Scribble Print

  • Home
  • Contact Us

Exploring the Gothic Story – Afterward by Edith Wharton

December 10, 2015 By Hollis

Edith Wharton was an acclaimed American author who in her writing career won many international accolades including Pulitzer Prize in 1920 and nomination for Nobel Prize in Literature consecutively in 1927, 1928 and 1930. ‘Afterward’ is one of the finest works in Wharton’s oeuvre displaying all her characteristic literary elements and conceptions in full force. If she is today known for her brilliant novels and short stories that portray her natural wit coupled up with grave psychological and social insights into the privileged class of America, the Afterward by Edith Wharton has all these traits in the finest manner possible.

Following the great tradition of ghost story with social themes

For years telling a suspense filled ghost story with psychological and social overtones had created a volume of writing representing different types of prose and literary styles. The gothic horror and ghostly elements of Victorian era had been incorporated in many famous stories of that era. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is a great example of this evolving genre of fiction. Wharton knowing that this idiom of suspense can be useful to portray her characters in the light of psychological focus, she had written several such stories and even published a complete book comprising them. While these stories on the surface level are sure to give you an experience ridden with suspense for the unpredictable, their underlying preoccupation with socially ridiculous characters had made the storyline equally significant as a literary commentary on society.

Development of the storyline and suspense

The suspense takes over the story as Mary and the interchangeable narrator voice in her place, continues to describe a story concerning a person named Ned until she realizes that something unexpected is at stake because the ghost of the story arrived in the doorstep. In spite of the ridiculousness of the tale to our matured ears, the literary skills never broke the suspense loose and easily purport us to the world of unexpected and unknown. The character of Mary with her ignorance of the husband’s business helps weaving the plot and corresponding suspense even better. Though there is not a straightforward moral that one can draw from the storyline, at least we can sense that the author is suggesting against our long held misconception about our so called knowledge of people around us. Anyone loved and wanted too much may ultimately bring us sadness. This has been exemplified with a gritty storytelling and development of the thrilling plot so characteristic of Edith Wharton ghost stories.

Exploring the Gothic Story - Afterward by Edith Wharton

A fantastic gothic story but with a difference

‘Afterward’ carries an array of elements reminiscent of American Gothic style of writing. Numerous characteristic Gothic elements like incorporation of a supernatural theme and addressing a ghost in all familiarity, a dark and shadowed settings, the main character is often taking refuge in oblivion and reference to architectural elements like missing passages and above all suppressed secrets or truths from the yester years, all these perfectly gave the settings of a typical Gothic horror story, though Wharton carefully avoided the extravaganza of horror and rather concentrated on vivid development on the suspense that ultimately would reveal the denied secret to the readers and everyone. As explained by the scholars on Gothic fiction (www.wisegeek.org/what-characterizes-gothic-fiction.htm), a typical strange relationship with the very familiar one is the quintessential trait of them and in that respect the present story perfectly fits in this category.

Multifaceted conflicts of interests among characters

Any major work of fiction invariably has several conflicting characters incorporating their individual flavor, point of view and contradictions. The present story is no different in this regard. While exploring the memories gradually by the central character it explores several characters along with their conflicts of interest, personal attributes and conflicts and contradictions that exist not only among men or women but on a larger plane between man and the society. This shows Wharton’s infallible preoccupation with the social criticism that she elaborately stressed across almost all her works. The setting is perfect and the mood of the storytelling had been created with extreme care and moving back and forth in capturing the memory by the protagonist had been done with astute clarity except the fact that for a twenty first century reader using the third person narration along with the protagonist seems to be a cliché literary style.

With a rich, dark, mystery ridden setting in the countryside of Nineteenth century England and with a remoteness and historical aura and secretive atmosphere surrounding it, the reader gets more than what is required to get mentally delivered in a different time-space and this is one of the biggest praiseworthy attribute of this story. Ghost in this story served a significant symbolic role as well. When bringing ghosts with them the residents of the house do not have knowledge of it until much later when the damage is done. Thus ghosts actually work towards shattering the dull aristocratic idyllic life and make it stand on its tiptoe.

Share this:

  • Share
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • Print
  • Email

Related posts:

  1. The Tale of Anna Estcourt – The Benefactress by Elizabeth Von Arnim A beautiful female protagonist, who even in her mid- twenties, refuses to get married in...
  2. Torn Between Aristocracy and Humanity – The Patrician by John Galsworthy John Galsworthy was an English novelist and playwright and one of the most popular writers...
  3. THE MYSTERY OF THE SEA Bram Stoker – Thrilling Secrets First published in the US in 1902, this excellent mystery laden novel is totally meant...
  4. A Brief Review of the Benefactress by Elizabeth Von Arnim The Benefactress by Elizabeth Von Arnim, a somewhat fairy tale story begins like this: When...

Filed Under: Literature

News Letter

We deliver the updates to you. Just sign up here!

Recent Posts

  • Why Not Cleaning a Grease Trap is a Costly Mistake?
  • Why Should You Get the Restaurant Grease Trap Cleaned Regularly?
  • Grease Trap: Cleaning and Maintenance
  • The Top Four UX Design Questions that Interviewers Ask
  • Top Five Questions to Ask When Hiring a Freelance Web Designer

Categories

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Fashion
  • Home
  • Shopping
  • Technology
  • Clothing
  • Fitness
  • Recruitment
  • Literature
  • Appliances
  • Microscopes
  • Games
  • Locks and Safes
  • Boats and Yachts
  • HVAC
  • Copywriter
  • Publishing
  • Everything Else
  • Human Resource
  • Metal
  • Industrial
  • Painting
  • Law
  • Cleaning Tips
  • SEO
  • Web Design

Archives

  • December 2019
  • August 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
Subscribe via RSS

Find Us

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter

Popular posts

  • Cadmium Plating Process – The Various Kinds of Substances Used in Metal Plating
  • Five Important Stages of Wire Harness Design
  • The Adventure of the Black Lady – Aphra Behn – A Light Read
  • Five Reasons to Use Inverted Microscopes over Regular Microscopes
  • Exploring the Gothic Story – Afterward by Edith Wharton

Links

  • Terms of Usage
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Scribble Print. All Information on This Website is Deemed Reliable but Not Guaranteed.

Tweet
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.