Reproduction de : Thèse de doctorat : Stylistique anglaise : Lyon 3 : 2003. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliiogr. Index.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2007. / Title from screen (viewed on Apr. 27, 2007) Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-85)

Although Edith Wharton is finally recognized as a major American novelist, her remarkable canon of short stories has been largely ignored. Such neglect is regrettable, for the diversity of the stories suggests that some common perceptions of Wharton may well be misconceptions: that her works are masterpieces of technique, but not content; that her inconsistency reflects an instability; that her works are pervaded with a repressing pessimism. The short stories evoke a reconsideration of these prevailing attitudes about Wharton and her art.The stories reinforce the critics' evaluation of Edith Wharton as a master of rhetorical strategy. She employs verbal irony and situational irony. She also focuses closely on the ironies in American society, particularly those associated with the upper class, with marriage, and with art. But Wharton's conscious and pervasive use of irony in the stories points to the fact that she is a philosopher of irony as well.The philosophy of irony -- a philosophy of constant revisionism, questioning, and subjunctivity, of the rejection of absolutes, and of the celebration of paradox and ambivalence -- is one which reconciles many of the conflicts both in Wharton's short stories and in her life. It accounts for Wharton's insistence in her letters and her autobiography of the possibilities of life and for the optimism and hope that are clearly demonstrated in the stories. Despite the conclusions that have traditionally been drawn by critics who have focused on Wharton the novelist, the stories reinforce what the life has also suggested: that Edith Wharton actually achieved transcendence, hope, and joy.Chapter Five of this study reevaluates Ethan Frome, often considered Wharton's most pessimistic novel, in light of her philosophic irony. It challenges the commonly held notion that Ethan Frome is only a technical success, assuming the position that technique and vision cannot be separated. It finds in the ambivalence of the book an acknowledgment of possibility -- tones of optimism, triumph, and celebration. Furthermore, this dissertation suggests that a second look, with an eye toward Wharton's philosophy of irony as well as her techniques of irony, is warranted for each of the novels. / Department of English

For this study, an analysis will be made of six of Edith Wharton's heroines: Lily Bart, the luxury-loving, aristocratic heroine of The House of Mirth, who was destroyed by her own class; Ellen Olenska, who neither lost nor sought an established place in New York society, since it belonged to her, and she stayed there by the sacrifice of instinct and happiness; Anna Leath, a typical product of puritan New York, who suffered from having learned so thoroughly the rules of her generation; Halo Tarrant, who took love into her own hands and defied society but felt the strength of the social convention which shuts out the woman who does not play the game according to the rules; Undine Spragg, the social adventurer, who represents ambition, which Mrs. Wharton had come to recognize as the dominant characteristic of the new woman of America; and Sophy Viner, an American girl who, yielding to temptation, is plunged into insecurity because she comes into contact with Anna Leath and the rules of her world.

Edith Wharton structured her novels using a technique that relies on what she called "crucial episodes" or "illuminating incidents" to reveal theme and develop character. In Wharton's novels this technique attains a rare perfection as subject matter, circumstance, and dialogue are repeatedly connected by succeeding episodes. In addition, Wharton's fictional method allowed her to stage a series of incidents that essentially foretell the nature of a novel's outcome, creating a dramatic sense of inevitability that is often mistaken for determinism or naturalism. Wharton used the same technique throughout her career, lending strength to her published theories of fiction. The House of Mirth (1905), Ethan Frome (1911), and The Age of Innocence (1921) are representative not only of her best work, but also of her basic structural technique.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Few in the world value books more than writers do. They have an understanding of literature that it is hard for a non-writer to grasp – an awareness of the importance of words and stories, and their place in society. Therefore, when a writer has one of his own characters read a book, it generally means something. To pass over such a detail, to ignore the clues carefully placed, is to deprive oneself of the full meaning of a work. Every action, item, and movement in a novel contributes to the end, to the purpose and meaning of the work. A character in a novel might toss a book aside, think nothing of having an empty library, or merely note a title in passing. But to the writer, and so also to the reader, these actions are of great significance. This paper looks at The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton and analysis the reading material of its hero, Newland Archer, in order to come to a better understanding of this character, Wharton’s narratives in general, and of Wharton herself. Newland Archer is a character who is in significant ways defined by the books he acquires and reads. Each book has been picked with such care it is possible to get a good idea of what type of person Archer is merely by looking at what he reads. It is therefore important to ask what his reading list says about him and why Wharton would have invested so much time in building this list. Wharton has made Archer’s library his autobiography.

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The purpose of this thesis is to discover the extent of Edith Wharton's use of social problems in her novels.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Wharton’s heroines are ordinary women who fight to secure material comfort and create selves that satisfy their emotional and sexual needs. These women often find that the two goals are mutually exclusive, since society strictly dictates appropriate behavior. This code of behavior stems from their relation to men: as objects to be won, as wives, and as mothers. In many instances, women are not even aware of their prescriptive roles and confuse their search for self with a search for security. Material comfort does not nurture Wharton’s heroines’ inner selves and they feel a metaphysical dissatisfaction, often seeking to find contentment through divorce or affairs. What they find in either case is that the cure to their ennui is not material, but mental. Wharton’s women seek a transcendent self—a self that is not dependent upon popular notions of respectability; a spiritual state that is independent from any attachment to social imperatives.