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Queries Page: 2001
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| Date of "Bunner Sisters"
I was wondering if anyone had any concrete evidence as to when
Wharton actually composed "Bunner Sisters." Though it did
not appear until 1916 in Scribner's, its style is much earlier. I
have found a few allusions to such in the criticism, but no consensus. Any
suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
--
Randolph F. Handel
1/08/01 |
Shari Benstock (in NO GIFTS FROM CHANCE) gives the date of composition
of "Bunner Sisters" as 1893. However, in a letter to Edward
Burlingame dated Nov 25 1893, Wharton alludes to "Bunner Sisters" as
a story that she sent to Burlingame "a year or two ago." Wharton
continues: "You then pronounced it too long for one number
of the magazine,and unsuited to serial publication, but you spoke
otherwise very kindly of it, and though I am not a good judge of
what I write, it seems to me, after several careful reading, up to
my average of writing."
Sorry that I do not have a record of the first correspondence on the
story.
--Sharon Shaloo
1/16/01 |
Relationships in The
Age of Innocence
QUESTION: I have a question about The Age of Innocence: What relation would
Aunt Medora Manson really be to Ellen? Is this the daughter that Mrs. Manson
Mingott, Ellen's grandmother, married to a marquis? If so, why would her
last name be Manson, which was presumably the first name of Mrs. Mingott's
late husband (and probably Mr. Mingott's mother's maiden name)? Thanks
very much.
Claire Keaveney, ckeav@aol.com
1/14/01 |
QUESTION: As far as I can tell, Catherine (Mrs. Manson) Mingott
must have had at least five children: Lovell Mingott, Augusta
(later Welland, May's mother), the unnamed daughter she married to
a Marquis, the unnamed daughter she married to an English banker,
and an unnamed son who is Ellen's father. I base this on the
fact that Ellen is Catherine's granddaughter and her maiden name
is Mingott.
Also, because Medora Manson's mother was "a Rushworth," Medora cannot
be Catherine's daughter, so she must be Ellen's maternal aunt. Thus
Medora and Ellen's mother shared a maiden name, not known.
However, in the book Medora was criticized for wearing a veil that's
too short while in mourning for her brother, and at the same time Ellen,
a child, isn't dressed in black though she should have been in mourning
for her parents. This makes it sound as though Medora's brother
is Ellen's father -- but that can't be. A mistake on Wharton's
part? A reference to a brother of Medora's who just happened to
die not long after Ellen's parents died?
Also puzzling to me is the relationship between Medora, Catherine Mingott,
and Regina Dallas Beaufort. Regina is referred to as Medora's (and Ellen's) "cousin," which
could indicate any number of blood or marriage relationships, and she
is Catherine Mingott's grand-niece.
The book says that the Mingotts are related to the Dallases "through
the Thorleys." So the scenario I came up with is that a sister
of Manson Mingott (Catherine had no siblings) married a Thorley, then
had a daughter who married a Dallas, a union which produced Regina. That
would make Regina Catherine's grand-niece as indicated, and would make
her Ellen's second cousin and Medora's first cousin by marriage once
removed (I think)! But I'm not sure about the nature of the Thorley
connection.
NAME: Tess Avelland, tess@midnight-muse.com |
| Changing Names in House
of Mirth
QUESTION: I've noticed a character name change in House of
Mirth between editions. Could someone tell me why Bertie
Van Osburgh is sometimes named Freddie Van Osburgh, depending
on the date of the edition? I'm looking at several recent editions,
including the Modern Library one (Bertie) and the Bantam Classic
(Freddie).
1/14/01 CJD |
Very observant! The answer, according to R. W. B. Lewis (from his
intro to an edition of The House of Mirth; see below for reference)
is that at some point during her revisions, Wharton renamed "Bertie" to "Freddy;" the
manuscript shows "Bertie," whereas "Freddy" appears instead in all
but two places in Scribner's first edition. So, essentially, it was
a typo. Most "scholarly" editions replace the two instances of "Bertie" with "Freddy," since
that was apparently Wharton's intention.
Lewis, R. W. B. ed. The House of Mirth. By Edith Wharton. 1905. Boston:Houghton,
1963.
Joan Petit
Western Carolina U
1/14/01
Just to add to the point of revisions in "The House of Mirth": Wharton's change
of the name of "Bertie" to "Freddy" appears as a handwritten change to the
galleys for the Scribner's edition of the book of "The House of Mirth," which
are located in Princeton University's Firestone Library, although these galleys
only cover the concluding chapters of the novel.
Incidentally, there are other small but intriguing changes
in these galleys--for example, when Selden discovers Lily's checkbook after her
death, it originally contained "five and thirty dollars," but Wharton changes
this to a "few" dollars. More interesting is the change in the word Wharton chooses
for Selden when he goes to see Lily on the day of her death:
Originally Wharton has him "striding" down the street, while in the revisions
he is described as "hastening."
