In Edith Wharton’s novel, Summer, she focuses much of the book on the idea of liberation. Charity, the central character of the book has received a sort of liberation in several different ways; she was saved from The Mountain, she was relieved from her boring life in North Dormer by a handsome young outsider named Harney, and then by her adopted father Mr. Royall when she finds herself in a bit of a predicament. The interesting theme of liberation goes much further than Charity’s continual escape from certain doom. A look at the author’s life shows a much deeper sense of the word “liberation” and while we cannot assume that any of Edith’s personal life plays a part of her novel, we can certainly use her personal experience to broaden the theme of liberation in her novel.
According to Elizabeth Ammons, while Edith Wharton was living in France during the First World War she was very active in helping war victims, refugees, and orphaned girls. She “established a lacemaking school…which aided close to 800 childern in 1915 alone” (xvi). Edith provided a way for young women to overcome their circumstances by teaching them a trade
that could be used after the war. In a sense, she liberated them from the world of war and the grotesque realities of life after war. She offered them hope.
Throughout Summer there are themes of liberation seen not only through Charity but through events that occur such as the Fourth of July. And while there are instances of liberation, there are also times in which liberation seems to be suppressed. Such as in Mr. Royall’s speech at Old Home Week in which he expresses his idea to remain where you are in life and “make the best of it” (85). Even the setting of the story, the town of North Dormer, is described as “at all times an empty place”, “small”, and a place in which the women “engaged in languid household duties” (2). It is a place in which the people of North Dormer get stuck and never leave. A place that is referenced to throughout the story and is even more excluded and ominous is The Mountain from which Charity was adopted. The Mountain holds even more connotations of imprisonment that North Dormer. It is described as “a blot” and the people of The Mountain are called “scum” (30).
According to Elizabeth Ammons, while Edith Wharton was living in France during the First World War she was very active in helping war victims, refugees, and orphaned girls. She “established a lacemaking school…which aided close to 800 childern in 1915 alone” (xvi). Edith provided a way for young women to overcome their circumstances by teaching them a trade
that could be used after the war. In a sense, she liberated them from the world of war and the grotesque realities of life after war. She offered them hope.
Throughout Summer there are themes of liberation seen not only through Charity but through events that occur such as the Fourth of July. And while there are instances of liberation, there are also times in which liberation seems to be suppressed. Such as in Mr. Royall’s speech at Old Home Week in which he expresses his idea to remain where you are in life and “make the best of it” (85). Even the setting of the story, the town of North Dormer, is described as “at all times an empty place”, “small”, and a place in which the women “engaged in languid household duties” (2). It is a place in which the people of North Dormer get stuck and never leave. A place that is referenced to throughout the story and is even more excluded and ominous is The Mountain from which Charity was adopted. The Mountain holds even more connotations of imprisonment that North Dormer. It is described as “a blot” and the people of The Mountain are called “scum” (30).
In Edith Wharton’s own life we see her concern for young people, especially young women, knowing that there is always hope. In her novel she related these concerns with her themes and referenced to liberation through her characters, settings, and events. She allows her characters to struggle with the idea of liberation and just what it means to be liberated. For Harney, it was marrying the right girl with the right family and the right money. For Mr. Royall it was marrying Charity. For Charity, it was the assurance that her child would be raised well. Liberation is key throughout Summer and an important and interesting theme to be aware of throughout the novel.
Ammons, Elizabeth. "Introduction". Summer. By Edith Wharton. 1917. New York: Penguin, 1993, vii- xxvi.
Wharton, Edith. Summer. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2006. Print.
You're making a good move to think about how liberation is an important theme in the text. It's interesting that you see Charity as experiencing a type of liberation in securing a healthy home for her child (at least in the case that her child will be provided for). Can you say more about the complexities of this liberation, especially for Charity's character? What personal autonomy does she have to give up in order to protect her child?
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