Oxford, England, UK (The Pretext)

Oxford is a city located in the middle of southern England north west of London and is home to the famous Oxford University (University of Oxford, 2021). Since teaching existed in Oxford since the year 1096 it is the oldest university in the English-speaking world with a rich history in different eras of humanity (Introduction and History, 2021). Furthermore, a lot of famous people studied at Oxford, e.g., Professor Stephen Hawking, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and many more (Famous Oxonians, 2021). Another feature of Oxford University is the impressive architecture of the campus.

Oxford is only shortly mentioned in the short story while Mrs. Margaret Ransom thinks about how she and Guy Dawnish looked at the photographs he brought with him. One of the photographs was taken at “his rooms in Oxford” (Lewis, 1968, p. 638) what could be a hint that Guy Dawnish probably studied there before he went to Wentworth but it is not further explained. It only shows once again the wealthy and intelligent background of Guy Dawnish and his family.

Sources:

Lewis, R. W. B. (1968). The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

“Famous Oxonians”. University of Oxford, 2021, https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/oxford-people/famous-oxonians. Accessed May 6, 2021.

“Introduction and History”. University of Oxford, 2021, https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/history. Accessed May 6, 2021.

“University of Oxford”. University of Oxford, 2021, https://www.ox.ac.uk/. Accessed May 6, 2021.