Naturalistic Features In The House Of Mirth

Edith Wharton, one of the foremost American female novelists, is worldwide recognized as a representative of American naturalism in literature at the turn of the 20th century. Genuinely concerned about the fate of common people makes her become an indefatigable explorer in literature. And Wharton got an irreplaceable position in American literature by creating numerous literary works characterized by naturalistic features, among which The House of Mirth, published in 1905, comes under my careful study.This thesis aims to explore and identify the naturalistic features of Wharton's The House of Mirth. Two of the predominant features of naturalism—determinism and consumerism come under the microscope in my study. First, naturalistic social environment, especially the irresistible deterministic environment and inherited factors which cause the main protagonists'ineffective escape and futile struggle, is analyzed in detail. Second, overwhelming consuming environment is chosen as the research target to analyze the causes of people's failed life from the aspects of individual's indulgence and the engulfment by the flood of consumerism. Finally, Wharton's interpretation of naturalism in The House of Mirth, especially her intentional arrangement in the end of the novel and her contribution to American naturalism would be further explored. In all, Wharton's The House of Mirth is an epitome of naturalistic writings and it is Wharton who endows American naturalism with new meanings and richness.