Edith Wharton's Cynical View Of Marriage And Society

In the late 1800s, the average wealthy woman conformed to society 's very high standards, but Edith Wharton was not your average wealthy woman. She stood out as being a women 's rights activist, and always wanted to push the boundaries of society 's standards by reading and writing even from a very young age. Her view of marriage was skewed because of the hardships she faced with her second husband. Edith Wharton 's cynical view of marriage and society are reflected in her characters emotions and actions in her short stories because of the injustices she faced with her mother and standards of women at the time.

Edith Wharton was born into a wealthy family and spent her early childhood in New York. From the beginning, however—and to some extent

Most women did not receive an education and were not encouraged to (Rights for Women). Women were at the mercy of their husbands in most relationships. The men were supposed to be the leader of the house and deal with any problems that arise. Wharton’s marriage was different, she married Mr. Edward “Teddy” Robbins Wharton and he was her second husband. They both loved to travel, however Teddy never shared Wharton 's artistic and intellectual interests. The differences outweighed the similarities and their marriage was not satisfying for either party (Dwight, Winner

Her second husband’s depression had a massive impact on her later years. They both loved traveling but had to stop since he was so sick. “The Journey,” tells a similar story to Wharton 's by showing a woman care for her ill husband. The story starts with a woman and her husband sitting in a train car. The woman is looks outside and beings to reflect on the times with her husband. She remembers when the doctor first diagnosed him with depression. The doctor said “Six weeks of mild air will set him right” (The Greater Inclination 67) so they moved to Colorado. Now they are on a train back from Colorado to New York. Her husband’s condition has worsened since they first arrived in Colorado. The husband is visually ill and there is nothing that the women can do to assist him. As they travel passengers ask if he is ok and if the wife needs help caring for him. She refuses and says she can do it by herself. As they near New York, the husband becomes severely ill and the wife sees the husband has finally died. She became sick to her stomach thinking that she will be at the train station with her dead husband 's body. “Feeling dizzy, she sank down on the edge of the berth, keeping away from his outstretched body, and pulling the curtains close, so that he and she were shut into a kind of sepulchral twilight” (The Greater Inclination 70). The story ends in confusion as they come to a