My Favorite Work

I really enjoyed Edith Wharton’s works.  I had never read her before, and I really enjoyed her ability to tackle and look at messy, real-world issues.  She does not shy away from topics like divorce and the awkwardness accompanying remarriages.  I found her short story “The Other Two” very comical. 

While I enjoyed all her work, my favorite would be Summer.  I liked that the story was not a traditional love story where guy and girl meet, fall in love, and end up together.  I thought that it provided good insights into real life, where everything may not be a fairy tale, but things usually end up working out.  In my opinion, the drastically tragic and the drastically romantic views often found in literature or movies are interesting and perhaps even enjoyable to read or watch, but they do not provide a realistic look at life.  Rarely in life does everything work out perfectly, yet at the same time, life rarely ends in absolute tragedy.  Even in the midst of bad times, there are bright spots.  To me, Summer captures this truth of reality really well.  While Charity falls for a man who appears to use her for sex without much intention to marry her and winds up pregnant, her life does not fall completely apart.  Mr. Royall marries her and gives her security and a home for her and her child.  She may not end up with the love of her life, but a man who loves her and wants to protect her marries her.  She and her child will have a comfortable life with Mr. Royall.  It all worked out.  The semblance of a happy ending – the real-life happy ending – makes Summer an intriguing work because it examines real relationships and real truths applicable to daily life.