Download or read book Reading Edith Wharton Through a Darwinian Lens written by Judith P. Saunders and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beneath the polished surface of the genteel environments delineated in Wharton's fiction, characters are competing fiercely for desirable mates, questing for social status and resources, and plotting ruthlessly to advance their relatives' fortunes in life. This book identifies these and other evolutionary issues central to her fiction, demonstrating their significance in terms of character, setting, plot, and theme. Connections to existing Wharton criticism are made throughout the book, so that readers can see how an evolutionary perspective enriches, refutes, or reconfigures insights derived from other critical approaches.