A Study Of "Fashionable Things" In Edith Wharton’s The Custom Of Country

Edith Wharton(1862-1937)is one of the great American writers of the 20 th century.She was born into a wealthy New York family,and her wealthy upper-class background provided rich material for her writing.She took the old New York high society in the late 19 th century and early 20 th century as the background,and created a series of successful social customs novels,such as "The House of Mirth","The custom of Country","The Age of Innocence" and so on.Most of the existing studies are from the perspectives of consumerism,female criticism and narrative.Some researches focus on the writing characteristics of fashion articles,but seldom focus on the material culture involved in her works.With the help of consumerism,social and historical criticism,material culture and other theories,this paper focuses on the numerous fashion items in The Custom of Country and the material and cultural significance behind them in order to explore the connotation of the work.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the Dissertation is divided into three chapters:The introduction mainly defines the concept of fashion and explains the reason and characteristics of Edith Wharton’s writing of fashion.This paper summarizes the research status of Edith Wharton at home and abroad,and points out the research ideas and methods,key points and difficulties,as well as the value and significance of the topic.The first chapter analyzes the function of fashion in "National Customs".Fashion plays a role in the construction of people.On the one hand,fashion clothes can flout identity and status,so Erding,the protagonist,constantly pursues fashion clothes.Fashionable household adornment on the other hand suggests the savour of the person,new rich spruge,old New York aristocratic Ralph and nouveau riche fandegen and New York socialite Claire are united in wedlock after the attention lives in adornment style,also convey a different aesthetic grade.The second chapter analyzes the plight of people surrounded by fashionable things.Addicted to fashion goods and the expansion of material desire have led to a series of harms,which have a huge impact on people’s spirit.The main performance is:women lose themselves in material desire;The man’s will is destroyed in the material desire;The pursuit of fashionable articles leads to the tendency of vulgarity in inner aesthetics.At the same time,people lose their freedom in the patriarchal society and gradually become "fashionable things".More importantly,materialism damages interpersonal relationships,erodes family and friendship.The third chapter makes an in-depth analysis of the problems reflected in Wharton’s writing of fashionable things and reflects on the significance involved in pursuing fashionable things.On the one hand,impacted by fashionable objects,people become restless,the value and meaning of objects are simply symbolized,and people eventually lose the root of culture.On the other hand,under the impact of material desire,social change leads to many problems of people’s survival.The author deeply criticizes the culture of the United States,revealing the social ethos of money supremacy,the old aristocratic conservative and rigid etiquette culture and the changes of market values,which have brought about influences on people’s survival.The conclusion through the analysis of the material culture reflected by fashion,reveals Wharton’s profound reflection on the social changes at that time and her intention to balance the relationship between spirit and material,tradition and modernity,as well as between individuals and society.