Edith Wharton's Evolutionary Monster; Undine Spragg of The Custom of the Country

Abstract

In Wharton's own words she describes her intent for the book, "I argued that in The Custom of the Country I was chronicling the career of a particular young woman, and that to whatever hemisphere her fortunes carried her, my task was to record her ravages and pass on to her next phase" (A Backward Glance 920). Chapter One explores Wharton's first task in the chronicle, and this involves tracing Undine's ascent from an obscure Midwestern town of Apex City to the elite section of Old New York through her marriage to Ralph Marvell, a member of one of Old New York's most prestigious families. . . . Chapter Two examines Undine's travels across the Atlantic for her next conquest of aristocratic French society, which she achieves by marrying the Count Raymond de Chelles. The prestige of the French aristocracy outweighs that of Old New York, and the appeal of belonging to the French aristocracy temporary appeases Undine's appetite for amusing diversions. . . . Chapter Two relies on Wharton's nonfiction prose, French Ways and Their Meaning, A Backward Glance, and A Motor-Flight Through France, to elucidate the similarities between Old New York and France, and it uses the nonfiction prose to highlight the importance of reverence for the past and traditions that French culture especially values. . . . Neither aristocratic Old New York nor aristocratic France totally pleases Undine, and she ultimately remarries her original -- and now fourth -- husband, Elmer Moffatt, a compatriot from Apex City. Chapter Three discusses the circular path of Undine's career, and it considers what type of progress Undine has made and what type of progress she has not made. Undine and Moffatt share many common traits, including ruthless behavior, a longing for ostentatious displays of wealth, and rampant consumerism, and, of all Undine's husbands, she and Moffatt seem to be the best match. Although Undine and Moffatt resemble each other and seem wellmatched, complete happiness continues to elude her. Chapter Three concludes with the insight that Undine will never achieve happiness and contentment unless she reassesses her values and her goals in life. [From Introduction]