Excerpt

Excerpt from The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton — Part 2, by Edith Wharton

But it turned out that in the event they were not destined to, for
within three months of their conversation with Mrs. Stair they were
established at Lyng, and the life they had yearned for to the point of
planning it out in all its daily details had actually begun for them.

It was to sit, in the thick December dusk, by just such a wide-hooded
fireplace, under just such black oak rafters, with the sense that beyond
the mullioned panes the downs were darkening to a deeper solitude: it
was for the ultimate indulgence in such sensations that Mary Boyne had
endured for nearly fourteen years the soul-deadening ugliness of the
Middle West, and that Boyne had ground on doggedly at his engineering
till, with a suddenness that still made her blink, the prodigious
windfall of the Blue Star Mine had put them at a stroke in possession
of life and the leisure to taste it. They had never for a moment meant
their new state to be one of idleness; but they meant to give themselves
only to harmonious activities. She had her vision of painting and
gardening (against a background of gray walls), he dreamed of the
production of his long-planned book on the “Economic Basis of
Culture”; and with such absorbing work ahead no existence could be too
sequestered; they could not get far enough from the world, or plunge
deep enough into the past.

Dorsetshire had attracted them from the first by a semblance of
remoteness out of all proportion to its geographical position. But
to the Boynes it was one of the ever-recurring wonders of the whole
incredibly compressed island--a nest of counties, as they put it--that
for the production of its effects so little of a given quality went
so far: that so few miles made a distance, and so short a distance a
difference.

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Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Edith Wharton’s The Early Short Fiction (Likely from "The Bolton Case" or "Afterward")

This passage is a prime example of Edith Wharton’s (1862–1937) psychological realism, her preoccupation with social class and aspiration, and her keen observation of the American expatriate experience in Europe. Wharton, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author (The Age of Innocence), often explored themes of wealth, displacement, and the illusions of happiness in her works. This excerpt likely comes from one of her ghost stories or psychological tales (possibly "Afterward" or another story in The Early Short Fiction collection), where the idyllic surface of a couple’s dream life conceals deeper anxieties or supernatural undertones.

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Context & Themes

1. The American Dream Abroad

   • The Boynes (Mary and her husband, referred to only as "Boyne") are wealthy Americans who have escaped the "soul-deadening ugliness of the Middle West"—a common trope in Wharton’s work, where Europe represents culture, history, and escape from the crass materialism of America.
   • Their sudden wealth (from the "prodigious windfall of the Blue Star Mine") allows them to purchase a life of leisure and aesthetic refinement—a fantasy many Gilded Age Americans pursued. Wharton, herself a transatlantic figure, often critiqued the naivety of Americans who believed money could buy them into European aristocracy or intellectual fulfillment.

2. The Illusion of Control & the Past’s Haunting Presence

   • The Boynes meticulously planned their ideal life, down to the "daily details"—fireplaces, oak rafters, mullioned windows—suggesting a desire to script their happiness.
   • Yet, the passage hints at irony and foreboding:
     • The phrase "it turned out that in the event they were not destined to" implies that their plans will not unfold as expected (a common Whartonian twist—fate or the supernatural often disrupts human designs).
     • Their obsession with "plunging deep enough into the past" foreshadows ghostly or historical intrusions (a key theme in "Afterward", where a couple’s English country house is haunted by a past crime).

3. Isolation & the Search for Authenticity

   • The Boynes seek "sequestered" existence, believing that remoteness from the world will bring fulfillment.
   • Their choice of Dorsetshire—a rural, historically rich English county—reflects their romanticization of the past, but also their alienation as outsiders. Wharton often portrays Americans in Europe as both enchanted and out of place, clinging to an idealized version of history they don’t fully understand.

4. Work vs. Leisure: The Myth of the "Harmonious" Life

   • They reject "idleness" but also reject industrial labor (Boyne’s "engineering" is left behind for a book on culture).
   • Their planned activities (painting, gardening, writing) are aesthetic and intellectual, reinforcing their class privilege—they can now consume culture rather than produce it in a conventional sense.
   • Wharton subtly questions whether such a life is sustainable or genuine, or if it’s merely a performance of refinement.

