This paper examines the life and literary works of celebrated novelist Edith Wharton. The author discusses Wharton's early
biographical influences, which led to her main themes in "Ethan Frome", "Age of Innocence", and "The Old Maid". The paper also addresses how Wharton wrote brilliantly on the issue of the rigid confinements of her own
aristocratic society, impossible love, and characters who stoically accepted their fates.