“Slender firm strokes of the pen”: The Unspoken Words of Women Writers in Edith Wharton’s Fiction

Abstract

Throughout Edith Wharton’s writing, many of her female protagonists are avid readers and letter writers. Edith Wharton herself emerged as a “woman novelist” during a time when society dictated that a woman’s role was confined to the home. Wharton and others challenged the status quo as agents of change and power.