Detail and Figurative Language Illustrate Differences in Characterization
"In a day when women were to look at and nothing more, they weren't intelligent, they
were fashionable, Edith stood alone" (Ovard, 1). Edith Wharton was born on January 24, 1862
into a tightly controlled, New York society that positively discouraged women from achieving
anything beyond a proper marriage. Her role as a daughter of an aristocratic New York family
was to learn the mannerisms and rituals expected of well-bred young women in those days. Edith
would eventually rebel against this role. As a child she was schooled at home, and she had the
privilege of using her father's extensive library. Therefore, she began to read at an early age and
made up stories which she acted out for her nanny. Later, she would publish her first nonfiction
book, The Decoration of Houses. Edith marries in 1885 and later discovers her husband taking
money from her. She divorces Teddy in 1912 and never marries again. Instead, she devotes her
time to traveling, helping refugees from World War I, and writing. Edith Wharton became one of
America's most prolific and celebrated writers, producing more than forty books, including
authoritative works on architecture, gardens, and interior design. In addition, she was the first
woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "The Age of Innocence" in 1921, and receive an
honorary degree from Yale University. Throughout her life Edith was able to gain success by
overcoming the odds as a female writer. Her nineteenth century novel, Ethan Frome, tells a story
of a man who falls in love with his wife's cousin. The two women who are involved in Ethan's
life are quite different. The author uses detail and figurative language to illustrate the differences
The author uses detail to describe the characterization of Ethan's wrinkled wife, ...