Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Pen and Punishment: Revenge and Role Reversal in Edith Wharton’s World. A Rewriting of Gender Roles and the Subversion of Patriarchy. by Shelly Ann Justin An unlikely feminist writer sometimes becomes one of the greatest advocates for the feminine movement, and that is exactly what American novelist, Edith Wharton (1862-1937) has done for over 120 years through her essays, short stories, and more specifically, her novels. She is best known for her vivid novels that explore the complexities of American society, especially the upper class which examines the constraints and social expectations of New York’s upper class in the 1870s. Wharton’s writing often delves into themes of societal pressure, personal freedoms, and the conflicts between individual desires and social obligations. She was also known for her keen observations of human nature and her ability to portray complex characters. Yet, although her writing gives a realistic take on the state of the world for women during the turn of the century America, she offers a unique perspective that can easily be lost on people—women and men—who suffer from false consciousness, a concept derived from social and political theories where individuals in a society might not recognize or understand their own oppression due to societal norms, ideologies, or cultural beliefs. However, Wharton would not allow the acquiescence of complacency from anyone but especially men in her famous novels. If she could not open the eyes or minds of people in real life, she would create a world in her stories where her characters would suffer for their impenitent apathy, especially men for their self-inflicted languishing to themselves and of others while feigning contentment and happiness 9 and expecting others to adhere to the “lie” that limits autonomy to women. For that, Wharton would seek revenge through her writing, switching the roles of women vs. men by having them play each other’s part, a beautiful act of satire that reverses the suffering and ultimate damage typically placed onto women yet placed so precariously onto men through her unique framework. Edith Wharton expressed her disdain for the willfully ignorant and how that blind obedience creates loneliness for the very few who remain awake, as she states, “The real loneliness is living among these kind people who only ask one to pretend” (Wharton, The Age of Innocence 59). With each novel, Wharton progresses from a female protagonist, Lily Bart, a virtuous heroine who takes her own life as an unexpected slight to social class in The House of Mirth to three novels later, where she enacts her most brilliant revenge of all where her main character, Newland Archer, a young and charming gentleman suffers at the will of Wharton’s pen. Many readers and writers have often said about Wharton that she was no feminist, merely because she did not behave as other women did in protests or even completely agree with the feminist movement and how and what it claimed to do. After all, one must consider the discourse of the time and judge carefully how another person of a different century or even decade has progressed to the state of where and how the current culture lives in a new present. My project seeks to counter this claim and in fact argues that Wharton was and still remains one of the most prolific feminists in American history. For example, my research will ask and answer the following question: How does Wharton use specific writing techniques, such as gender role reversal and satire to critique patriarchy and to avenge the oppression of women in her novels? Her way of accomplishing this is a unique one, however. She fully understood that holding signs and marching in the streets would not necessarily change the perspective of the oppressor or even the oppressed. Wharton understood that for people to learn and to understand 10 what is happening around them, they must first be able to see through the eyes of the woefully persecuted. Subsequently, she would enact revenge on male characters in her novels, not excluding the female characters who act as complacent participants. My introduction reflects the gap in current research and offers a glimpse of the broader implications of my findings, how my argument offers a fresh perspective on feminist literary criticism and how it challenges existing interpretations of Wharton. Edith Wharton’s last resort to awaken the people, specifically those of the elite class, would be to create an unrelenting satirical actuality with male and female characters who resemble each other and play out the roles of the opposite sex to drive her point of the tyrannical subjugation experienced by women of society. It is no accident that Wharton portrays characters as the antithesis of each other to draw the attention of the reader and to help him or her to fully understand the position of each gender in a divided society. In my 1st chapter – “Edith Wharton’s early life and the awakening of her art in the aftermath of critical reviews”—I explore how in her 1900 short story “April Showers,” Edith Wharton introduces readers to Theodora, a young writer publishing under the pseudonym Gladys