I never really liked her novels, but you’re right - she teaches us why there is, and always needs to be a women’s movement!

My firm belief is that the need for a women’s movement is greater now than it was 40 years ago. Yes, women have gained ground over the decades in terms of gaining better jobs and so forth, but they’re now losing ground they fought so hard for. The U.S. Supreme Court, John McCain, George Bush, et al., all have made decisions detrimental to women. And the Democratic primaries seemed to demean Hillary Clinton’s candidacy, even beyond the disdain that many hold for her personally.

“the House of Mirth” is a beautifully written Edith Wharton novel. A young reader can get a clear view of the desperation and despair of women in a pre-feminist time. Lily is a fictional character, however her social situation is very real and still exists in other countries. The book takes more than one reading as it it easy to be enchanted by Ms. Wharton’s lovely prose. After perhaps 10 readings the ending still saddens me and I try to re-write her life.

This is probably a minority view, but a reader probably has to be at least 25 to appreciate The House of Mirth. The closer the reader is to Lily Bart’s age, the closer the story cuts. Unless she is exceptionally mature and aware, they’re more apt to just nod and say, “oh, that won’t happen to me. I’ll find an appropriately handsome guy who likes the same things as I do to marry me one of these days, lalala.”

In my final year of college I took a class analyzing the work of Edith Wharton vs. Henry James, Edith’s muse. Surely I’d selected the class in error. Who were these people and why was an entire semester devoted to their works? What a joy dissecting their beautifully constructed novels and getting to the root of the novels’ characters.