Breaking Free from Depending on men in Edith Wharton’s Summer

Abstract

The thesis at hand aims to analyze how the main character of Edith Wharton’s Summer(1917) tries to achieve her independence from men. The thesis will explore the female gaze, sexual awakening, and women depending on men from a feminist perspective. For this thesis I use Annette Kolodny’s feminist theories and her view on feminist literary criticism. Kolodny’s perspective that feminism in literature is directly influenced by the lived world and vice versa is applicable for the analysis of Summer. The thesis consists of an introduction, a literature review, an empirical analysis of the novel, and a conclusion. The introduction provides context for the novel and the historical background of feminism.The literature review summarizes previous studies and analyses of the novel and gives a brief overview of depictions of feminism in literature. The empirical part of the thesis provides an analysis of key moments in the novel through close reading. The analysis explores how the chosen topics provide the main character with the strength to try to become independent. The conclusion summarizes the main findings of the thesis.