El auto-exilio como estrategia de adecuación al medio : el caso de May Welland en "The Age of Innocence", de Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton's The Age oflrmocence (1920) presents two different types of exile, enacted in the female characters of Ellen Olenska and May Welland. The former's is a literal exile, enforced on her by the rigidity of social norms and her own yeaming for freedom. She is a representative of...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Espejo Romero, Ramón
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2000
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)
Repositorio:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/5038
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10017/5038
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Historia de América
America-History
Filología
Philology
Descripción
Sumario:Edith Wharton's The Age oflrmocence (1920) presents two different types of exile, enacted in the female characters of Ellen Olenska and May Welland. The former's is a literal exile, enforced on her by the rigidity of social norms and her own yeaming for freedom. She is a representative of proto-feminism and with slight diferences can be met on a number of literary works from the epoch. May Welland is, due to her singularity, a much more complex and hallenging character. Hers is a voluntary self-exile stemming from a need to survive in a tremendously exacting environment and leading her to deny herself and strive to become what others expect her to be. Edith Wharton's technique in the depiction of May Welland is far from explicit and the true nature of the character remains considerably hidden throughout the novel. This work tries to evidence that most critical readings -not to mention those of general readersof May Welland have been simplistic, distorted and too determined by Newland Archer's view of her. Wharton's character should however prompt a reflection on the harshness of an environment in which some women could not afford being themselves.