Summer by Edith Wharton

Summer by Edith Wharton, published in 1917, is often referred to as one of her most daring works due to its frank exploration of sexual awakening and social restrictions. Set in rural New England, it tells the story of Charity Royall, a young woman from a poor and mysterious background, who longs to escape the repressive life in the small town of North Dormer. The novel deals with themes of passion, identity, and societal norms, and has often been compared to Ethan Frome for its depiction of a constrained life in a provincial setting. The story stands out for its psychological depth, examining the emotional struggles of a young woman trying to find her place in a world that limits her desires and ambitions.

Plot Summary

At the edge of the small village of North Dormer, where the hills cast long shadows over the lonesome streets, Charity Royall steps out of Lawyer Royall’s house. The summer sun is high, bathing the town in light, but for Charity, the warmth does little to ease her restlessness. Raised by the strict and at times unsettling Lawyer Royall, Charity’s past haunts her—she had been brought down from “the Mountain,” a notorious region inhabited by the impoverished and lawless, a place from which she is determined to distance herself. Her days pass monotonously as the custodian of the Hatchard Memorial Library, a small, forgotten institution where dust and silence reign. North Dormer, too, feels like a prison, isolated from the wider world, with nothing to offer but its sleepy streets and the judgment of its inhabitants.

One day, her world changes when a young man named Lucius Harney arrives in North Dormer. Harney is an architect from the city, staying with his cousin, Miss Hatchard. From the moment Charity sees him, his very presence stirs something new in her—an awakening of emotions she has never before experienced. His city clothes, his lively demeanor, and the easy way he laughs make her painfully aware of her own isolation. Harney’s arrival brings back memories of Nettleton, the nearby town she visited once, where the streets were alive with color, activity, and people from a world far different from her own.

As Harney begins to explore the old architecture of the area, Charity finds herself drawn to him. Their initial encounters are awkward, and Charity, unused to any attention, feels both a spark of hope and a deep self-consciousness. The boundary between her quiet life in North Dormer and the vibrant world Harney represents becomes increasingly blurred as he takes more of an interest in her. His fascination with the decaying beauty of the old houses mirrors the fascination growing between them. They begin to spend time together, often driving through the countryside, where Harney sketches and speaks passionately about architecture, life, and the world beyond.

Their relationship deepens during these shared afternoons, and as summer ripens, so too does Charity’s desire. What begins as an innocent companionship soon blossoms into something more, culminating in their affair, one that Charity approaches with both abandon and fear. Harney, for all his charm and attentiveness, seems unaware of the full extent of Charity’s vulnerabilities. To her, he represents escape—a chance to leave North Dormer behind, to shed the shame of her origins on the Mountain, and to step into a life filled with light and possibility.

But the world around Charity is not kind to such dreams. Though their affair continues in secret, it soon becomes clear that the two are not equals in this love. Harney’s life is rooted elsewhere, and while he speaks of the future, it is vague and distant, unlike Charity’s urgent need for change. Her love for him, however, blinds her to the reality that he may never offer the escape she seeks.

Meanwhile, Lawyer Royall watches their growing intimacy with a mixture of jealousy and bitterness. He, too, harbors a complex affection for Charity—an affection tainted by the inappropriate advances he made years earlier. When he confronts her about her involvement with Harney, the tension between them breaks open. Royall, though an oppressor in her life, also represents the only stability Charity has ever known. He proposes marriage, offering her a way out of the scandal her affair might cause, but the very thought repels her. She rejects him harshly, yet Royall’s presence looms over her, reminding her of the limited options available to a woman like her.

As the summer draws to a close, so too does the illusion of a future with Harney. Charity discovers that she is pregnant. Desperation washes over her, and she travels to Nettleton, considering an abortion. There, the harshness of the world confronts her once again. Without Harney, without the money to escape on her own, she is left with no choice but to return to North Dormer. Harney, meanwhile, has disappeared back into the life he came from. Through letters, she learns he is engaged to Annabel Balch, a woman from his own class, someone who can offer him the social standing and security that Charity, with her origins on the Mountain, never could.

