Subtle feminism in Edith Wharton's stories “The Other Two” and “Roman Fever” Edith Wharton showed her concern about the social pressures placed on women and limiting expectations of others in relation to them through his narrative. Wharton portrays her female characters as departing from expectations, both social and personal, with a positive outcome. In “The Other Two,” the female protagonist, Alice, divorces two husbands and finds happiness with a third, showing the unconventional act of divorce in a positive light. In “Roman Fever,” Wharton shows one of the two main characters, Grace Ainsley, coming out of a conflict because of her past defiance of expectations, linking positive outcomes to the challenge of role culture. Both women defy these expectations by rejecting monogamy, Alice in her multiple marriages and Grace by marrying a man who did not father her child. Edith Wharton questions traditional values ​​of monogamy and obedience in "The Other Two" and "Roman Fever" to highlight her feminist portrayal of women as individuals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Among the restrictions faced by women at the turn of the century was the expectation of monogamy. With no system that allowed women to attempt to provide for themselves financially, as society expected women to fill the role of dependent wife, it was rare for women to consider divorce. Margaret McDowell describes society as “unwilling to acknowledge their very existence as human beings entitled to adult privileges and responsibilities” (539). James Woodress notes that Edith Wharton herself "endured 28 years of unhappy married life before divorcing her husband." Wharton showed her unconventional approval of divorce in her life but also through her literature. In an era when divorce was frowned upon in American life and literature, Wharton had a sympathetic and encouraging view towards divorced women. McDowell notes that it tends to celebrate a woman's freedom to end marriage, rather than pity the woman who frees herself from a constricting role (535). Over the last century, American women have moved from a position in which “their attitudes and conduct were governed by fixed conventions and standards of propriety” to a position of “relative freedom, in which they can act on the basis of what promises them more." fulfillment for them as individuals in a particular situation” (McDowell 531). Wharton's sophisticated endorsement of women's liberation even before the turn of the century placed her ahead of her time and other American authors (537). Edith Wharton links the successes of her female characters in society to the rejection of the social norm of monogamy in her short story “The Other Two.” “The Other Two” ends with the image of Alice Haskett-Varick-Waythorn functioning normally between her current husband and two ex-husbands. Alice learns to be the ideal wife through her multiple marriages and finds the ideal husband through her divorces. Her third husband, Waythorn, ultimately accepts Alice's past behavior, showing the positive attitude Wharton adopted toward divorce. The informal but uncomfortable final scene of Alice and the three husbands sitting together for tea indicates that divorce and social success can go hand in hand. The story begins after Alice marries her third husband, Waythorn, who sees her as an ideal wife. . Waythorn sees the irony of Alice's success as a wife whenshe realizes that her perfection comes from experience with ex-husbands. Alice's marriages taught her valuable lessons about relationships, and her divorces allowed her to use that knowledge. Waythorn appreciates his domestic happiness in light of how Varick and Haskett shaped Alice's values. Waythorn “perceived that Haskett's banality had led Alice to adore good manners, while Varick's liberal construction of the marital bond had taught her to value marital virtues.” Alice also takes advantage of her two divorces by finding happiness with Waythorn and not being stuck with either ex. Alice finds success after getting divorced thanks to her outstanding performance as a wife and happy life with her third husband. Waythorn's final acceptance of Alice's past reveals the ideal reaction to women's freedom to divorce. When Waythorn married Alice, he expected her to "shed her past as a man." By the standard of monogamy, Waythorn expected to be the only man in Alice's life. The topic of Alice's ex-husbands initially proves awkward for the married couple. After Waythorn notices Varick pouring a shot of alcohol into his coffee, he reacts to Alice making his coffee this way. Alice responds by blushing a "sudden, agonizing red." This silent response indicates that the topic of Alice's past with Varick is an avoided topic, and Alice's blushing makes it seem like she is ashamed. They do not discuss the incident further, but the passing incident illuminates the negative stigma surrounding Alice's divorce. Once Waythorn realizes, however, what the ideal wife Alice was because of his experiences, he expresses the positive view that it was better to "own a third of a wife who knew how to make a man happy, rather than a whole woman at who had not been given the opportunity to acquire the art." Including the misogynistic idea of ​​“owning” women, Waythorn's final opinion portrays previous marriages as an opportunity to acquire the art of making a man happy. Waythorn's continued ignorance in the midst of little acceptance could represent society at large in the early 1900s. No matter how women view their actions, men in society may interpret them according to established expectations. Alice may have divorced her two husbands because she was unhappy, but Waythorn rationalizes it according to his standards that women are designed to please men. Despite these sexist shortcomings, Waythorn accepts Alice's past divorces and attributes the decisions positively to her. The final scene in which all four characters coexist, depicting a woman successfully functioning in society after divorce, shows Wharton's positive view of divorced women. In "Roman Fever", Wharton connects Grace Ainsley's rejection of monogamy and others' expectations of her with Barbara, the daughter and the winning point of the argument between the two women. Grace's rebellion, characterized by her excursion to the Colosseum with Delphin Slade, Alida Slade's fiancée, is against Mrs. Slade's narrow definition of her. This challenge to expectations through an illicit sexual encounter symbolizes the rejection of monogamous values. Alida's expectations of Grace are described in the story of her great-aunt Harriet arranging her sister's death. This shows the origin of the two women's ideas of rivalry and defines roles for women who love the same man. Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ainsley are expected to fill those roles, which explains the fake Delphin letter that Mrs. Slade sends to Grace, just as Great-Aunt Harriet sent to her death.