A Backward Glance by Mrs.Edith Wharton

- All the pessimism and the lamentations came from the idlers, while who were laboring to the limit possessed their souls, and face the future with confidence.- "a Backward Glance" by Mrs Edith Wharton

"A Backward Glance" was written and published in 1934, when Mrs. Edith Wharton, an American novelist, was seventy-two years old. 

"A Backward Glance" is an autobiography. Even though the book is almost 400 pages long, Mrs. Wharton, vehemently self-guarding her private life, didn't discuss at all her known rivalry with Lucretia Jonese, the novelist's mother; her difficult marriage with Edward (Teddy) Wharton whom she divorced in 1910, and her extramarital affair with W Morton Fullerton from 1907-1913. As a result of the omission, the book seems to me like a story told by a fine lady behind a long and thick veil.

The narrative backbone consists of the novelist's writing aspirations, travels, architectural accomplishments, intimate friendships with people of various background and personality, war time charity causes, and insight into the high societies in the Victoria era in New York, London and Paris, respectively.

Edith was born into a distinguished and very wealthy family in 1862. Her family belonged to the "Leisure Class" in New York, who lived on trust funds or allowances. As the narrative went on, the novelist probed into detail with authenticity the ethos and the life style of that tiny social circle in the late 1800's. She noted two standards of importance that the society incorruptibly upheld: "that of education and good manners, and that of scrupulous probity in business and private affair". Ironically, she also criticized the society that her parents led for its lack of intellectual curiosity, aesthetic taste, and spiritual freedom. Education was imperatively about speaking good English to the purpose to train an impeccable bride or broom, but absolutely not about encouraging a young girl to explore her creative mind and writing instinct. Looking backward, Edith admitted she enjoyed entertaining young, pleasant, agreeable female companions in her maiden time, but she developed inferiority complex as her writing aspirations were not valued by either her parents or the "fashionable world" into which she was born.

Edith exhibited great writing talents at a very young age. Unlike many earnest writers in literacy, she got positive feedback from a few publishers immediately. Via publishing her works, Edith connected to the intellectual world where she found herself included, appreciated and admired. Throughout the book, Edith expressed her tremendous gratitude toward her intellectual friends: Egerton Whinthrop, a family friend, guided her to educated taste and true intelligence; She enjoyed working with Ogeden Codman and Walter Berry on "the Decoration of Houses", a revolutionary manual for interior design and also a book which made Edith Wharton the "taste maker" for her time; She greatly respected Theodore Roosevolt for his statesmanship and unique sense of humor; She used a chapter to navigate her life long friendship with Henry James. In a tragic tone, she ended the book with Geoffrey Scott's unfortunate sudden death. 

Travel was one of the rare passions Teddy Wharton shared with his wife. They took on audacious or even financially reckless trips into then difficult-to-access locations to fulfill their dream. The travels to Italy, Greece and other European countries woke up Edith's creativity in architecture and gardening. Shortly after the trips, she published "Italian Villas and Their Gardens", and built "the Mount" in Lenox, MA.  Edith Wharton is a self-educated architect and interior designer. The Mount now is a distinguished National Historic Landmark.

Edith spent her second half of the life in Europe. Compared to the high society in New York, that in Paris or London had distinctive features. Paris particularly resonated with Edith. She greatly enjoyed intellectually stimulating discussions with writers, painters and musicians in her residence in Paris. London, under her pen, is more exclusive and reserved. During the World War I, Edith was to a large extent devoted to charitible causes. She also traveled in her beloved automobile to report from the frontier. Edith worked very long hours in Paris to create, develop and maintain one of the largest war time refugee houses.   To my surprise, the transition from a socialite and writer to a highly competent manager did not seem to overwhelm this iron-willed lady. She committedly looked after several hundred refugees once upon a moment, assisted by equally committed volunteers of great executing powers. With good humor, she also lashed out her disappointment on the people who seemed to have excellent ideas about how to run the refugee house upfront but silently gave up just a few days thereafter. Edith deliberately depicted the moment, with her subtle and beatifull language, when all the bells in Paris rang one after another to annouce the end of the War in 1918 in the book. When I read that chapter, tears unconsciously filled up my eyes. 

Edith Wharton was awarded the Légion d'Honneur by the French Republic, and Chevalier de Légion d'Honneur by the Kingdom of Belgium for her war time contributions. 

I have read "The Age of Innocence", "Ethan Frome" and "The House of Mirth". Edith Wharton stikes me as a serious and emotionlly self-controlled writer with amazing sense of humor and preponderate power of conducting exquisite and appropriate English. She sometimes sounded sardonic but never evid-minded. In the autobiography, she was, unexpectedly, harsh on two things. Firstly, readers were likely connecting the characters in her books to real life figures. Conceptually, she was totally against this idea. I, occasionally, think she meant to protect the private life of her friends or family members, because the comparability was obvious: May Welland received from Newland a bouquet of lilies-in-the-valley vis-a-vis to the same bouquet Edith received from her friends on the day when her entry into the society was announced in a ball! Secondly, Edith defended her ideology about literacy’s functionality in the spiritual world. Even though a venerable person like Theodore Roosevelt disapproved of any sympathy toward an unethical attachment, she insisted on literacy’s duty of speaking on behalf of inner struggle of human being. 

I specially like her language which is so intelligible even 100+ years afterward to me, a foreigner taking English as the second language. The words she threw out are all ethically neutral, aesthetically graceful and substantively representative of her mind. Long sentences are despised today but I can easily digest what she wanted to express by a glimpse. Furthermore, when I revisited every word of these long sentences, I felt like there were no sentences or words other than status quo to accuratelyly tell what she wanted to say. 

I will read the biography written by others to fully understand her as a person.