Feminist Readings of Edith Wharton: From Silence to Speech

230 Pages·2009·52.336 MB·English

by  Dianne L. Chambers

AMERICAN L ITERATURE READINGS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
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Feminist Readings ofE dith Wharton: Frorn Silence to Speech
By Dianne L. Chambers
FEMINIST READINGS OF
EDITH WHARTON
From Silence to Speech
D ianne L. Chambers
palgrave
macmillan
FEMINIST READINGS OF EDITH WHARTON
Copyright © Dianne L. Chambers, 2009.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2009 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States-a division of St. Martin's Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan. a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978-0-230--61765-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chambers, Dianne L.
Feminist readings of Edith Wharton : from silence to speech /
Dianne L. Chambers.
p. cm.- (American literature readings in the 21st century)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-230-61765- 0 (alk. paper)
1. Wharton. Edith, 1862-1937-Criticism and interpretation.
2. Feminism and literature- United States- History-20th century.
3. Women in literature. 4. Sex role in literature. I. Title.
PS3545.H16Z638 2009
813'.52-dc22
2009011850
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: December 2009
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Vll
1
Introduction
1 Wharton and Feminist Criticism 15
2 Wharton, Women, and Authorship at the
25
Turn of the Century
3 Competing Discourses and the Word in
49
The House of Mirth
4 The Unravelling of Story in The Reef 67
97
5 Seduction and Language in Summer
6 Gender and Performance in The Glimpses
125
of the Moon
151
Conclusion
157
Notes
197
Bibliography
207
Index