Reading Edith Wharton Through a Darwinian Lens: Evolutionary Biological Issues in Her Fiction

Beneath the polished surface of the genteel environments delineated in Wharton's fiction, characters are competing fiercely for desirable mates, questing for social status and resources, and plotting ruthlessly to advance their relatives' fortunes in life. This book identifies these and other evolutionary issues central to her fiction, demonstrating their significance in terms of character, setting, plot, and theme. Connections to existing Wharton criticism are made throughout the book, so that readers can see how an evolutionary perspective enriches, refutes, or reconfigures insights derived from other critical approaches.

Beneath the polished surface of the genteel social environments most often delineated in Edith Wharton's fiction, readers observe characters competing fiercely for desirable mates, questing for social status and resources, and plotting ruthlessly to advance their relatives' fortunes in life. This book identifies these and other evolutionary issues central to Edith Wharton's fiction, demonstrating their significance in terms of character, setting, plot, and theme.

Discussing whether and when Wharton's characters' behavior is evolutionarily adaptive, that is, whether it promotes the passing on of genes, places Wharton's social criticism in a useful new framework, opening the way to richer comprehension of her views on human nature. Connections to existing Wharton criticism are made throughout the book, so that readers can see how an evolutionary perspective enriches, refutes, or reconfigures insights derived from other critical approaches.

Judith P. Saunders is a professor of English at Marist College in New York State. Her published commentary addresses a wide range of literary topics, and her contributions to Edith Wharton scholarship may be found in a variety of academic journals and textbook editions.