Edith Wharton Letter - House of Mirth

[mkcbunny]

Saw this article in the New York Times about an Edith Wharton letter concerning the end of House of Mirth. I thought Wharton fans might be interested.

Link to NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/books/21wharton.html?pagewanted=all)

I'm not sure that the letter does indicate anything about the ending, because writers change their minds all the time. Even if she asked the question intending for Lily to commit suicide, that doesn't mean that, in the end, she decided on something so specific. She might have worked it all through and decided on ambiguity.

That said, I think it was suicide.

It must be exciting to have a letter like that in your first edition.

[a_sharp]

Thanks for the link. I found the article fascinating. While I'm not a Wharton fan, I think I'll pick up The House of Mirth for a read.

[KTC]

Thanks for the link. What a great discovery and article. It was suicide in my head. I love a good suicide. Now I want to reread Mirth.

[donut]

The letter is certainly interesting, but I don't see how it changes the book. Obviously Wharton intended it to be ambiguous, and no extra-textual information is going to change what's on the page. I did like this comment, though, from Omnivoracious (http://www.omnivoracious.com/2007/11/did-she-or-didn.html):

The ambiguity remains for me, but what I love now is that can now hear Wharton's charmingly businesslike tone behind the artful opacity of the finished product.

[mkcbunny]

On a tangential note, the Terence Davies film adaptation of HoM is quite good. IMHO.

[Soccer Mom]

very interesting. I always loved House of Mirth and I considered it a suicide on Lily's part.