Edith Wharton is the preeminent American Gothic writer. Her career is unique because, aside from being a woman in an traditionally male-dominated field of writing, she was not writing to make money or fame. Wharton’s Gothic stories were written to express her and her female anxieties in the realm of the unknown. Wharton grew up in a traditional home. Wharton was encouraged by her family to become an educated young woman. She preferred to know rituals and manners over books. Wharton was a victim of this common restraint and felt anxious about her true goals. Wharton remembers being a little girl and having to put away ghost stories books in her bedroom. She was anxious to become an educated, well-read woman writer. This is what led her fear of ghost stories. She found that her Gothic tales were a safe place to express her fears. Gothic literature is about uncovering the dark, horrible truths beneath the surface. Edith Wharton’s Gothic stories can be seen as a window into society’s treatment women. This is plausible. Wharton’s Gothic stories, including “Pomegranate Seed”, and “Afterward,” allow us to see how oppressions against women were manifested into traditional Gothic elements.
Wharton’s “Pomegranate Seed” tells the story about Charlotte Ashby, a young widow who investigates mysterious letters that were sent to Kenneth her ex-husband. As soon as we see the letters, Charlotte is confronted with the shadows of another woman and her marriage. The home still displays many of Charlotte’s first wives’ influences, such as her furniture and hangings. Even Kenneth’s portrait is on the wall. Charlotte’s femininity is being challenged by the constant female presence. As time passed, Charlotte had to admit that her husband made her feel more comfortable and confident. Since Kenneth’s long, coldly gorgeous face on the library walls no longer followed her with guarded gazes (Wharton 224). Already Charlotte feels haunted by the ghost and fears that Kenneth will lose his first wife. Although it isn’t clear if the wives are haunting the characters, the Gothic elements of this story base on the assumption that Charlotte is actually being haunted. Charlotte digs into the affairs of her husband in an attempt to find the writer of the letter. Women were not allowed to enter this area. It is clear that this mystery plays a role in Charlotte’s fear of learning new things. She feels an anxiety power, meaning she covets language’s power but is worried about what happens if a woman takes that power (Singley and Sweeney 177) Charlotte wants to know more about Kenneth and their strange draining effect on him. Wharton describes how “she was restricted by the fear that she would force herself upon him privacy,” which is a reflection of the societal restrictions placed on a woman’s life by society (Wharton 235). Charlotte feels ashamed about her persistence and embarrassed by discovering that disordered, confused face because of the subservient ideals she holds for women. (Wharton 220). Charlotte perseveres in her search for the truth behind these mysterious letters.
Charlotte continues to step beyond her female boundaries. This makes it clear that she’s a Gothic character. We feel that Charlotte will reveal a terrible, secret story, even though she defies patriarchal society rules. The letter finally reaches her. We witness her anxiety manifest in the haunting details she experiences when she opens the letter. We don’t get any sort of great epiphany. Wharton’s disclosure of the contents of the letter leads us to Charlotte’s exact same place: anguish and questioning of our sensibilities.
The uncanny functions as an example of Kenneth’s first spouse, since the letters are impliedly written by Kenneth. The letters, which are written in “visibly feminine handwriting”, function as symbols for Charlotte’s threatened womanhood (Wharton 221). The title also suggests that the letters could be used to symbolise Persephone’s Persephone pomegranate kernels. They are used to lure Kenneth into a realm of the dead. As each letter is read, Kenneth feels “emptied of courage and life” (Wharton 222). Kenneth notices that the letters are disturbing and when he returns home to familiar things, he finds them strange (Wharton 226). He starts to behave strangely towards Charlotte. Kenneth feeds Charlotte’s fears by laughing at her fears and making her feel like everyone else. He makes Charlotte question her motives and emotions. Gothic’s female protagonist is not entirely rational. This is an important aspect. Because the main character is unreliable, the reader cannot determine if the events are supernatural or just unnatural.
“Afterward,” an essay written twenty years after “Pomegranate Seed,” discusses many of same issues as “Pomegranate Seed” and “Female Obstruction in Gothic Environments.” We see Mary Boyne marry Edward Boyne, a marriage that seems perfect. The couple tries to find a home for their family in the English countryside, but they are not rewarded. Wharton 61 says that they will be told by a ghost about the haunted home. This setting is ideal for Mary’s fears and anxieties. It is as if she lives in a gold cage, unaware of the dark truths about the world and her husband. The couple notices that their husband is facing a lawsuit. They begin to see a strange male figure in their home. Mary is forced by Edward’s disappearance to investigate this mysterious male figure. Mary finds herself both scared and drawn to this unfamiliar environment. This is similar to the Gothic reader who loves terror. Mary’s explorations in her new house and the mystery surrounding their husband’s disappearance are examples of stepping into abyssal waters. We see that characters’ willingness to face the dark indicates their ability to understand themselves. Mary, on the other hand, is willing and able to examine her perfect marriage and uncover the truth about her husband’s business (“Gothic”) 138.
Mary is a traditional woman who keeps her husband away from his professional life. However, she like Charlotte crosses boundaries to acquire knowledge. Mary’s intentions to keep her husband away from the material foundation of her happiness fuel the mystery surrounding the events (Wharton 71). Mary is more anxious the longer her husband goes. As Mary waits for her husband to return, we can see the parallel to “Pomegranate Seed”. The revelation that Edward was the ghost’s colleague makes it obvious that Mary did not know about Edward’s affairs and that Mary created this unidentified entity. Mary even took responsibility for the situation, saying: “Oh, My God!” He was sent to Ned by me–I gave him the directions!” (Wharton, 91). The most Gothic thing about this story isn’t the fact that the house is haunted but that the couple created and carried their ghost.
We can see Edith Wharton’s intention to make a comment about society’s oppression on women by looking at “The Pomegranate Seed”, and “Afterward”. Wharton was a female author and felt “anxiety” about writing forbidden for women. This anxiety clearly manifests in Wharton’s female characters (Singley & Sweeney 180). These tales show how women become anxious when they encounter the unknown. Their fears become Gothic traits. It is because seemingly ordinary events, such as a letter arriving or a visit from a husband’s friend, can turn into something much more horrible and terrifying. These stories provide insight into the hidden motives behind keeping women at home. Women who are kept ignorant and naive cannot expose the dark secrets of society. They are punished when they do venture to expose the dark secrets of the society. Wharton’s stories repeatedly remind us that it’s not the scary things on the surface that are frightening. But rather the unsaid oppressions of the world, which create fear.
