Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

2007

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department / School

English

Abstract

Edith Wharton criticized Old New York society and often made it the theme of her novels, yet many critics have overlooked that Wharton's male protagonists in these works are artists who desire a life of aesthetic and social freedom. Wharton's male artists--intellectuals, historians, writers, art enthusiasts-often cannot transcend the mentality of the New York "tribe" that censures their aesthetic beliefs and makes their identities as artists into Other. The few who do realize artistic and social freedom find their triumph illusive. This study analyzes Wharton's works that portray male protagonists as artists and advocates of the "republic of the spirit." In The House of Mirth (1905), The Age of Innocence (1920), Old New York's novella False Dawn (1924), The Custom of the Country (1913), The Glimpses of the Moon (1922), and Hudson River Bracketed (1929) and The Gods Arrive (1932), Wharton explores the experiences of these artists and concludes that only republics of the spirit that are based on sound principles and grounded with realistic perspectives will long endure in conventional society.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937 -- Characters -- Men

Wharton, Edith, 1862-1937 -- Criticism and interpretation

Men in literature

Social role in literature

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

219

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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