Picture this: It's the early 20th century, and a woman named Edith Wharton is crafting piercing novels that thrust the harsh realities of society into the limelight. Not only was she the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature with her novel “The Age of Innocence“, but she was also an eloquent wordsmith who wove keen observations about society into quotes that resonate even today. Over a hundred years later, her words remain a mirror, reflecting societal norms, expectations, and conflicts. Welcome to the world of “Societal Edith Wharton Quotes.”
In this blog post, we'll take a deep dive into the wisdom of 50 poignant Edith Wharton quotes that reveal the fabric of society in her time – and in ours. From her insightful commentary on societal constraints to her raw explorations of personal freedom and individuality, each quote will take you on a journey through the corridors of social understanding. These quotes aren't just intriguing snippets of thought; they're a testament to Edith Wharton's literary genius, her ability to dissect society's intricate layers, and her courage to voice the unspoken. So buckle up, readers, as we navigate the societal narratives painted by “Edith Wharton Quotes”.
Understanding Society
1. “The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it.” – The House of Mirth
2. “In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.” – A Backward Glance
3. “Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered through personal experience does not become a part of the moral tissue.” – The Age of Innocence
4. “The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!” – The Age of Innocence
5. “Another unsettling element in modern art is that common symptom of immaturity, the dread of doing what has been done before.” – The Writing of Fiction
background Image by Sebastian from Pixabay6. “One can remain alive… if one is unafraid of change and insatiable in intellectual curiosity.” – A Backward Glance
7. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Vesalius in Zante
8. “True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.” – The Writing of Fiction
9. “The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.” – The Age of Innocence
10. “There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one's self, the very meaning of one's soul.” – The Age of Innocence
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Society and the Individual
- “Each time you happen to me all over again.” – The Age of Innocence
- “Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against.” – The Reef
- “After all, one knows one's weak points so well, that it's rather bewildering to have the critics overlook them and invent others.” – The House of Mirth
- “We can't behave like people in novels, though, can we?” – The Age of Innocence
- “Life is always either a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.” – The Custom of the Country
- “An unalterable and unquestioned law of the musical world required that the German text of French operas sung by Swedish artists should be translated into Italian for the clearer understanding of English-speaking audiences.” – The Age of Innocence
- “She had no tolerance for scenes which were not of her own making.” – The House of Mirth
- “Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.” – Artemis to Actaeon and Other Verses
- “The worst of doing one's duty was that it apparently unfitted one for doing anything else.” – The Age of Innocence
- “There is no such thing as old age; there is only sorrow.” – A Backward Glance
Society's Reflection
- The real marriage of true minds is for any two people to possess a sense of humor or irony pitched in exactly the same key.” – The Age of Innocence
- “There are lots of ways of being miserable, but there's only one way of being comfortable, and that is to stop running round after happiness.” – The Last Asset
- “I don't know if I should care for a man who made life easy; I should want someone who made it interesting.” – Sanctuary
- “A frivolous society can acquire dramatic significance only through what its frivolity destroys.” – The Age of Innocence
- “If only we'd stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time.” – The Last Asset
- “In any really good subject, one has only to probe deep enough to come to tears.” – The Writing of Fiction
- “Ah, good conversation — there's nothing like it, is there? The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.” – The Age of Innocence
- “What's the use of making mysteries? It only makes people want to nose 'em out.” – The House of Mirth
- “Half the trouble in life is caused by pretending there isn't any.” – The House of Mirth
- “There are moments when a man's imagination, so easily subdued to what it lives in, suddenly rises above its daily level and surveys the long windings of destiny.” – The Age of Innocence
Related Article: 50 Artful Virginia Woolf Quotes
The Unspoken Voices
- “It's not what you lift, it's where you carry it.” – The Descent of Man and Other Stories
- “Beware of monotony; it’s the mother of all the deadly sins.” – The Writing of Fiction
- “She was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate.” – The House of Mirth
- “Decidedly, I'm a better landscape than a narrative.” – A Backward Glance
- “It is less mortifying to believe one's self unpopular than insignificant, and vanity prefers to assume that indifference is a latent form of unfriendliness.” – The House of Mirth
- “When people ask for time, it's always for time to say no. Yes has one more letter in it, but it doesn't take half as long to say.” – The Age of Innocence
- “Every little trifling commonplace has its romance.” – The House of Mirth
- “I shan't be lonely now. I was lonely; I was afraid. But the emptiness and the darkness are gone; when I turn back into myself now I'm like a child going at night into a room where there's always a light.” – Ethan Frome
- “My little old dog: A heart-beat at my feet.” – Verses
- “I have never known a novel that was good enough to be good in spite of its being adapted to the author's political views.” – A Backward Glance
The Final Words
- “There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one's self, the very meaning of one's soul.” – The Age of Innocence
- “You gave me my first glimpse of a real life, and at the same moment you asked me to go on with a sham one. It's beyond human enduring — that's all.” – The Age of Innocence
- “There is no such thing as old age; there is only sorrow.” – A Backward Glance
- “The only people who never fail are those who never try.” – The House of Mirth
- “The worst of doing one's duty was that it apparently unfitted one for doing anything else.” – The Age of Innocence
- “It was not the custom in New York drawing rooms for a lady to get up and walk away from one gentleman in order to seek the company of another.” – The Age of Innocence
- “The whole truth is never either wholly true or wholly new.” – The Writing of Fiction
- “Ah, good conversation — there's nothing like it, is there? The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.” – The Age of Innocence
- “They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods.” – Ethan Frome
- “I don't know if I should care for a man who made life easy; I should want someone who made it interesting.” – Sanctuary
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