The reasons of the dilemma between individual desires and social priorities in Edith Wharton's novels

Edith Wharton?s The Age of Innocence (1920) and The House of Mirth (1905) are discussed in this study as they depict the Gilded Age that emerged during the years after the Civil War (from 1870s to 1900) with its most distinctive aspects. Although Wharton spent most of her life out of America, in her novels she illustrates a New York society in which the wealthy set is dominant, social conventions are regarded as priorities and even, when necessary, the individuals are sacrificed for these conventions. The conventions, social life, men - women relationships, prejudices and morals of the time are presented in detail. Wharton depicts a society dominated by money and, people in that society are accepted or denounced according to their wealth. Unlike these two novels, in Ethan Frome (1911), an impoverished family and the members? lives in a small village are penned.Wharton herself lived a distressing life. Raised to be an ideal Victorian girl, she encountered problems in her family and marriage. She often had difficulties to adopt the suffocating conventions of her social circle and these led her into personal dilemmas. Her family preferred her to get married, but she wanted to become a writer. In her marriage, her husband?s mental instability and his relationship with a young woman which led to their divorce became a problematic period for Wharton. These experiences of the writer are also reflected in the characters she depicts: in The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, the effect of social conventions on individuals is considerably felt. In The House of Mirth, a woman who is raised to marry, just like Wharton, is portrayed. In Ethan Frome, Zeena is a sickly woman and she leads her husband to financial and spiritual problems. The common point of The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome is that main male characters love other women. Much as they live in distinct societies and conditions, characters share a common feature: their social priorities overwhelm what they want to do and lead them to dilemma. As they cannot set a balance between their priorities and the social environment they live in, they are stuck in difficult positions as a result of which they live unhappy lives. These positions are presented along with the reasons leading the characters to these points. In addition, how their choices affect their lives is highlighted. Each character is influenced by this process in different ways:At the beginning of The Age of Innocence, Newland Archer is about to marry May Welland who is suitable for the society with all her features, but Archer falls in love with Countess Ellen Olenska, who is his wife?s cousin just returning from Europe. He will either marry May and maintain his social position or go to distant places with the Countess and be excluded from the society he lives in. Newland prefers to marry May and he keeps his love for the Countess for long years in his heart. Here we understand that Archer has a dilemma due to his fear of losing his social status. In The House of Mirth, Lily Bart is a character who is in the quest for a wealthy spouse so as to gain status in the society. On the other hand, she loves Selden who is a lawyer from the middle class. As Selden cannot provide her with the prosperous life she desired, she keeps herself away from him. At the end of the novel, she is not able to reach either of her desires ? wealth and Selden ? and even if not intentionally, she commits suicide and dies. In Ethan Frome, Ethan leads a life with his hypochondriac wife Zeena who wears him away both financially and spiritually. One day, a young and beautiful girl named Mattie who is his wife?s cousin settles the farm in order to take care of his wife and household. Ethan falls in love with Mattie and he also learns that his love is reciprocal. However, when jealous Zeena is aware of their love, and wants to send Mattie from the house, the lovers who could not tolerate breaking up resolve to commit suicide. At the last moment, Ethan thinks that his wife could not overcome the hard conditions under which they live alone, because their saw-mill and farm are mortgaged. They also have no money sufficient enough to get by. Therefore, Ethan avoids the suicide and he and Mattie are involved in the accident disabling them both and leaving them dependent on Zeena.Another reason leading the characters to dilemma is the Victorian morality. In The Age of Innocence, May, being aware of the love between Ellen and her husband, tells Ellen that she is pregnant in order to keep her away from her husband and Ellen leaves the city at the end. Learning he is going to have a child, Archer does not leave May and she regains her husband even if she leaves him in despair. In The House of Mirth, Bertha Dorset causes Lily to be ostracized from the wealthy set and her family circle, gossiping about her flirtation with her husband. Afterwards, in order not to be called as mistress, Lily avoids herself making debut into the wealthy group which she desires most and begins to lead a life in poverty. In Ethan Frome, Ethan?s thinking of his wife even on the verge of death could be also dealt in ethical points.Key Words : Wharton, Dilemma, Personal Desires, Social Priorities