Glyn, who has just completed her first short story, also titled April Showers. Through this semi-autobiographical narrative, Wharton explores the inequities of the publishing industry and the often brutal reception faced by emerging writers, particularly women. Theodora’s experiences reflect key aspects of Wharton’s own early life: the isolation of a misunderstood writer, the emotional distance within her family, and the tension between personal ambition and domestic expectations. Theodora, very similar to Wharton, remained hopeful that her literary success would redeem her, only to discover that her manuscript had been rejected. In this early work, Wharton begins to express a growing sense of resentment, shaped by her position in society as a woman and as a writer whose sentimental and naturalistic style was frequently dismissed. As I 11 show in this chapter, this story marks the beginning of Wharton’s use of fiction to process both personal disappointment and broader social critique. My 2nd chapter—“Lawrence Selden-Lily’s Moral Compass (House of Mirth)1905”— argues that, in her later novels, Wharton begins to experiment more deliberately with male perspectives in her writing, a shift that might be described as the masculinization of her narrative voice, whether driven by personal conviction or cultural urgency. In The House of Mirth, although the protagonist is a woman, Lily Bart, Wharton employs the male gaze as a narrative lens to expose the societal constraints placed on both women and men. This perspective allows Wharton to critique the rigid gender expectations of her time, revealing the confining nature of a world governed by patriarchal norms. In doing so, she signals a transition from the 19th-century ideal of womanhood to the more complex and modern conception emerging in the early 20th century. My 3rd chapter—Ethan Frome-A Ruin of a Man (Ethan Frome)1911— examines how while The House of Mirth marks the beginning of Wharton’s shift toward using male perspectives, this is a transition that evolves into one of her most grotesque takes on class structure, Ethan Frome. This framing not only allows Wharton to use a male protagonist, but it also includes an unknown narrator that utilizes a third-person limited omniscient point of view to tell this unique tale. In this progression, one can observe a full reversal of traditional gender roles in her fiction. Wharton presents the world of the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the male gaze, yet she assigns her male characters the kinds of emotional vulnerability and social entrapment typically reserved for female figures in literature. In doing so, she critiques the gendered expectations of her time by placing men in situations of powerlessness and despair. 12 This narrative technique echoes the influence of her close friend and mentor, Henry James, where she explores the limits of identity, perception, and agency through gendered storytelling. My 4th chapter—Ralph Marvell-A Gradual Disillusionment (The Custom of the Country)1913—explores how The Custom of the Country reflects Wharton’s personal experiences and frustrations with marriage, divorce, and the patriarchal structures of early 20th-century society. Drawing from biographical context, including Wharton’s own financially complex divorce and her affair with Morton Fullerton, the analysis highlights how the novel becomes a vehicle for critiquing the transactional nature of marriage and the gendered inequalities embedded in divorce law. Through the character of Undine Spragg, portrayed not as a heroine but as a female figure mirroring the traditionally male detachment in marriage and parenting, Wharton underscores how women are compelled to adopt emotionally distant strategies in order to survive. The chapter emphasizes Wharton’s interest in the economic underpinnings of modern marriage and how divorce reconfigures both material assets and human relationships, ultimately disadvantaging women even when they are the primary earners. Finally, in my 5th chapter—Newland Archer-Fantasy vs. Reality (The Age of Innocence) 1920—I demonstrate how in The Age of Innocence, Wharton demonstrates peak mastery of narrative form and technique, crafting a work that subtly yet powerfully inverts traditional gender roles within New York’s high society. By placing a male protagonist, Newland Archer, at the center of the story, Wharton shifts the lens through which societal constraints are examined. For perhaps the first time, a male readership is invited to experience the emotional and social confinement typically reserved for women in literature. Through Archer’s internal conflict between desire and duty, fantasy and reality, Wharton not only critiques the rigid codes of upper- 13 class convention but also compels male readers to recognize their own entrapment within the very structures they have historically benefited from.

Committee Chair

Ignacio Infante

Committee Members

Karen Skinner Ignacio Sanchez Prado

Degree

Doctor of Liberal Arts (DLA)

Author's Department

Liberal Arts

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

Fall 12-13-2025

Language

English (en)

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