These and other revisions are discussed in my essay "Textual
Hermeneutics and Belated Male Heroism: Edith Wharton's Revisions
of The House of Mirth and the Resistance to American Literary Naturalism." Arizona
Quarterly 51.3 (Fall 1995).
Richard Kaye
Hunter College
City University of New York
116/01
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Ghost Stories of Edith
Wharton
NAME: Elizabeth N. Raupers
QUESTION: I have recently finished "The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton" and
I am wondering what kind of approach Wharton is taking in these writings. Both
Henry James and Edith Wharton were said to have thought the spiritualist
movement to be entirely ridiculous, so what then motivated her to write
a colection of ghost stories during this time? Is she writing it
to show psychological implications, because of some long-ignored belief,
or simply because of the attention given to spirit mediums, and ghost
encounters?? What is she trying to show?
4/19/01 |
|
Story about Wedding Night
I have a strange question, but it is something that I have been trying
to find for 10 years without success. I was once given a photocopy
of a short story, or piece thereof, in which Edith Wharton describes
an evening between a new bride and husband, in which he apologizes for
taking her quickly for the first time, but explains that it allows for
a more sensual and feeling consumation of the marriage subsequent. I
don't know if it falls into her short story, romance, or (perhaps?) erotica
classifications, but I am extremely curious to learn the name of this
piece of work. I know that this is very little information with
which to work, but would you have any idea of what I am describing?
Thank you for your kind attention,
Kimberly Manthy
5/16/01 |
I believe that the piece you may be referring to is
Beatrice Palmato. It was a fragment that Edith Wharton did not finish,
and did not want published. It is actually a story about a
father with his daughter (who had just been married to another man). I
found the story in Cynthia Griffin Wolff's book, A Feast of Words on
page 300. I hope this is what you were looking for!
Katy V. |
Lady Angelica
du Lac in Age of Innocence
Does Gainsborough's "Lady Angelica du Lac" (from the Age of Innocence)
actually exist? Is this picture misnamed, or did Wharton make an
error? Thanks in advance for your response.
jbrennan@uvic.ca |
According to Candace Waid's edition of the work (see above), this
is "a fictitious portrait" (33, n. 1). |
"Roman Fever" in Public
Domain?
In rummaging through some on-line Websites containing information of Wharton
and her works I noticed that the story, "Roman Fever" appears on many various
pages throughout the web in full text form. Are these sites posting
her work illegally or is it public domain? I've emailed some of the sites
directly and have yet to get a response. My interest in this anomaly
is as a fellow Wharton devotee and a fellow writer as well.
sincerely, rc
richieacooley@mailcity.com
7/10/01 |
According to the Watkins Loomis Agency, "Edith Wharton's 'Roman
Fever' does not enter the public domain until 2029."
Daniel Hefko
University of Illinois
[Note: Technically, these would not be legal editions unless the person
who posted the story had received permission from the Watkins
Loomis agency, which handles permissions for Wharton's work. In general,
all work published after 1923 is subject to copyright laws; "Roman Fever" was
first published in November 1934.--D. Campbell] |
Edith Wharton's
Reading and Biblical Allusions
I am doing some work on Wharton's use of biblical quotes and inscriptions,
particularly in House of Mirth. If you know of any articles or texts that
address this, please let me know. Also, are there any compiled
lists of Wharton's reading? This would be very helpful. Pamela
Francis, albigensian@hotmail.com |
There is no single, definitive list of Wharton's reading, but here
are some resources that deal with Wharton's reading
and her use of allusion. (To site visitors: Please send
other suggestions ).
Helen Killoran, Edith Wharton's Art of Allusion
Carol Singley, Edith Wharton: Matters of Mind and Spirit
George Ramsden, Edith Wharton's Library: A Catalogue. Settrington,
Stone Trough Books, 1999 With a foreword by Hermione Lee. 25 x. 16.5
cm. xxxiii, 153 pp. Numbered edition of 350 copies. ISBN 0 9529534 5
5
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Edith Wharton Allusion
in The Bandwagon
Before I begin, I would like to say that (for me) this
is a serious inquiry. I am a producer in Boston who is involved in reconstructing
a 1931 musical revue entitled "The Band Wagon". In one of the skits,
there are a couple of lines that make no sense at all to me. It takes
place between a salesman of bathroom fittings and a rather upstanding customer. The
salesman says, "Very simple, madam. That's our motto --everything
for the bath." and she reponds, "I see. Everything.". The salesman
then says, "Absolutely everything." And then the female customer
says, "Have you that new book of Edith Wharton's?"
I'm assuming that this is clearly this is a cryptic joke about something
that Ms. Wharton either wrote or did in 1931, but the only thing I can
find is that she did some work on "Ethan Frome" and a book entitled "Certain
People". Still, not knowing either of these works well, I am not able to
explain the joke. Can someone elucidate me about this? I'm
would be eternally grateful.
