Wharton, Women, and Authorship at the Turn of the Century

Abstract

Edith Wharton’s development as an author occurs at a time when ideological, economic, and historical forces governing ideas about sexual difference, gender roles, and the profession of writing were undergoing significant changes. Julia Kristeva’s concept of the “speaking subject” provides a useful starting point for exploring the ways in which these changing cultural forces shaped Wharton as a woman and author. Kristeva’s theory asserts that “a theory of meaning & must necessarily be a theory of the speaking subject” (27). And for Kristeva, the speaking subject is always embedded within a network of personal experiences and historical and cultural conditions.¹ Thus, we not only view Wharton as an author making choices about what story to tell and how to tell that story but also acknowledge the psychological, economic, historical, and cultural factors that influenced these choices.²