A review by ricefun
The Mother's Recompense by Edith Wharton
5.0
It is evident that this is a later Wharton novel. The muted tones, European ex-patriot setting, and underlying desperation all harken strongly to her other better-known works like “The Age of Innocence,” and especially “The House of Mirth.” With a mother/daughter story that is both engaging and distressing, alongside developing romances that should cause deep questions, Wharton does not shy away from exposing an underbelly to the gilded life experienced by her “set” in New York.
I was most intrigued with Wharton’s literary device of spelling out Kate Clephane’s entire name throughout the book. By the second chapter we are familiar enough with Kate that it would be reasonable to use her given name for the rest of the story. However, for the remainder of this novel, Wharton continues to emphasize Kate’s married name - possibly a reminder of her status as a woman owned by her husband and his family - no matter how far Kate tries to remove herself from that family situation. Equally striking is that we do not hear the last name of Kate’s love interest until far into the novel, making it feel that his quality exists in a completely different vein than Kate’s as a woman of society. He, instead, for much of the book only exists in relation to her. Then, when he takes on a character of his own, his name and rank in the military are revealed. I appreciated tracing this use of names throughout this story.
I was most intrigued with Wharton’s literary device of spelling out Kate Clephane’s entire name throughout the book. By the second chapter we are familiar enough with Kate that it would be reasonable to use her given name for the rest of the story. However, for the remainder of this novel, Wharton continues to emphasize Kate’s married name - possibly a reminder of her status as a woman owned by her husband and his family - no matter how far Kate tries to remove herself from that family situation. Equally striking is that we do not hear the last name of Kate’s love interest until far into the novel, making it feel that his quality exists in a completely different vein than Kate’s as a woman of society. He, instead, for much of the book only exists in relation to her. Then, when he takes on a character of his own, his name and rank in the military are revealed. I appreciated tracing this use of names throughout this story.