The republic of the spirit: Eros and Thanatos in the works of Edith Wharton

This study examines the struggle between philosophic and scientific notions of love found throughout Edith Wharton's works. Although many scholars see her depiction of love as only a reenactment of her unhappy marriage and subsequent affair, it is much more than that. Instead, the role of Thanatos in romantic relationships serves to highlight the central struggle Wharton saw as implicit in the concept of love, the struggle between Darwin's theory of sexual selection and desiring Plato's ideal love of the soul. Throughout her writing, Wharton saw love as a struggle between the romantic notion of soul mates finding each other and the realistic view of sexual selection. When love was at its most fulfilling, the characters were able to balance the two extremes. It was truly only with her final work that Wharton eventually came to terms with both forms of love to depict a potentially happy union.; Despite the relatively bleak nature of most of Wharton's works, and the significant amount of death surrounding her characters, the role of death in Wharton's works has not received much attention from scholars. Also, scholars have not fully examined the effect of science and philosophy upon Wharton's depictions of love and romance. This study argues that Wharton's lifelong interest in Darwinian theory was in direct conflict with her interest in the philosophical ideals expressed in Plato's Dialogues. The tension found between Darwin's version of a physical love and Plato's version of a love between souls is an essential dialogue throughout her life and works.