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| Author | Edith Wharton |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | John Singer Sargent |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | D. Appleton & Company |
Publication date | 1928 |
The Children is a novel written by American author Edith Wharton in 1928. She began writing it a year earlier. It was published by Pictorial Review Company and D. Appleton & Co. The novel was a bestseller upon first being published. In September 1928, ‘’’The Children’’’ was selected for the Book-of-the-Month Club. The novel concerns the children of American expatriates and their parents in Europe in the 1920s. The novel takes place in Europe but primarily features American characters. It is unusual in that Wharton generally does not write about children, whereas this novel's focus point is the children.
Summary[edit]
The book opens with Martin Boyne, an American bachelor traveling to Europe. He is travelling to meet an old love who recently became widowed, Rose Sellars. He considers his dull, unexciting life, and how he never meets anyone interesting.
Right on cue, he leans over the railing and spots a beautiful face that, as he learns quickly, belongs to fifteen-year-old Judith Wheater. Judith is the daughter of Joyce Wheater, who attended Harvard with Boyne, and to whom he was once attracted. Boyne soon learns that Judith is headed to Venice with her six siblings, a nanny, and Mrs. Scopes, their governess. Judith acts as the mother hen toward the younger children. The children are very independent and have little regard for their parents, whom they refer to by their first names, or simply as “the Wheaters.” Enchanted by the children, Boyne decides to spend some time in Venice before traveling on to Switzerland.
The children, who are the offspring of several parents that married and divorced, refer to Cliffe and Joyce by their first names. Judith, the oldest, and a younger pair of twins were the result of Joyce and Cliffe's first marriage. The parents soon divorced, Joyce obtaining custody of the children and marrying a prince from Italy who already had two children. Cliffe married a movie star. Together, they had a daughter, then divorced, and Cliffe took the child. The Wheaters remarried and had a boy, who is a baby when the novel opens. The Wheater children, who have been tossed around all over the world, are thrilled at finally being together and are determined to stay that way. Instead of being shipped off to various natural or stepparents, they swore a solemn oath to stay together on the book that has been with them through everything: Mrs. Scopes' "Cyclpedia of Nursery Remedies."
Boyne quickly becomes quite captivated by Judith, who acts as the mother to all of the children. He quickly becomes enamored by the other children, and they equally adore him. Upon the arrival of the parents, Boyne is asked to find a tutor for the twins. He ends up spending all of his time with them before meeting Rose.
The children end up following Boyne to Switzerland, unbeknownst to Boyne and complicating his relationship with Rose Sellars.
Boyne is now trapped in the drama of the Wheaters. Joyce is in love with the tutor Boyne found for the children, the Wheaters are divorcing again, and the children are going to be split up. Judith takes all the children and the caretakers to Boyne to beg for his help keeping them together. Boyne is unable to refuse: he is confused by his romantic feelings for Judith, and pities the children who are subject to their parents' behavior.
Boyne attempts to convince the Wheaters to remain married for the sake of their children. Many attend the discussion, including family members and romantic interests of the parents. Unexpectedly, Boyne becomes a temporary guardian of all of the children. Boyne is excited, but Rose remains wary. She sees that Boyne has feelings for Judith, so Rose leaves. Rose's departure forces Boyne to realize that the parents may return at any moment, take the children, and leave him all alone. Soon after, Joyce gathers all of the children and leaves Boyne. He finds out some time later from Zinnie that all the children have been separated and Chip has died of meningitis. The novel ends with Boyne on a ship back to Brazil, “a lonely man.”
Themes[edit]
Childishness versus maturity: The parents and Boyne act childishly (or in Boyne’s case, boyishly). The parents are immature in caring for their children. Meanwhile the children, primarily Judith, are more mature because they have had to grow up faster.
Marriage: Serial marriages and divorce of the parents play a massive role in the novel. Wharton highlights the impact this broken family has on the children.
Incest/pedophilia: Boyne’s desire for 15 year old Judith is pedophilic at best and can even be considered incest since he is their temporary guardian.
Characters[edit]
Martin Boyne: an American man in his 40s who is travelling to see his old love, Rose Sellars, when he meets and falls in love with Judith.
Rose Sellars: a newly widowed American woman living in Switzerland who is in love with Boyne.
Joyce Wheater: wife of and divorced Cliffe Wheater.
Cliffe Wheater: husband of and divorced Joyce Wheater.
Nanny: the children’s nanny.
Mrs. Scopes’ (also known as Scopy): the children’s governess
Judith Wheater: the eldest of the children who acts as their mother.
Terry: one of the children.
Zinnie: one of the children. Her mother was an actress. Half-sister to Judith, Terry, Blanca, and Chip.
Bun and Beechy: twin children, half-siblings to Judith, Terry, Blanca, and Chip.
Blanca: one of the children.
Chip: the youngest of the children, a baby. He dies of meningitis at the end of the novel.
Receptions & Reviews[edit]
The Children was the September 1928 Book-of-the Month Club selection. This won Edith Wharton a sum of $95,000.[1]
Adaptations[edit]
Paramount Pictures (then known as Famous-Lasky Corporation) purchased the rights from Wharton for $25,000. The movie The Marriage Playground was released in 1929 and is based off of The Children." Edith Wharton helped with the writing of the screenplay.
External links[edit]
The full text to The Children can be found here: "The Children" by Edith Wharton - Project Gutenberg Australia.
Category:1920s novels Category:20th-century American novels Category:Novels by Edith Wharton
References & Notes[edit]
- ^ Singley, Carol J. (2003). A Historical Guide to Edith Wharton. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195135911.