The Old Maid (Cover to Cover)

Rating:
Summary: "Girls are not always what you call decent."
Review: As an Edith Wharton fan, I was delighted when I found "The Old Maid" on Amazon. I've read almost everything written by Wharton (she's one of my favourite writers). I asked myself how I could have missed this book.

The setting is "Old New York", and here, only a few families rule society. "The Old Maid" is the story of two cousins--Delia and Charlotte. Delia Lovell makes a good marriage when she marries Jim Ralston and passes over another unsuitable suitor--artist, Clement Spender. Soon she is Mrs. Ralston, loved and respected by her husband, and the proud mother of two beautiful children. One day, cousin Charlotte Lovell, who is engaged to marry Joe Ralston, begs Delia for her help. Charlotte mysteriously disappeared for about a year shortly after Delia's wedding--this was supposedly due to health reasons. Charlotte is now deeply and tragically attached to an 'orphan', Tina, whose origins are a mystery and cause for speculation. Charlotte tells Delia the truth behind her yearlong absence and begs Delia to help her keep her illegitimate child AND marry Joe Ralston. Delia makes a decision and steps in. Charlotte's child, Tina is brought up in the Ralston household.

Delia ostensibly becomes Tina's mother, and Charlotte remains the maiden aunt--always in the background. When Delia accepts Tina in a moment of generosity, she does not consider the ultimate outcome. Delia simply does not understand that Tina, with her shadowy social position, will be unable to marry 'one of her own kind.' And socially, where does Tina stand? Is she a poor relation or living proof of a shameful incident--best forgotten and not discussed? Delia's generosity protects Tina--but only until Tina reaches womanhood and she becomes suddenly as vulnerable as her mother, Charlotte. When Tina becomes an adult, the stakes change

In "The House of Mirth", heroine, Lily Bart is the fringe character who sits on the outer boundaries of good society, looking in longingly for a niche. Lily Bart is destined for scorn by the society she longs to belong to, and the illegitimate child, Tina, is also destined for such a role in "The Old Maid." Delia and Charlotte determine Tina's fate, and yet they each have personal scores that must be settled.

While "The Old Maid" is only a slim novella, Wharton skillfully manages to create fully realised characters in Delia and Charlotte. The characters and their motives become increasingly more interesting as the story develops. This copy of "The Old Maid" is published by the Modern Library and comes with extensive footnotes. Apparently, the novella originally appeared in serial form, and was later heavily edited for the collection "Old New York." This volume is re-created from the serial version of the novella--displacedhuman.