The Escape Tendency In Edith Wharton's Works

Edith Wharton, the first Pulitzer Prize woman writer in the U.S, enjoyed a greatreputation as an excellent best-seller writer while she was alive. However, her namebecame gradually obscured in American literary circle after her death. After the 1950s,her works caught critics'attention on Blake Nevis's account, yet most of the researchat that time regarded her as a"novelist of manners"and conducted from thatperspective. Since the 1970s, researchers tried to study her works from the perspectiveof feminism, naturalism, and modernism and gained some great achievements.As time advanced, most of Edith Wharton's works have been canonized. It hasbeen proved that instead of a transitory bestseller writer or simply a follower of HenryJames, Edith Wharton is a writer of moral depth and literary significance. This thesis,intends to provide a new angle on Wharton's creation tendency through an analysis ofher three most famous works-- The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, The Age ofInnocence with Wharton's life experience together.This thesis includes five parts:The Introduction part briefly introduces Wharton's life experience and her mostfamous three works, and presents a brief literary review of Edith Wharton.Chapter One mainly introduces the relation between American escape tradition andEdith Wharton. Since America is an immigrant country, escape is rooted in the historyof this country and has become one of the most common motifs in American literature.Because of Edith Wharton's complicated life experience, her literary creation has agreat relationship with escape motif.Chapter Two analyzes various escapes in Wharton's works with regard toWharton's life experience, which are generalized into three types: escape frommarriage, escape from society, and escape from alienation.Chapter Three mainly summarizes the significance of escape: a means to keepone's individuality, a solace for an unbearable existence, and a pursuit of freedom andhappiness.In Conclusion part, after an analysis of Wharton's works and her life experience,this thesis comes to the conclusion that as an escapist, Wharton's escape tendency isreflected clearly in her works. Nevertheless, her escape is not negative at all. Instead, itoffers her a new identity as an independent woman. Wharton's obtaining a rebirththrough her escape influenced many women in her time and afterwards. No matterwhether the various escapes in her works succeed or not, they are meaningful for thoseare reflections of characters'pursuit of freedom and happiness or means to keep theirindividuality in a sophisticated society.