Sentimentalism, Realism, and Secularity in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth
Critics of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth have interpreted Lily Bart's death and Nettie Struther's story as scenes that undermine the novel's realism. I show how they reveal Wharton's negotiation of transcendence within the genre of realism. Nettie's redemption and...
| Published in: | Christianity & literature |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
2022
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| In: |
Christianity & literature
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| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality CD Christianity and Culture KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history NCE Business ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Edith Wharton
B Secularity B Transcendence B Religion B Poison |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Critics of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth have interpreted Lily Bart's death and Nettie Struther's story as scenes that undermine the novel's realism. I show how they reveal Wharton's negotiation of transcendence within the genre of realism. Nettie's redemption and Lily's death destabilize a secular mode of economic exchange, offering a way to transcend this mode by means of a gift exchange. I argue that the idea of the gift embedded in Netty's story and Lily's death operates both as a scandal and vehicle of transcendence |
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| ISSN: | 2056-5666 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christianity & literature
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/chy.2022.0055 |