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Literary Devices & Stylistic Analysis

1. Irony & Foreshadowing

   • The opening line ("it turned out that in the event they were not destined to") is dramatic irony—the reader senses that their plans will go awry, though the characters do not.
   • The sudden wealth ("prodigious windfall") feels too good to be true, hinting at unearned privilege or future consequences.
   • The obsessive detailing of their dream (fireplace, rafters, panes) makes it feel overly constructed, as if they are trying to force reality into a fantasy.

2. Sensory & Atmospheric Imagery

   • Wharton paints a vivid, almost cloying picture of their idealized life:
     • "thick December dusk" → gloomy, foreboding (December often symbolizes death or endings).
     • "black oak rafters" → dark, heavy, possibly oppressive (wood can symbolize the past’s weight).
     • "downs darkening to a deeper solitude" → isolation as both desired and eerie.
   • The contrasts between light (fireplace) and dark (outside) suggest warmth vs. encroaching threat.

3. Diction & Tone

   • Elevated, almost pretentious language ("harmonious activities," "economic basis of culture") mocks the Boynes’ self-importance.
   • "Soul-deadening ugliness of the Middle West" → Wharton’s own disdain for provincial America (she often contrasted it with Europe’s "civilization").
   • "Nest of counties" → England as small but potent, reinforcing the compressed, almost claustrophobic nature of their new life.

4. Symbolism

   • The Fireplace → Domestic comfort, but also consumption (their wealth "burns" like fire).
   • The Mullioned Panes → **A barrier between them and reality; they see the world through a distorted, romanticized lens.
   • The "Economic Basis of Culture" Book → Boyne’s attempt to intellectualize wealth, but also a hollow pursuit (Wharton often depicted American men as ineffectual when removed from business).

5. Juxtaposition

   • Past vs. Present: They flee the modern (America, engineering, the "soul-deadening" Middle West) for the past (England, gray walls, history)—but the past may not be as benign as they think.
   • Wealth vs. Labor: Their money comes suddenly and effortlessly (a mine windfall), yet they disdain idleness—a contradiction Wharton highlights.

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Significance & Possible Interpretations

1. The Fragility of the American Expatriate Dream

   • The Boynes represent many wealthy Americans of Wharton’s era who bought European estates to escape their roots, only to find alienation or unseen horrors.
   • Their meticulous planning is both their strength and their flaw—they believe they can control fate, but Wharton’s stories often show how the past (or the supernatural) disrupts such illusions.

2. Wealth as Both Liberation and Curse

   • The Blue Star Mine windfall is unearned, suggesting luck rather than merit—a critique of Gilded Age capitalism.
   • Their wealth allows them to pursue art and intellect, but also cuts them off from reality—they are consumers of culture, not creators in any meaningful sense.

3. The Haunting of the Past

   • If this is from "Afterward", the house they choose is haunted by a murder—their desire to "plunge into the past" becomes literal and dangerous.
   • Even if not supernatural, the weight of history (the "gray walls," the "black oak rafters") presses upon them, suggesting that one cannot simply buy one’s way into a new identity.

4. The Illusion of Self-Reinvention

   • The Boynes believe they can shed their old selves (Midwest engineers) and become cultured Europeans, but Wharton questions whether such transformations are possible.
   • Their isolation may be self-imposed exile—they fear the modern world but also do not truly belong in the past.

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Conclusion: What the Passage Reveals

This excerpt is a masterclass in Wharton’s ability to blend psychological realism with gothic undertones. On the surface, it describes a couple living their dream, but every detail hints at instability:

• Their wealth is sudden and unearned.
• Their isolation is extreme.
• Their obsession with the past is unnatural.
• The language is lush but slightly claustrophobic.

Wharton lures the reader into their fantasy, only to undermine it with subtle warnings—suggesting that happiness built on escape, wealth, and illusion is inherently fragile. Whether the story turns supernatural (as in "Afterward") or simply psychological, the tension between desire and reality is palpable.

This passage embodies Wharton’s broader themes: ✔ The dangers of romanticizing the past. ✔ The hollow nature of wealth without purpose. ✔ The American expatriate’s eternal outsider status. ✔ The inevitability of fate (or ghosts) disrupting human plans.

In essence, the Boynes are tragic figures before they even know it—and Wharton’s ironic, precise prose ensures the reader senses their doom long before they do.