The Other Two - Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton was truly a woman of high social standing and great wealth. In her writing, this seemed to be what she knew and what she wrote about. In the day and time in which she wrote, there were not many people who had wealth, so it is surprising to me that her writings would be so popular with not many people being able to relate, unless people would use her writings as a way to escape to better and more sophisticated way of life.
As I read her story “The Other Two,” I immediately noticed she was a writer who was daring and bold. She was practically writing about the forbidden; a woman who was married for the third time due to two previous divorces. I was also a little shocked to see her writing about a child who had weekend visitation with the other parent. I didn’t even know such circumstances occurred during those times. To read this story today however, just seem typical of the day. It was as if she was writing about the future.
In this story, we see a woman who is now married to a man who is forced to deal with his wife’s past immediately after marrying her. First her daughter Lily is sick and the Waythorns are forced to cut their honeymoon short due to her having typhoid. This is only the beginning of Mr. Waythorn’s troubles. However, even though he has to deal with ex-husband Haskett coming into his home to visit his step-daughter Lily, and then Mr. Varick as an investor in the company he works for, he maintains himself quite well. Most men would have not handled it the way he did. Mrs. Waythorn doesn’t seem to have any difficulty herself dealing with her two ex-husbands. It appears she actually enjoys having all three men around her and in her life. Mr. Waythorn’s biggest problem seems to be he has difficulty calling his wife his own. He later realizes he only has 1/3 of her and settles for that. He knows too that her past is what has made her who she is and decides to just take what he can get and be satisfied with that. It’s amazing how much this story fits the time of today. I enjoyed this story because even though it was written nearly 100 years ago, it really fits our society today.