Lack of Freedom in the Gilded Age

The story I have chosen for my research essay is “Souls Belated” by Edith Wharton. I chose this short story because I was inspired by Wharton and her breakthrough to society. Her style of writing depicts how women were obligated to play certain roles of being the perfect housewife and maintaining a proper marriage. Wharton did what was uncommon in a close-minded society.

She was born into a very traditional family and a controlling society, but Wharton managed to break through the standards that society set for women and became an inspirational female writer.

The essay will be discussing the short story of a married woman who struggles to escape the pressure of a strict society and the battle between becoming independent or following the Social norm. In the short story “Souls Belated” Wharton uses the main character, Lydia, to create a tone of feminism and make a bold statement on the importance of women not living behind anyone’s shadow in the Gilded Age.

Lydia, the protagonist had various social privileges due to her husband being well known. Although those privileges could not outweigh the lack of freedom women dealt with in the Gilded Age, the Gilded Age was a time when women were finally able to shift from house wives into being publicly involved. Women began being more than just minions for society, Radford Barris wrote an article regarding women in the Gilded Age that said women began “experiencing greater opportunities for education and public involvement, either through work or through campaigns for social changes.

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The eagerness for freedom, identity and independence was the divine goal of men, unlike the women back in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. After Lydia’s first marriage with Tillotson, she realizes that their relationship lacks the intimacy that she desires. She fancies a man who sees her as more than just a wife but as an equally valued partner. Lydia’s attitude towards marriage, of which she considers is made up of “common obligations” (“Souls Belated” 3) imposed on women drove her into another man’s arms. Lydia found herself in a marital affair with a man named Ralph Gannet who saw her as equal and for who she is, thus why she chose Gannet “Tillotson had himself embodied all her reasons for leaving him” (“Souls Belated” 2).

Lydia’s refusal to marry Gannet was because she did not want to be pressured into yet another marriage. She believes love is not about a piece of paper but about passion and affection, Lydia states “we both know that no ceremony is needed to consecrate our love for each other” (“Souls Belated” 4).

The Gilded Age allowed women such as Lydia to finally be able to do what is right for themselves. By making her own decisions Lydia shows the reader that unlike the women of her society, she is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Her actions show us that she is confident and determined in achieving the life she has always wanted but was unable to attain due to a strict society. She is a prime example of a “New Women” in the Gilded Age who does not give into a close minded and dictated society.

Harvard’s business school published an article about women and society in the Gilded Age that stated, “By the twentieth century, women began to play a larger role in the public sphere, concepts of ideal womanhood had begun to change significantly.” (Gardner, Par. 2)