, me and my friend were riveted whilst the man in the room was bored into sleeping. I have also heard that like so many others the book is way better than the movie.