Solitude and Society in the Works of Herman Melville and Edith Wharton (Contributions to the Study of American Literature)

The interplay between solitude and society was a particularly persistent theme in nineteenth-century American literature. In confronting the antithetical states of isolation and community, these writers posed a number of questions concerning the relationships among God, humanity, and the universe. Herman Melville argued that while we are free to choose how we conduct our lives, whether in solitude or society, we cannot escape our essential condition of alienation. Writing some fifty years later, Edith Wharton reached the same conclusion. While scholars have largely disregarded Melville's influence on Wharton, this book demonstrates that she read a significant portion of his writings, that she reflected on his works, and that her consideration of his importance emerged during significant moments in her life. By examining a broad range of works written by both authors, this volume argues that Wharton was substantially influenced by Melville's concept of the alienated individual and by his views on solitude and society.

The interplay between solitude and society was a particularly persistent theme in nineteenth-century American literature, though writers approached this theme in different ways. Poe explored the metaphysical significance of isolation and held solitude in high esteem; Hawthorne viewed the theme in moral terms and examined the obligation of each individual to the larger community; and Emerson maintained that the contradictory states of self-reliance and solidarity are fundamental to human happiness. Herman Melville emerged with an ontological response to this issue. Questioning the nature of being, he argued that humans are essentially isolated creatures. While he grants that we are free to choose how we conduct our lives, whether in solitude or in society, we cannot escape the essential condition of our alienation. Thus in Moby-Dick, he coins the term Isolato to signify the inherent separateness of all individuals. Writing some fifty years later, Edith Wharton reached the same conclusion. This book argues that Wharton's views on solitude and society were strongly parallel to those of Melville.

Scholars have generally held that Wharton was primarily influenced by the great English, French, and Russian writers of the nineteenth century; and that with the exception of Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry James, she neglected the influence of American literature almost entirely. This study demonstrates that Wharton read a significant portion of Melville's writings, that she reflected on the nature and achievement of his works, and that her consideration of his importance emerged during very significant moments in her life, when she was forced to grapple with her own place as an individual in relation to a larger community. Though Melville and Wharton initially seem disparate, this book shows that they had much in common. By studying the two authors side by side, this volume reveals that they shared a similar way of seeing the world, particularly with respect to their considerations of solitude and society. Through their solitary characters, Melville and Wharton question the relationship of self and society and thus engage a universal problem of special interest to the nineteenth century.

Contents 10 Acknowledgments 12 Preface 14 1. Melville and Wharton: The American Diptych 18 2. The Devil's Children: The Isolation of Self-Reliance 40 3. The Mysterious Stranger 74 4. The Sociable Isolato 104 5. The Sexual Transgressor 138 Bibliography 160 Index 168 A 168 B 168 C 168 D 169 E 169 F 169 G 169 H 169 I 169 J 169 K 170 L 170 M 170 N 170 O 170 P 170 R 171 S 171 T 171 V 171 W 171 9780313304071 Argues that Wharton drew extensively from Melville's works to explore the relationship between the solitary individual and society.