Review of "Summer" by Edith Wharton

Set in New England in the early twentieth century, Edith Wharton’s “Summer” is a coming-of-age story of protagonist Charity Royall, who falls in love with Lucius Harney and attempts to escape her life living with her guardian, Mr. Royall, a man who is not her biological father.

Charity finds herself stuck between two worlds– her adventurous days spent with Harney and her far less exciting days at home with Mr. Royall. These two realities that Charity alternates between showcases her desire to feel at home somewhere. Charity knows that she cannot feel completely comfortable with Harney, despite how much she loves him, because her reliance on him is greater than his reliance on her; however, Charity also knows that a life living with Mr. Royall would pose a greater threat to her happiness, even though she would be safe, since, in contrast to her relationship with Harney, Mr. Royall relies on Charity more than vice versa. As a result, she feels truly at home nowhere, and home quickly comes to represent the presence of both safety and happiness in her life– currently, a relationship with either male figure in her life only offers one.

While I won’t spoil Charity’s ultimate choice, this struggle between these two opposites governs most of the decisions Charity is forced to make, and demonstrates to the readers the unfairness and lack of choice for women at this time, a feature present in another of Wharton's novels, "The Custom of the Country," which I recently reviewed as well. This novel is, in my mind, first and foremost a coming-of-age story, because Charity is forced to recognize and accept the decisions and realities that come with adulthood and grow out of her childish desires.