Undine (the anti-heroine of Custom) ends up with many of the same types of men, but while she started out with the "innocence" required of a woman of the time, she learns rapidly and dedicates everything to her deliberate climb upwards, the occasional wrong turn notwithstanding.
Custom of the Country was written by a woman. And that does make all the difference. Like Austen, Wharton subverted the idea of the woman as sweet and helpless.
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Date: 2012-06-03 12:54 pm (UTC)Custom of the Country was written by a woman. And that does make all the difference. Like Austen, Wharton subverted the idea of the woman as sweet and helpless.