We barely see any of the men in the story (Clem Spender, Jim Ralston, Joe Ralston, Lanning Halsey). We only hear about their characters through the women. Why do you think Wharton chose to keep them in the shadows?
Well, my first impression is that she had to get them out of the way so she could focus intensely on the Delia/Charlotte dynamic.
It's kind of like the men introduced a bunch of drama/passion/trouble into the women's lives, then left them alone to duke it out and cope.
Here's something I found amazing. Wharton writes:
"Social tolerance was not dealt in the same measure to men and to women, and neither Delia nor Charlotte had ever wondered why: like all the young women of their class they simply bowed to the ineluctable."
So Delia and Charlotte don't spend any time dwelling on their lives from any sort of feminist perspective, and Wharton doesn't either. I mean, she mentions that Joe had a premarital affair that resulted in a child. She mentions that Clem did. She starkly mentions the double standard, but she doesn't discourse on it any length. She presents the dots and lets the reader connect them without benefit of "lecture." It's really masterful, because I think the reader supplies the feminist outrage that's missing in the overt narrative and in the consciousness of the women. It's a really genius way to elicit an authentic emotional response in a reader.
I noticed that too, Kim! The double standard mentioned but "accepted" so unquestioningly in the narrative that it makes the reader question it; like you said, really genius.
In fact, with the exception of Dr. Lanskell, I couldn't find any man in this novella with whom I could empathize. The Ralstons seem like spineless puppets bending under society. Even Clem Spender is "tolerant, reckless, indifferent to consequences, always doing the kind thing at the moment, and too often leaving others to pay the score."
Shanxi, I liked the doctor, too! He had that great quote about in-the-end kindness. Don't have my book, but maybe you guys remember it. He's a sensible, humane man who sees the cruelty of conventionality.
Thanks for supplying that excellent passage about Clem. That's exactly what I was getting at above!
The men really weren't the power players even though they affected the women's decisions. Is that fair to say? Or maybe that's not it ... like Delia and Charlotte were more wrestling with this giant figure called THEY, and what THEY would like or not accept or whatnot, and THEY is society -- both men and women.
I think Jim had to die early, too, so Delia could grow into her own without interference.
It was interesting that Charlotte eventually said that Clem was driving all of Delia's decisions and feelings. If she were right, then there would be a man present throughout the story, driving the plot. But I thought Charlotte was wrong.
Well, my first impression is that she had to get them out of the way so she could focus intensely on the Delia/Charlotte dynamic.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like the men introduced a bunch of drama/passion/trouble into the women's lives, then left them alone to duke it out and cope.
Here's something I found amazing. Wharton writes:
"Social tolerance was not dealt in the same measure to men and to women, and neither Delia nor Charlotte had ever wondered why: like all the young women of their class they simply bowed to the ineluctable."
So Delia and Charlotte don't spend any time dwelling on their lives from any sort of feminist perspective, and Wharton doesn't either. I mean, she mentions that Joe had a premarital affair that resulted in a child. She mentions that Clem did. She starkly mentions the double standard, but she doesn't discourse on it any length. She presents the dots and lets the reader connect them without benefit of "lecture." It's really masterful, because I think the reader supplies the feminist outrage that's missing in the overt narrative and in the consciousness of the women. It's a really genius way to elicit an authentic emotional response in a reader.
I noticed that too, Kim! The double standard mentioned but "accepted" so unquestioningly in the narrative that it makes the reader question it; like you said, really genius.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, with the exception of Dr. Lanskell, I couldn't find any man in this novella with whom I could empathize. The Ralstons seem like spineless puppets bending under society. Even Clem Spender is "tolerant, reckless, indifferent to consequences, always doing the kind thing at the moment, and too often leaving others to pay the score."
Shanxi, I liked the doctor, too! He had that great quote about in-the-end kindness. Don't have my book, but maybe you guys remember it. He's a sensible, humane man who sees the cruelty of conventionality.
ReplyDeleteThanks for supplying that excellent passage about Clem. That's exactly what I was getting at above!
The men really weren't the power players even though they affected the women's decisions. Is that fair to say? Or maybe that's not it ... like Delia and Charlotte were more wrestling with this giant figure called THEY, and what THEY would like or not accept or whatnot, and THEY is society -- both men and women.
ReplyDeleteI think Jim had to die early, too, so Delia could grow into her own without interference.
It was interesting that Charlotte eventually said that Clem was driving all of Delia's decisions and feelings. If she were right, then there would be a man present throughout the story, driving the plot. But I thought Charlotte was wrong.