The Spirit of Life

Overall, the Spirit of Life seems wise and almost omniscient. At the same time the Spirit appears mysterious and very interested in the woman. It seems that the Spirit of Life knows about the spiritual connections between humans in life and death, but brings personal feelings or thoughts into question. As a reader, one might gather that the Spirit wants the woman to reflect on her life, especially on her marriage. It also seems that for the Spirit, life can only be fulfilled if marriage lays the foundation for it (Kornetta 225).

"You were married," said the Spirit, "yet you did not find the fullness of life in your marriage?" (Lewis 14)

During the whole conversation between the Spirit and the woman, the Spirit speaks very calmly to her and only provides her with honest answers. For the Spirit of Life choosing does exist and therefore everyone confronted with their choice for eternity has to decide for themselves; the Spirit only offers compensation and does not force anyone to take the offer.

Bibliographie:

Kornetta, Reiner. Das Korsett im Kopf: Ehe und Ökonomie in den Kurzgeschichten Edith Whartons. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1996. Print. Düsseldorfer Beiträge aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik Bd. 4.

Lewis, R.W.B, ed. The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton. Volume 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968. Print.