Thursday, October 27, 2005
"The Old Maid" by Edith Wharton
While reading "The Old Maid", Edith Wharton's most famous novella in "Old New York", I was at first amused by the high level of melodramatics that occurred within the story. Seeing Charlotte and Delia gasping and crying their way through their confrontations, throwing themselves extravagantly onto chairs and flailing around their handkerchiefs at every opportunity, was reminiscent of some sort of "Dynasty"- or "The Young and the Restless"- style soap opera.
Reading “The Old Maid”, I strangely felt a lack of allegiance to any of the characters in the story. Delia is hardly a suitable protagonist to root for. For the most part, her actions are self-concerned and often ill advised. Every time that someone comes to her in search for some kind of advice, especially Charlotte, she sends them in the direction that would be most to her benefit, and then she justifies it in the name of the Ralstons. This is first seen in Book One, when she takes in Charlotte’s daughter only after seeing her and realizing that she wanted to keep Clem’s child near her, and again when she advises Joe Ralston not to marry Charlotte, thus sealing her fate as an old maid. In Book Two, it is seen most obviously (and most irritatingly) when Delia considers intervening in Tina’s marriage to Lanning Halsey because she would prefer to have Tina stay with her until she grows old.
However, Charlotte is far from a fitting protagonist also. Within the confines of the story, she shifts from manipulated and desperate to somewhat shrewish and miserable. She falls into Delia’s self-interested meddling time after time, from when Delia takes Tina in to when she squashes Charlotte’s plans to leave high-society New York and has Tina’s last name changed to Ralston. By Book Two, she is a tired old woman whom everyone looks at as an old maid.I liked the way that Edith Wharton used Delia’s relationship with the children in the story to signify her true desires out of her life. She had her own two children out of desperation, an attempt to arouse her affection for her husband – to bring them together. But to her dismay, her plan fails, and consequently her children are like acquaintances to her. She sees them as “such darlings,” but she is as involved in their upbringing as Delia allows Charlotte to be involved in Tina’s. Tina, however, though not a product of Delia, is a product of someone that she loved, namely Clem Spender. Accordingly, she dotes on Tina and is actively involved in her life, whereas hired help tends to Delia’s children. Similarly, Delia engrosses herself in Tina’s wedding planning, as opposed to her “twelve dozen of everything” approach to little Delia’s nuptials.
Reading “The Old Maid”, I strangely felt a lack of allegiance to any of the characters in the story. Delia is hardly a suitable protagonist to root for. For the most part, her actions are self-concerned and often ill advised. Every time that someone comes to her in search for some kind of advice, especially Charlotte, she sends them in the direction that would be most to her benefit, and then she justifies it in the name of the Ralstons. This is first seen in Book One, when she takes in Charlotte’s daughter only after seeing her and realizing that she wanted to keep Clem’s child near her, and again when she advises Joe Ralston not to marry Charlotte, thus sealing her fate as an old maid. In Book Two, it is seen most obviously (and most irritatingly) when Delia considers intervening in Tina’s marriage to Lanning Halsey because she would prefer to have Tina stay with her until she grows old.
However, Charlotte is far from a fitting protagonist also. Within the confines of the story, she shifts from manipulated and desperate to somewhat shrewish and miserable. She falls into Delia’s self-interested meddling time after time, from when Delia takes Tina in to when she squashes Charlotte’s plans to leave high-society New York and has Tina’s last name changed to Ralston. By Book Two, she is a tired old woman whom everyone looks at as an old maid.I liked the way that Edith Wharton used Delia’s relationship with the children in the story to signify her true desires out of her life. She had her own two children out of desperation, an attempt to arouse her affection for her husband – to bring them together. But to her dismay, her plan fails, and consequently her children are like acquaintances to her. She sees them as “such darlings,” but she is as involved in their upbringing as Delia allows Charlotte to be involved in Tina’s. Tina, however, though not a product of Delia, is a product of someone that she loved, namely Clem Spender. Accordingly, she dotes on Tina and is actively involved in her life, whereas hired help tends to Delia’s children. Similarly, Delia engrosses herself in Tina’s wedding planning, as opposed to her “twelve dozen of everything” approach to little Delia’s nuptials.
# posted by Kevin5671 @ 3:38 PM 
