Abstract
This paper is a look at Edith Wharton's, "Roman Fever," and Zora Neale Hurston's "The Gilded Six-Bits." Edith Wharton was a white American woman of opulence and class, while Zola Neale Hurston was an African-American who was born in Eatonville, Florida, occupied primarily by black families who have historically been struggling for economic sufficiency and comfort, but have historically been hampered by racial prejudice. The paper looks at how the two celebrated authors write about love, marriage and family, women and their overt well as covert emotions and desires, with the authors' respective and opposing cultures and social classes as backdrops.

From the Paper
"Both stories deal with marriage. In Wharton's, the marriages of childhood friends Alida and Grace had to be cultivated, for they belonged to the genteel class of human beings at that time. They had to try all means to feign happiness and of being loved and their mates' fidelity to them. How they looked to the outside world weighed much more than how they really felt inside, and that was the core of Victorian values of propriety the external, heartbreaking, mind-blowing type. This was the price to pay for belonging up there and everything that went with being high above. In contrast, Hurston's characters, Joe and his Missy May, treasured their marriage and had a common line of pleasures, including the pursuit of a few gilded coins, chocolate kisses and a baby. Their simple joys were more accessible and this made marriage more workable and forgiving offenses possible. Although both authors had unhappy marriages, Hurston nevertheless valued marriage as an institution that could save an individual or else saw marriage as a stabilizing force like nothing else in a society."

Tags:love, marriage, family, emotions, desire, white, black, american, opulence, culture, classes, social, prejudice, racial, infidelity, aida, missy, may, money, infidelity, guilt, husband, friend, childhood, grace, joe, jenny, daughters, father, death, offspring, widows, life, blessing

Abstract
This paper briefly summarizes the plots of two of Edith Wharton's stories and then examines the social statement Wharton was making about the times in which she lived. The paper looks at Wharton's treatment of the gender roles, class roles, and relationships in Victorian society and how her stories depict people of the Victorian era as having a dualism of behavior ? the outer personification of conformity, and the inner, private life that allows for deviancy and experimentation.

From the Paper
"It's a natural part of life to question the past as one looks into the future, however, there are certain regrets that mark the passing of particular lives that most people would rather not have as a part of their own lives. The stories of Edith Wharton, specifically Roman Fever and The Other Two, embrace the past in a manner that brings to light the changing social configuration of the present. The stories are imbued with aspects of Romanticism and grounded in the Victorian ethic but wander into the changing social world of the modern era. The intricacies of time, place, love and relationships have a strong influence on the best of people; however, it seems as though they are a tidal wave of authority to the weak and the superior. Wharton's characters reflect this sentiment, that strength of character is not always a matter of beauty, intelligence or social standing but, rather, a belief in oneself as the vehicle for happiness."

Tags:romanticism, values, morals, mrs., ansley, alice, social, conventions, standing, mrs., slade

Abstract
This paper examines the life and literary works of celebrated novelist Edith Wharton. The author discusses Wharton's early biographical influences, which led to her main themes in "Ethan Frome", "Age of Innocence", and "The Old Maid". The paper also addresses how Wharton wrote brilliantly on the issue of the rigid confinements of her own aristocratic society, impossible love, and characters who stoically accepted their fates.

From the Paper
"Edith Wharton was born January 24th, 1862 to wealthy parents in traditional old New York . Governesses and tutors privately educated Wharton at her home and abroad. At a young age, she displayed interest in writing but was discouraged away from the arts by her family. In the late 1800s, women were still considered only worthy of becoming beautiful objects and getting married. Women were supposed to act like na?ve, innocent children. Her mother felt that Wharton should not pursue writing. Nevertheless, Wharton completed her first novella at age fourteen and published a collection of verses two years later."

Tags:age, aristocratic, confinement, ethan, fate, fiction, frome, innocence, maid, novelist, old, society

Abstract
This paper examines "The House of Mirth", "The Age of Innocence" and "Ethan Frome" to show the purpose of Edith Wharton's writing, the style in which she writes, and the themes that appear in her novels. The paper highlights Wharton's support for the individual's struggle for freedom amidst popular opposition, and her criticism of the standards that society imposes on men and women.

From the Paper
""Wave after wave of black silk surged away over the edges of a capacious armchair, with two tiny white hands poised like gulls on the surface of the billows..." . This vivid description taken from page 27 of The Age of Innocence and given as a typing exercise was my first introduction to the world of Edith Wharton. To a six year old who was more focused on hunting for the letter keys than reading the words themselves, the passage seemed trivial and even dull. Now, ten years later, rediscovering the tragedy of a woman rejected by an unforgiving community has given me insights which have helped me to gain different perspectives of viewing the human condition. A perceptive author who captures the essence of New York at the turn of the 20th century in her works, Edith Wharton's writing shows that society and its expectations destroy an individual's identity and inflict crushing consequences on those who try to rebel against convention, especially women."

