
Edith Wharton
Matters of Mind and Spirit
Carol J. Singley(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 28. July 1998
Book
Paperback/Softback
284 pages
978-0-521-64612-3 (ISBN)
Description
Edith Wharton: Matters of Mind and Spirit, first published in 1995, makes the case for Wharton as a novelist of morals rather than of manners; a novelist who sought answers to profound spiritual and metaphysical questions. Focusing on Wharton's treatment of Anglicanism, Calvinism, Transcendentalism, and Catholicism, Carol Singley analyzes the short stories and seven novels in the light of religious and philosophical developments in Wharton's life and fiction. Singley situates Wharton in the context of turn-of-the-century science, historicism, and aestheticism, reading her religious and philosophical outlook as an evolving response to the cultural crisis of belief. She invokes the dynamics of class and gender as central to Wharton's quest, describing how the author accepted and yet transformed both the classical and Christian traditions that she inherited. By locating Wharton in the library rather than the drawing room, Matters of Mind and Spirit gives this writer her literary and intellectual due, and offers fresh ways of interpreting her life and fiction.
Reviews / Votes
'... Whartonians and Americanists will welcome this book.' American Literature 'The strength of Singley's vision lies in its final refusal to categorize Wharton's thought ... Matters of Mind and Spirit marks a new trend in Wharton criticism.' Modern Fiction StudiesMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
465 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-64612-3 (9780521646123)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
Introduction; 1. Priestess; 2. Spiritual homelessness; 3. Calvinist 'moral tortures'; 4. Fragile freedoms; 5. Platonic idealism; 6. Catholicism: fulfillment or concession; Works cited; Notes.