England, UK (The Pretext)

England is an island located in the northwest of the European mainland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. Besides Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, England is part of the United Kingdom.

The government of England and the UK is called ‘Her Majesty’s Government’ and is led by the Prime Minister who is The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP (How government works, 2019). The Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II. Despite belonging to the continent Europe, England or rather the United Kingdom does not longer belong to the European Union since the “Brexit” in early 2020. Further, England offers a diverse collection of stunning landmarks. These landmarks include the famous enormous coastline, London in general but also the Victorian architecture or the large number of historical sites (England, 2021).

In the short story “The Pretext” England is the country of origin of Guy Dawnish and the country where all his photographs he brought to Mrs. Margaret Ransom were taken. Maybe Edith Wharton chose England to be a part of her short story because she visited England or especially London numerous times while being a teenager (Wharton, 1964, p. 213 - 24).

Sources:

Wharton, E. (1964). A Backward Glance. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

“England”. Great Britain. VisitBritain/VisitEngland, 2021, https://www.visitbritain.com/de/de/england. Accessed April 27, 2021.

“How government works”. GOV.UK. Government Digital Service, 2019, https://www.gov.uk/government/how-government-works. Accessed April 27, 2021.