Abstract
This chapter reads Wharton’s story, “The Last Asset,” from the perspectives of literary naturalism and social Darwinism, feminism, and performativity. The chapter highlights the use of close reading, especially for figurative language of predation, the military, business, and the theater. The close reading shows that the story raises questions about social predation and manipulation, about women’s limited career options at the beginning of the twentieth century, and about identity. As very little scholarship exists on “The Last Asset,” one of the innovations of this chapter is to draw attention to the story by demonstrating its appropriateness for inclusion in a variety of literature courses. The chapter also provides an insightful interpretation of the story that helps to make the case for greater attention to “The Last Asset” by relating it to Wharton’s better-known novels and stories. Another innovation is in the section that examines identity, which relies on Judith Butler’s theory of performativity.
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Walker, P.A. (2021). Social Darwinism, Feminism, and Performative Identity in Wharton’s “The Last Asset”. In: Asya, F. (eds) Teaching Edith Wharton’s Major Novels and Short Fiction. American Literature Readings in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52742-6_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52742-6_12
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