About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherUniversity of North Carolina Press

ISBN-100807819387

ISBN-139780807819388

eBay Product ID (ePID)866902

Product Key Features

Book TitleEdith Wharton's Letters from the Underworld : Fictions of Women and Writing

Number of Pages256 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicWomen Authors, American / General

Publication Year1991

IllustratorYes

GenreLiterary Criticism

AuthorCandace Waid

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.6 in

Item Weight6 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width5.9 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN90-041588

Dewey Edition20

Dewey Decimal813/.52

SynopsisIn this book, Candace Waid presents an innovative reading of the work of Edith Wharton. Waid examines Wharton's lifelong preoccupation with the place of the American woman writer, which she locates in the context of Wharton's ambivalent reaction to America and American literature. She argues that Wharton used the myth of Persephone to represent both the woman artist and her identification with the daughter who leaves the world of mother to dwell in the "underworld" of experience. Waid offers detailed interpretations of such works such as The House of Mirth , Ethan Frome , Artemis to Actaeon , Summer , The Custom of the Country , and Ghosts -- all of which are read as complex meditations about women and writing. According to Waid, Wharton is obsessed by the potential failure of the American woman artist who risks succumbing to to the false muse of a "feminine aesthetic." Tracing Wharton's literary dialogues with sources ranging from Mary Wilkins to Goethe, from Andrew Marvel to Sir Joshua Reynolds, Waid reveals Wharton's haunting allegories about women, art, and letters. Originally published in 1991. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value., In this book, Candace Waid presents an innovative reading of the work of Edith Wharton. Waid examines Wharton's lifelong preoccupation with the place of the American woman writer, which she locates in the context of Wharton's ambivalent reaction to America and American literature. She argues that Wharton used the myth of Persephone to represent both the woman artist and her identification with the daughter who leaves the world of mother to dwell in the "underworld" of experience.Waid offers detailed interpretations of such works such as The House of Mirth , Ethan Frome , Artemis to Actaeon , Summer , The Custom of the Country , and Ghosts -- all of which are read as complex meditations about women and writing. According to Waid, Wharton is obsessed by the potential failure of the American woman artist who risks succumbing to to the false muse of a "feminine aesthetic." Tracing Wharton's literary dialogues with sources ranging from Mary Wilkins to Goethe, from Andrew Marvel to Sir Joshua Reynolds, Waid reveals Wharton's haunting allegories about women, art, and letters.Originally published in 1991.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value., In this book, Candace Waid presents an innovative reading of the work of Edith Wharton. Waid examines Wharton's lifelong preoccupation with the place of the American woman writer, which she locates in the context of Wharton's ambivalent reaction to America and American literature. She argues that Wharton used the myth of Persephone to represent both the woman artist and her identification with the daughter who leaves the world of mother to dwell in the underworld of experience.

LC Classification NumberPS3545.H16Z89 1990