Marriage In The Other Two, By Edith Wharton

508 Words2 Pages

In the short story “The Other Two” written by Edith Wharton, she challenges marriage by bringing up feminism. Wharton introduces Mr. Waythorn as a persona with deep acceptance towards his wife Alice who breaks the society’s view of women staying in one marriage even though society doesn’t take divorces very lightly.Wharton voiced the difficulties Mr. Waythorn goes through with his wife Alice, who previously had two other marriages before him, causing him to fear divorce. Mr. Waythorn slowly discovers Alice’s past as he reunites with Alice’s ex-husbands which made him insecure when he realizes that her ex-husbands are good men. Truthfully, marriage is about commitment and the fear that happens during marriage is finding someone better. Mr. Waythorn …show more content…

Waythorn in the face when Lily, Mrs. Waythorn’s daughter with another man, Mr. Haskett, health weakens with typhoid. Mr. Haskett respectively fights for his right to see his daughter. Mr. Waythorn struggles to allow Mr. Haskett in his home because of his own insecurities and yet it worsens when he stumbles across Mr. Varick, Alice’s other ex husband through work that turns into business. Waythorn “had known when he married that his wife's former husbands were both living, and that amid the multiplied contacts of modern existence there were a thousand chances to one that he would run against one or the other” (12) It’s not the previous marriages that worry Mr.Waythorn, it’s the fact that Mrs. Waythorn is comfortable and confident to make her own decisions throughout her life to leave anyone even if they are good people. It’s not ideal for a wife to be on her third marriage. The energy Mr. Waythorn has throughout these occasions, especially meeting Alice’s ex-husbands, is very awkward and Wharton describes it as “Alice Haskett - Alice Varick - Alice Waythorn - she had been each in turn, and had left hanging to each name a little of her privacy, a little of her personality, a little of the inmost self where the unknown god abides.” (17) This is the biggest theme because through every marriage, Alice was able to grow from her experiences and leave while using her own independent choice. Can she do that to

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