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French Ways and Their Meaning
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Edith Wharton was devoted to the French people and their culture. During the First World War, while living in France and devoting herself to numerous war and relief efforts, she wrote several essays about the French and the unique attributes of their civilization, having in mind particularly the need for both Americans and the English to understand the ways of a people whose nation they were defending in the Great War. These pieces were first published in book form in 1919, under the title French Ways and Their Meaning.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,1919
This edition
- Format
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176 pages, Paperback
- Published
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May 17, 1997 by Countryman Press
- ISBN
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9780936399874
- ASIN
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0936399872
- Language
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English
About the author
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Edith Wharton was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gilded Age. In 1921, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, for her novel, The Age of Innocence. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, in 1996. Her other well-known works are The House of Mirth, the novella Ethan Frome, and several notable ghost stories.
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Rating(3.9 / 5.0, 32 votes)
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32 reviews All reviews
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I read this a few years ago and need to reread it. I liked her view of the French and there are parts that I found quite cryptic at times (written in the early 1900's)
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I have always loved how Wharton writes. She captivates me. This book was a little different because it is non-fiction. Still, just to hear her well-expressed insights was relaxing.
The most interesting and surprising part of this book to me was how she described the differences between French and American women. I would have thought she would have explained the French women were more sophisticated because ... I don't know.... because of some sort of liberal exposure or how they wore their hair. Rather, she lays it out clearly: she claims that it is due to the fact that French women have on-going interactions with men that keep them intellectually alive and interesting.
That was a surprise to me. She said that in America right when women are reaching the emotionally and intellectual peak, they become housewives who are surrounded mostly by other women, and are thereby hindered. She says the French "salon" where male visitors are received (and female, alike), and where conversation is an art, keeps the intellect of the woman alive, with ideas and discussions of politics, culture and cleverness. Wharton emphasizes that the French are the masters of the art of it.
As well, she explains that with the history of France and it's invasions, that the concept of tradition is one that is probably rather foreign to us on US soil, as we have not had our lands invaded and taken away from us. And so, the traditions that we may sometimes find slow or tedious there, they treasure.
And as for the French being rude, she tied that back to those very traditions. She says that since foreigners may not know to say "Bonjour" to the shopkeeper when they enter the shop as is "tradition," when they are treated coldly they think the French are rude, when really they perhaps feel like things weren't being done as they "should be."
---lots more to it. A short read. If you enjoy France or want some insight on the culture, Wharton always has some insights.
The most interesting and surprising part of this book to me was how she described the differences between French and American women. I would have thought she would have explained the French women were more sophisticated because ... I don't know.... because of some sort of liberal exposure or how they wore their hair. Rather, she lays it out clearly: she claims that it is due to the fact that French women have on-going interactions with men that keep them intellectually alive and interesting.
That was a surprise to me. She said that in America right when women are reaching the emotionally and intellectual peak, they become housewives who are surrounded mostly by other women, and are thereby hindered. She says the French "salon" where male visitors are received (and female, alike), and where conversation is an art, keeps the intellect of the woman alive, with ideas and discussions of politics, culture and cleverness. Wharton emphasizes that the French are the masters of the art of it.
As well, she explains that with the history of France and it's invasions, that the concept of tradition is one that is probably rather foreign to us on US soil, as we have not had our lands invaded and taken away from us. And so, the traditions that we may sometimes find slow or tedious there, they treasure.
And as for the French being rude, she tied that back to those very traditions. She says that since foreigners may not know to say "Bonjour" to the shopkeeper when they enter the shop as is "tradition," when they are treated coldly they think the French are rude, when really they perhaps feel like things weren't being done as they "should be."
---lots more to it. A short read. If you enjoy France or want some insight on the culture, Wharton always has some insights.
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My paternal grandmother was French, and I think the way I live and think and love the things I do, I have to be French right to the marrow of my bones. Reading this book is like reading a biography written about me. Fascinating.
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in need of editing. i prefer wharton's fiction.
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Written at the time of World War I, this was a effort to explain a culture that might look, on the surface, close to American, but is really quite different. The book reveals perhaps as much about Wharton, as it does about the French. Surprising to the reader, this book is not so out-of-date. Nowadays it seems anyone who has spent any time at all in France writes a tome...witty, serious, analytical, take your pick..about the culture. This book, in spite of its age, holds up as well as some of those books which also romanticize the French culture. Enjoyable and some interesting insights along the way.
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If you like more scientific non-fiction this will probably irritate you, but if you like to dream about romantic notions like a culture having an innate ability to appreciate art, you might enjoy it. I am in the latter group...I think that even if this book might be speculative and perhaps a bit outdated, it is a fun daydream, and there are many quotable bits.
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