Summer by Edith Wharton (February 3-4, 2004)
Edith Wharton knows how to portray universal emotions of women. In Summer (1917), the novella counterpart to her winter-themed story Ethan Frome, she portrays the growth of a young woman named Charity Royall. Charity came from the mountain and was adopted by a family in New England. In North Dormer, she is kept in check from her true wants by the confines of her upbringing, the town she feels trapped in and the fact that she has no prospects. In spite of these constraints, she is a thoughtful young woman with which women can still identify with nearly 90 years later.
After her adoptive mother dies, Charity is left alone with the Mr. Royall. He lusts after his adoptive daughter, and tries entering her bedroom, but Charity refuses him. She gets a job as a librarian to earn a small living of her own. She has little interest in her job, but defends it because it belongs to her.
She falls for visitor Lucius Harney as the summer goes on. She holds herself back, not wanting to be loose, and to prove to herself how serious she is and unlike other women. Eventually, both she and Lucius have secret meeting, and she is thrilled with passion for her new lover. Ignorantly, Charity believes her experience is not just that of a man fooling around on a vacation, and that Lucius is truly devoted to a life with her. Unfortunately, he is engaged to another woman in town. Promising to come back for her, he leaves Charity and her happiness falls away with the summer.
Alone and now pregnant, Charity is left with the choice of whether she should have an abortion, and what she should do with her life. She returns to her birthplace in the mountains and sees her mother on her deathbed. The mountain she looked to as her escape is not a place she wants to be. She finally agrees to marry Mr. Royall, seeing no alternative. She can’t achieve her dream of a love-filled romance and marriage, but she escapes ruining herself as an impoverished, single mother or turning to prostitution. As with the changes in seasons, Charity can’t cling to her dream. She has to move on and seek what she can from life. The story is simple and Charity’s feelings are clear. It is understandable why Wharton ranked Summer as one of her favorites among her novels.