Brad Conner Conner@law.harvard.edu |
I realize others on the EW discussion list may already have gotten
to your note, but I would say here that you may want to consult a
chronology of works by Wharton. I bet you could find this on the
web; you also could see Shari Benstock's biography, No Gifts From
Chance; chronology begins on p 468. Certain People,
incidentally, is a collection of short stories; it's possible one
of the titles might resonate for you. I don't think it would
be a reference to Ethan Frome, a novella she would've published
several years prior to that. It's also possible that the "new
book" is a reference to her novel Hudson River Bracketed (1929),
which takes its name from an architectural style. I wish I
could be more helpful. Please let us know if you find anything.
Best wishes,
Emily Orlando 9/20/01
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I can't give you a specific reference, but I would be willing to bet
the joke has something to do with whether or not the bath suite includes
a bidet, an appliance common in Europe at the time but virtually unknown
on this side of the Atlantic until more recent times. --Gerald Everett
Jones
Someone has just written me and said that maybe it is a sly reference
to the length of her books and that it is a humorous reference to providing "reading
material". Is there a common knowledge about the length of her
novels? --Brad Conner 9/20/01
The bidet theory works for me because the humor pays off, and
it's consistent with Wharton's attitudes. She was a member of the American
aristocracy at a time when they were very eager to be identified with
European culture. For example, in the late 19th century, American painters
were not hot commercially until they had a reputation in Paris. Wharton
traveled extensively in Europe, and eventually made it her permanent
residence.
So, the fact that the American salesman has no idea what makes a fine
lady's bath suite complete is a put-down of his unsophistication (and
also of his cluelessness as a male). Inherent in a bidet reference would
be both toilet humor and sexual innuendo.
That's my guess, anyway. --Gerald
Everett Jones 9/20/01 |
| Edith Wharton and
Bananas for Breakfast?
I am a social historian of Latin America writing a book
about bananas, including their material and symbolic consumption
in the United States. A couple of years ago, I came
across a wonderful Wharton quotation in which she described with
some disdain her experiences at a new summer resort somewhere
in the Berkshires. After describing the "crass manners,
crass food, crass landscape" she concludes by saying something
to the effect of
"how sad for a nation to not have a sense of beauty and to be eating bananas
for breakfast." (a rough paraphrase)
What I need, is the citation for this statement. I believe it dates from
the late 1920s/early 1930s. This really is a serious inquiry and I will
gladly
send a copy of my article to anyone who is interested in this rather
unusual aspect of Wharton. (incidentally, around the same time, Faulkner
and Wallace Stevens penned works with banana imagery.)
Thank you,
John Soluri
Dept of History
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh PA 15213
jsoluri@andrew.cmu.edu
10/2/01 |
Wharton's comment appears decades earlier in an August 19th, 1904
letter to Sara Norton (reprinted in Lewis's Letters of Edith Wharton,
p.92-3). Hope this helps.
Best,
Noel Sloboda
10/10/01
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This quote comes from a letter Edith Wharton writes to, I believe, Sally
Norton. I have always wanted to write an article taking off from
it -- "Bananas for Breakfast: Edith Wharton's Other Argument with
America" was what I imagined it to be.
You are right on target about what it suggests about the exoticism of
bananas at the time and cultural acceptance of or denial of those suggestions. If
you haven't already, I would take a look at the advertisements for bananas
that were appearing the magazines in which EW was being serialized in
the 20s. They are always presented with cereal as a breakfast food. Light
always bright sunshine pouring in over them. V. interesting....
[. . . ]
--Sharon Shaloo
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Sharon Shaloo, Executive Director
Massachusetts Center for the Book
shaloo@library.umass.edu
S_Shaloo@email.msn.com |
Wharton's Style
I am a scholar in the social sciences and have become enchanted while
jogging listening to Flo Gibson read Whartoniana. Can you offer several
references, book chapters or articles, that analyze the structure of Wharton's
sentences, e.g., parallelisms, counterpoints, ironies, etc. She is
far more sophisticated than Henry James in structure and his heaviness
should not be equated with profundity.
I would also be interested in how
her style reflects the values of
the Edwardian Age at the turn into the twentieth century and the decade
following. Comparing Wharton with Hemingway, for example,
is an adventure in contrastiong Zeitgeists;
Many thanks. Richard M. Huber |
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| Recording of Wharton's
Voice?
QUESTION: Was Edith Wharton every recorded reading her work
or talking about her work? Does any audio recording of
Wharton exist? Alex Lubertozzi, alex.lubertozzi@sourcebooks.com |
Wharton scholars have discussed this informally, and no one seems to have heard of a recording of her voice, nor is such a recording referred to in her biographies. If anyone has different information, please contact this site. |
Queries from 1999-2000
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