Does The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton fit the definition of a novel of manners?
sfwriter Teacher Community / Jr. College Associate Editor Scribe $(document).ready(function() { $(‘a.toggle_expert_titles’).click(function() { $(‘#show_expert_titles’).toggle(); return false; }); }); A “novel of manners” is a subset of the novel form, but it does not preclude a work from being a classic. “If, as in the writings of Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, and John P. Marquand, a realistic novel focuses on the customs, conversation, and ways of thinking and valuing of the upper social class, it is often called a novel of manners. ” (Abrams 200) The Custom of the Country certainly falls within this definition. Undine, who comes from a successful but essentially middle-class family from Apex City, Kansas, breaks into the highest social ranks of New York. She even marries into one of the oldest and most respected families of Old New York society, the Marvels. All this is allowed not because of Undine’s goodness, the brilliance of her conversation, or the worth and likability of her pare
