Why Is Edith Wharton Important

Edith Wharton was a woman born into all the luxuries the late 19th century had to offer. None of the travels or precious extremities she was provided with however were enough for the young Edith Wharton. She desired to be more than a simple ornament to her husband. A hunger for knowledge and a love of literature were her driving forces in life. This coupled with an exemplary education in Europe by exquisite tutors was the foundation of an effective and accomplished author. She is uniquely important for her articulate and ironic stories of the aristocratic New York elite. She received countless awards through her writing including the Pulitzer Prize in 1920 for her novel “The Age of Innocence”, she was also the first women awarded an honorary …show more content…
In truth, there was a secret resentment on the part of Mrs. Slade, for she learned that Mrs. Ansley had gone "to meet the man [she] was engaged to" because she had written the letter that took her to the rendez-vous (1702). In a twist of fate, however, Mrs. Ansley had answered the letter, and this action is what brought Delphin Slade to her. They did, in fact, meet and went into the Coloseum. As Mrs. Slade had hoped then, Mrs. Ansley became very ill with the "Roman Fever." But, Mrs. Slade tells Mrs. Ansley, she regrets that her friend became so sick.

Mrs. Ansley is upset by the revelation because she has cherished the letter all these years as the only letter of Delphin's that she had. While Mrs. Slade feels some regret, she defends her actions by observing that Mrs. Ansley could not have been too in love with Delphin because she quickly married after she became well. In a moment of truth, Mrs. Ansley apologizes for taking Delphin that night. But, Mrs. Slade mitigates this apology by stating,
“Yes; I was beaten there. But I oughtn’t to begrudge it to you, I suppose. At the end of all these years. After all I had everything; I had him for twenty-five years. And you had nothing but that one letter that he didn’t write.”