Charity’s dreams of escape crumble. The stark reality of her circumstances presses down on her with the weight of inevitability. The shame of her pregnancy, the absence of Harney, and the oppressive judgment of North Dormer leave her isolated and despairing. She feels the pull of the Mountain, the place she came from, the place she has tried to deny all her life. In a final act of desperation, she walks there, seeking her mother—only to discover the harsh truth that her mother is dead, a mere shell of the woman Charity had once imagined.

Broken, Charity returns to North Dormer. There is no escape left for her, only the choices she has always feared. In the end, she accepts Lawyer Royall’s offer of marriage, not out of love, but out of a need for protection and security. Royall, flawed and oppressive as he may be, is the only one who remains. Together, they leave North Dormer, their future uncertain, but bound now by a union that neither could have foreseen at the start of the summer. Charity’s dreams of love and freedom fade with the season, replaced by resignation to the life she must now endure

Main Characters

• Charity Royall: The protagonist, Charity, is a headstrong and passionate young woman raised in the home of Lawyer Royall after being “brought down from the Mountain,” a nearby, impoverished area. She grapples with feelings of shame about her origins, longing for a life of freedom and escape. Throughout the novel, she undergoes a journey of self-discovery and painful emotional growth, particularly through her relationship with Lucius Harney.

• Lucius Harney: A young architect from the city, Harney represents the allure of the outside world and intellectual sophistication. He develops a romantic relationship with Charity, sparking her sexual awakening and deepening her desire to escape the confines of North Dormer. However, his character is ambiguous, as he is both a source of passion and a symbol of fleeting, unattainable dreams.

• Lawyer Royall: Charity’s guardian, Royall is an aging, bitter man who oscillates between paternal affection and inappropriate desire for Charity. His complex character embodies the oppressive moral constraints of small-town life, and he represents both Charity’s protector and her jailer. His eventual proposal to Charity and the dark undertones of his relationship with her create moral tension in the narrative.

• Annabel Balch: A secondary character, Annabel is the niece of Miss Hatchard, a wealthy woman in North Dormer. She embodies everything Charity envies—beauty, wealth, and sophistication. Annabel’s life is a stark contrast to Charity’s, deepening the latter’s feelings of inadequacy and desire for escape.

Theme

• Sexual Awakening and Repression: At the heart of Summer is Charity’s sexual awakening, which Wharton portrays with a candor that was rare for its time. Charity’s relationship with Lucius Harney ignites her passions and dreams of escape, yet it also leads to disillusionment as she realizes the constraints imposed by her gender and class.

• Class and Social Isolation: Charity’s origins from “the Mountain,” a symbol of poverty and barbarism, make her feel disconnected from the genteel society of North Dormer. Wharton explores how class divisions shape one’s opportunities and sense of self-worth, as Charity constantly grapples with her outsider status in the village.

• Freedom vs. Constraint: Charity’s yearning for freedom is a central theme, as she feels trapped by the expectations of her small, conservative town and her entanglement with Lawyer Royall. The landscape—both the oppressive isolation of North Dormer and the ominous presence of the Mountain—mirrors her internal struggle between the desire to break free and the reality of her limited options.

• Nature and Symbolism: The rural New England setting plays a significant role in the novel, with nature often reflecting Charity’s emotional state. Summer, with its warmth and beauty, represents the height of her passion with Harney, while the encroaching autumn symbolizes the inevitable decline and the harshness of reality.

Writing Style and Tone

Edith Wharton’s writing in Summer is both evocative and restrained, using the natural world to mirror the emotional and sexual tension that drives the novel. Wharton’s prose often draws vivid contrasts between the stifling atmosphere of North Dormer and the passionate, fleeting moments Charity experiences. The language is precise, and the descriptive passages of the landscape offer a deep symbolic resonance, particularly in their reflection of Charity’s inner turmoil.

Wharton employs a third-person limited point of view, focusing intensely on Charity’s perspective. This allows the reader to experience her frustrations and longings intimately. The tone of the novel is often melancholic, reflecting the inevitability of societal constraints overpowering personal desires. There is also a tension in Wharton’s style between romance and realism. While Charity’s affair with Harney offers a temporary sense of escape, Wharton’s portrayal is ultimately grounded in a realistic depiction of the consequences of breaking social and moral codes, particularly for women in early 20th-century society.