Tags:standards, conformity, tradition, freedom, individuality

Abstract
This paper explains that Edith Wharton's novel "The House of Mirth"
is set in the late 1800s in New York City during a time in which the elite members of upper-class society held most of the wealth and all of the power. The author points out that the central theme of the book is the endless seeking of wealth, which drives the protagonist Lily and plays on the mind of every character in the novel. The paper relates that, in the midst of her attempts to acquire wealth in order to remain in the society to which she has grown so attracted, Lily finds herself in a great deal of trouble. The author concludes that the reason for Lily's death does not matter because she has escaped the low-class life in which she believed she was never meant to live.

From the Paper
"As Lily grew older so did her hunger for money, along with her fear of the life of a pig. This hunger and fear were on display in her relationship with Lawrence Selden. Lawrence Selden is a dear friend of Lily and happens to be a bachelor. This bachelor lives his own life, care free of the judgmental ways of the upper class, even though he tends to show his face in those circles from time to time. He is a lawyer who lives a comfortable life, but his financial status doesn't seem to be enough in the eyes of Lily. His knowledge of Lily's ways does not seem to bother him as much as his financial status bothers Lily."

Tags:gambling pig, lavish lifestyle, yacht struggle

Abstract
Edith Wharton's works, "The Age of Innocence" and "Roman Fever" each exemplify contradictions that control women's lives, and Wharton's stories raise these struggles to character studies of women. This paper concludes that Wharton's women often personify the effects of social oppression in their relations with each other.

From the Paper
"The translation of a book into a motion picture can be a difficult process and is made all the more difficult when the screenwriters feel the need to maintain respect for the structure of the book, for its characterizations, and for its themes. This is why it is usually believed that less literary works are more easily translated, while well-respected literary works present many problems because the author has already presented his or her story in a dense and complex way that marries form and content. The form of a film is quite different from that of a novel, utilizing images rather than imagery, pictures instead of words, actions instead of descriptions, and so on. the recent film production of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence is an example in which the filmmakers--director Martin Scorsese and screenwriters Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks... "

From the Paper
"The purpose of this paper is to discuss the setting, characters and various other elements of the novel, "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton.

Starkfield is aptly named. It is a very hard place in which to spend the winter. The landscapes of this community are lonely, silent and gloomy. The moods of the people of this town frequently swing with the changes in the weather, which at times is almost unendurable. To a certain degree, the nature of Starkfield helps to explain Ethan Frome's relatively austere personality, as well as the morose atmosphere of the town itself and the country which envelopes it.

The narrator is curious to find out why Ethan cannot seem to get away from Starkfield. However, in the search to discover why, the narrator finds out that the people in Starkfield are ... "

From the Paper
"The values of the societies that are depicted in the works of Edith Wharton are the same values that governed the society that she was raised in. Her works all revolve around central characters that belong to an elite society with firm rules of behavior and conduct, societies that closely resembled the ones that she herself lived and grew up in. Paying close attention to these rules and rituals, Edith Wharton was able to create convincing societies in her novels and stories that were as scathing as they were accurate."

Tags:age, biography, edith, fitzgerald, henry, house, innocence, james, literature, mirth, mount, novel, scott, wharton, woman, york

Abstract
This paper explains that, in Edith Wharton's novel "The Age of Innocence", flowers represent a man's relationship with May Welland and with Countess Ellen Olenska, who are two very dissimilar women. The protagonist Newland Archer, the author relates, chooses bouquets of lilies-of-the-valley because she represents the good in his New York society; however, for the Countess, the antithesis of this he selects flowers with a greater variety of color from orchids to violets because she is full of color and variety. The paper underscores that, through this symbolism, Wharton tells a story of a man's struggle between what society expects and what his own heart and character command.

From the Paper
"Arriving in such a scandalous manner as to arise more than her share of suspicion among the New York higher-ups, it comes as no surprise that Newland Archer soon becomes captivated with the atypical Ellen Olenska. Even after their first meeting, he is left with a lasting impression that he himself cannot fully comprehend. Wharton once again uses the implications of flora to serve her purpose: while Archer sees a spectacular arrangement of yellow roses in a florists' shop and considers buying them for his betrothed, he instead determines that they are "too rich, too strong in their fiery beauty" and elects to send them to the Countess."

Tags:lilies-of-the-valley, pure, constancy, antithesis, imagery, expectations