Twilight Sleep: An Introduction
Reading Schedule, Major Themes, and Key Characters
Welcome to our third read-along for the Year with Edith Wharton project. This time, we will dive into Wharton’s 1927 Jazz Age novel, Twilight Sleep, a satirical critique of the materialistic and pleasure-seeking culture of 1920s New York society. We follow the Manford-Wyant family as they attempt to find meaning and happiness in their otherwise hollow lives of privilege and comfort. Like many novels from this period, Twilight Sleep captures the post-WWI zeitgeist of spiritual emptiness and material excess. The characters drown themselves in the panaceas of the times: dancing, sports, alcohol, new-age spirituality, and sex.
The novel initially received mixed reviews. New York Times reviewer, Percy A. Hutchinson, said of the novel:
Despite the infelicity of the title "Twilight Sleep," Mrs. Edith Wharton will receive the usual felicitations on the production of a new novel. Mrs. Wharton's achievements may vary from book to book; and it seems increasingly probable that she will never again quite equal "Ethan Frome" and "The House of Mirth."
Before going on to say:
The story is verily a startling one: but it is told with such reticence, with so many withholdings, with implication everywhere taking the place of direct statement, direct presentation, that not until the book has been finished and laid aside is the reader fully conscious of the tragedy which has been played out before him. And this is realism of a most subtle sort, for not until the catastrophe has come and passed do the persons of the story perceive the precipice along which they walked and over which they have all pitched, some of them to receive hurts from which they will never wholly recover. Hence the title; Mrs. Wharton's characters, lulled by the security which comes of wealth and social position, or from false ideas of freedom, are semi-somnambulists; they are in a sort of "twilight" sleep.
Meanwhile, many modern reviewers consider Twilight Sleep an important critique of modernity and consumer culture. Valuing its examination of the relationship between technology, happiness, and authentic human experience. Michael Brendan Dougherty of National Review compares Twilight Sleep to the quintessential Jazz Age novel, The Great Gatsby, writing:
Wharton’s novel was little appreciated in its time, and it hasn’t benefited from the same revival of interest that eventually rescued F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, another Jazz Age novel. Maybe it’s because our culture is created and largely controlled by latter-day Pauline (and Paul) Manfords. Gatsby’s novel is held to reject the American dream itself as a falsity, obscene wealth as corrupting, and the WASP ruling class as a permanent source of oppression, despite its evident decline. Compared with Wharton’s novel, which cuts deeper and is more personal, Gatsby looks like a cheap attempt at scapegoating. For Twilight Sleep is a satire of the modern age, but it targets some of our permanent temptations.
I’m very curious to see how I feel about this often overlooked Wharton novel when all is said and done.
Reading Schedule:
My edition is divided into three parts, and we will spend about two weeks reading each.1 This leisurely pace should allow people to catch up if they join the read-along late. It also allows us a few weeks at the end of June to catch up and discuss the novel. If you don’t have a copy of Twilight Sleep and want to join, you can download a free e-book from Project Gutenberg.
Themes and Major Characters:
Here are some key themes to keep in mind while reading:
The rise of blended (dysfunctional) families from divorce.2
The rise of modern psychology, self-help, and diet culture.
The meaningless rituals of wealthy New York society.
Generational conflicts, specifically the tension between traditional and more modern values.
Escapism in all its forms, be it to numb oneself following the horrors of WWI or to distract from the hollowness of existence.
The impacts of technological advancements and modernization on society.
I'd love to know if any other themes stand out to you as we go along.
Finally, let’s take a look at some of the characters we’re going to meet in Twilight Sleep:
Pauline Manford: The matriarch: mother of Nona Manford and Jim Wyant. She was previously married to Arthur Wyant and is now married to lawyer Dexter Manford. She is an incredibly busy person, preferring to have every hour of her life mapped out in a schedule. She deliberately leaves no time in her day for quiet self-reflection.
Dexter Manford: Pauline's second husband, a successful and respected lawyer who may be having a midlife crisis.
Nona Manford: She’s the daughter of Pauline and Dexter Manford and half-sister to Jim Wyant. She is a flapper of the Jazz Age and happens to be in love with a married man.
Jim Wyant: Son of Pauline and Arthur, and husband to Lita. He’s struggling to keep his marriage intact while managing family business interests.
Lita Wyant: Wife of Jim Wyant and the mother of their child. She is the epitome of the 1920s flapper. Her favorite pastime is going to clubs and dancing; her greatest aspiration is to become a movie star. She’s an orphan with a less-than-respectable upbringing. Her beauty and modern attitudes make her attractive and threatening to the older generation. We need to keep an eye on Lita.
Arthur Wyant: Pauline's ex-husband and Jim's father. He’s rather old-fashioned and embodies the ideals of old New York society. He and Pauline maintain a congenial relationship post-divorce.
I look forward to discussing Twilight Sleep with you over the next two months as part of my Year with Edith Wharton project. I hope this little introduction piqued your interest and you’re ready to start reading. I look forward to reading all your comments as we go along. As always, thank you for joining me on this literary journey.
Happy Reading!
I’ve found discrepancies between editions for several of her novels, so I’ve also provided the chapters in case your edition is broken up differently.
Divorce seems to be everywhere in Wharton’s novels!