Glossary of Interesting Terms

Edith Wharton explores the colors and confines of convention, plays with reader's expectations, explores archetypes, integrates mythological and Christian references into her stories. Another key characteristic of her writing is her masterly command of the English language. This shows itself in two distinct ways.

The first is Wharton's tendency to have her characters "agonize over the use and abuse of the English language, over the impossibility of expressing reality in language, and over the inadequacy of language as a means of communication."(Emsley 2003, p. 23)

The second is the sophisticated use of her extensive vocabulary. Wharton tends to use highly nuanced and differentiated language; this helps to create a very expressive and engaging flow of text. Not all of the terms she uses in her stories are known to modern readers or to learners of English.

Below is a list of interesting and relevant terms key to understanding or further unlocking the subtext of the respective stories, as compiled by the students who composed the notes on the stories.