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I can understand why this book is considered a masterpiece as Wharton so believably depicts the social climbing of Gilded-Age parvenu Undine Spragg, the book's heroine/anti-heroine. Also, while Wharton beautifully brings to life the New York and European society Undine moves through, she's the kind of social climber who would fit right in with today's world, too.
That said, I kept thinking of Undine as a boring Scarlett O'Hara without a Civil War for suspense. (view spoiler) ...more
That said, I kept thinking of Undine as a boring Scarlett O'Hara without a Civil War for suspense. (view spoiler) ...more
When you've read The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence, many of the themes and styles are repetitive but Wharton's ability to dissect what drives a ruthless social climber is impressive. Apparently her father bore a resemblance to the beleaguered Mr. Spragg who toils to pay for his daughter's limitless desires so she knew well what she was describing (read Jonathan Franzen's piece in the New Yorker). She may have hated her mother, but she is able to bring a brutal honesty that, at moments,
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Oct 25, 2010
SandyC
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