A few months ago, I wrote about arguing for Wharton’s reversal of the feral tale in her novel Twilight Sleep. I have taken that idea and tweaked it a little bit. Here’s a section of thesis that talks about the New Man Dexter Manford’s attempt to “civilize” the flapper, his daughter-in-law Lita:
Sep
30
Scientific Management in the Home
My research has taken a turn to thinking about how scientific management in the home affects children. I think I am going to argue that Wharton depicts the application of Taylorism to the home as faulty and the attempt as damaging to children because it strives them into the products rather than members of the family. Here is some background information on scientific management and home economics:
Aug
25
Biltmore
Last weekend I visiting Biltmore, the Vanderbilt Estate in Asheville, North Carolina to compare this home with Wharton’s house. The author specifically said she did not want to build a home as large and imposing as George Vanderbilt’s. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take picture inside Biltmore, but here is a picture of the exterior view. 
Wharton’s home totaled 16,000 square feet while Biltmore boasts 175,000 square feet. Moreover, Vanderbilt’s home contains 250 rooms. In comparison, The Mount seems more like a home than Biltmore. Even the tourist experience is very different in the two homes. At the Mount, visitors are allowed to sit on furniture and only on of the rooms, her library, is roped off from the visitor area. While tours are encouraged, visitors may wander through the rooms freely. At Biltmore, roped walkways guide visitors through the rooms systematically. Even for the modern day guest, the Mount allows for more freedom and comfort than does Biltmore.
Jul
24
Field Trip
Yesterday I visited The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Massachusetts. (Kudos to my dad for joining me!) Since I am studying how her characters create and use space, it was very useful to get a first hand look at what she considered an ideal space. The construction and decoration of The Mount is largely based on Wharton’s first book, The Decoration of Houses, co-authored with Ogden Codman, Jr. This text emphasizes simplicity, symmetry, and function in homes.
Jun
30
The Mother’s Recompense
As I mentioned, I have been thinking about Wharton’s novel The Mother’s Recompense this week. This novel poses some problems for tracing the themes of childhood and space. The story opens when Kate Clephane, middle-aged resident of the French Riviera who left her husband, child, and home almost two decades earlier, is called back to New York by her now adult daughter Anne. Thus while the mother/child relationship is the focus of this text, Anne’s childhood doesn’t exist for the mother or for the reader and the child’s space has already been redecorated to be an adult’s room.
Jun
28
A Feral Girl?
For the past few weeks, I’ve been reading, reading, reading, coming up with some ideas for the direction of my thesis, and eventually deciding against most of them. One idea that has stuck around (for a few weeks anyway) involves the feral child.
Apr
22
Edith Wharton and Children’s Spaces
Hello! My name is Katelyn Durkin and this summer I will be studying the relationship between Edith Wharton’s portrayal of children’s spaces and contemporary theories of child development. I am very excited to have to have the opportunity to explore Wharton’s novels extensively and to produce an original critical work.