Questions About The Mother's Recompense

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What exactly is meant by the Rector's words "sterile pain" - a phrase that first appears near the end of Chapter 23? These words are repeated a couple more times in the remaining chapters.

Annie Belyak The phrase is also met in the Fruit of the Tree and what I found in the New Edith Wharton studies says that it is meant to describe "pain that lacks n…moreThe phrase is also met in the Fruit of the Tree and what I found in the New Edith Wharton studies says that it is meant to describe "pain that lacks nuance and against which drastic measures must be taken".
Careful, spoiler here about the Fruit of the Tree.
I think in that novel the phrase becomes easier to understand because they are talking about a woman who fell off a hoarse and broke her neck so she couldn't move her body below the neck but remained conscious and suffered great pain. Sterile pain. Because there was nothing but it. (less)

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How does this compare to Sinclair Lewis's Dodsworth?

Sketchbook There is absolutely NO comparison. The EW is a mother-daughter relationship. SL tells of a shallow marriage, w a superficial wife, and how the husband…moreThere is absolutely NO comparison. The EW is a mother-daughter relationship. SL tells of a shallow marriage, w a superficial wife, and how the husband meets a woman of substance. (Dodsworth is the superior novel).(less)

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