Short Stories

Edith Wharton was a credible social satirist, drawing on her own observances of the upper class society to which she belonged to paint compelling portraits of characters struggling against the strictures imposed upon them by that very same society. The characters' reactions are all too familiar, evoking in readers feelings of sympathy as in "The Muse's Tragedy" and "Souls Belated", revulsion in "The Dilettante" and "Xingu", and a mixture of both in the other short stories featured here, i.e. "The Pelican", "Expiation",and "The Other Two". The stories have familiar themes such as love, divorce, marriage, and of course the ever present theme of society. For the price, a discerning reader will get to enjoy seven insightful short stories by a master of the genre.

The Dover Thrift Edition of "Short Stories" by Edith Wharton is a great collection of some of this writer's work. There are two common themes that run through this collection of 7 stories: (1) the writer and his/her place in society, and (2) women living through the complications of their emotional and/or sexual lives in the context of larger societal pressures. These thematic threads give the collection as a whole a pleasing coherence. The stories included are as follows:"Expiation": about a woman novelist, this story looks at an intersection point in the worlds of literature and religion. "The Dilettante": about a troublesome romantic triangle. "The Muse's Tragedy": about the problematic emotional legacy of a respected poet. "The Pelican": follows the career of a female lecturer. "Souls Belated": about the relationship between a male novelist and a divorced woman. "Xingu": a comic tale about a snobby ladies' club that is hosting a woman novelist. "The Other Two": the story of a man's relationships with the two ex-husbands of his twice-divorced wife.Wharton is an excellent writer, and her skills are really on full display in this collection. Peppered throughout the stories are a number of memorable (sometimes even Wildean) lines. Example: "It is always a bad sign when loud people come to a quiet place" (from "Souls"). An ideal choice for literature or women's studies courses (as well as for private reading). Recommended as companion texts: the novel "Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing," by May Sarton, and the Dover Thrift Edition of "Short Stories" by Theodore Dreiser; both of these fine books share themes in common with this Wharton collection.