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1、REVIEWS/255statussothat“home”becomesaplacethatprecludeshumaninteractionandhinderspersonaldevelopment(112).Inchapterfive,BenertexaminesTheHouseofMirth’saswellasTheReef’sdeploymentsofthegenderedandclass-inscribednature-culturedivide.Hereshesuccessfullyarguesthatmalecharacters’attemptstoretr
2、eatintonaturereflectWharton’s“deepskepticismaboutromanticideology”asasystemthatupholds,ratherthantranscends,confiningsocialconventionsofgenderandclass(165).ForWharton,the“nature”thatcharacterssuchasGeorgeDarrowcontrasttotheartificialcultureassociatedwithwell-to-dowomenisitselfaconstruct,“
3、both‘nature’and‘culture’”being“creationsofthedominantelite”(143).Womencharactersthereforeactas“realistcorrectives”makingplainthat,forWharton,“thenaturalworldrequiredconscioushumanization,acculturation,tobecomeameaningfulpartofhumanlife”(143,165).ThenextchapteronWharton’sattitudestowardFra
4、ncepositsthat“Frenchstructuresthathadevolvedfromiconsofhighidealstoemblemsofacomplex,morallyambiguousculture”inWharton’spre-warworksbecome,inthewaryears,“moresimply,thepiousremnantsandreplicationsofFranceasanabstractandeternalideal”(175).Thisflatteningoutofmoralambiguities,mademanifestinA
5、SonattheFront,marksforBenertthebeginningoftheendofWharton’sengagementswitharchitecture.Likeothercriticswhoseelittlevalueintheauthor’slaterworks,BenertpositionsTheAgeofInnocenceasWharton’slastattempttodealseriouslywith“hardactualities,”botharchitecturalandsocial(186).Forinallsubsequentwork
6、s,“structuresandspacesbecomepsychologicalormetaphorical,suchpowerastheypossessemanatingfromthecharacters,ratherthanfromanysocietythatmighthavemadeandmanagedthem,”asBenertassertsinherfinalchapteronlatenovelssuchasTwilightSleepandHudsonRoverBracketed.WhateverchangeAgemarksinthequalityofWhar
7、ton’sfictionorinthefunctionsstructuresandspacesserveinthatfiction,Benert’sdismissalofthisperiodofWharton’scareerconstitutesamissedopportunitytomakeasignificantcontributiontoWhartonscholarship.ForTwilightSleepandHudsonRiverBracketed–thelatternamed,afterall,foranarchi