Construction Of Female Subjectivity Through Space In The Age Of Innocence

Edith Wharton(1862-1937)was one of the best-known writers in the early 20th-century America.Most of her literary creations present the life of New York upper-class society in her time,especially the experiences of women who suffer in the patriarchal society.The Age of Innocence(1920),Wharton's Pulitzer-winning novel,has been highly acclaimed by both critics and the reading public.The novel examines social conventions and norms,and explores the confinement of women in a patriarchal society.Ellen Olenska,going back from Europe to America,attempts to seek support from her family in the process of divorcing her husband.However,in Old New York which dreads scandal more than disease,Ellen is regarded as a rebel in that her divorce would bring shame on her family.To claim freedom,she challenges the society replete with social norms and patriarchal standards,and gradually heads for her self-realization.Drawing upon the notion of social space by critic Henri Lefebvre,this thesis explores the construction of Ellen Olenska's subjectivity through space.In the novel,Ellen is repressed and confined by space inscribed with social decorum and patriarchal standards.But at the same time,Ellen constructs her subjectivity by interacting with and rebuilding space.Public space,conceived by the social privileged to protect conventionality and social norms,defines and disciplines people in space.Nevertheless,Ellen,acting against the spatial inscription,utters her consciousness to defy the established standards and claim her own subjectivity.Domestic space is employed to establish and proclaim the inhabitants' identity and status.Ellen not only challenges houses which signify authority,but builds her own lived space.She chooses a "Bohemian" neighborhood,a conceived space of poverty and inferiority,decorates the house,making it foreign and different.In this way,she builds her own lived space and constructs her subjectivity.Bodily space is often defined by the society.In the novel,by choosing her own clothes,Ellen defines her own body instead of being defined by others Moreover,her body movement expresses her desire to construct her own subjectivity.Wharton exposes and criticizes the confinement inscribed in space.But she is positive in that she believes women still have a way out By interacting with space and rebuilding space,women can assert their independence and freedom.