Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2006 Mary Johnston, Discoverer, and Edith Wharton, Citizen in a Land of Letters Rhonna Jean Robbins-Sponaas Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES MARY JOHNSTON, DISCOVERER, AND EDITH WHARTON, CITIZEN IN A LAND OF LETTERS By RHONNA JEAN ROBBINS-SPONAAS A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2006 Copyright © 2006 Rhonna Jean Robbins-Sponaas All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Rhonna Jean Robbins-Sponaas defended on 28 March 2006. ______________________________ Dennis D. Moore Professor Directing Dissertation ______________________________ Elna C. Green Outside Committee Member __________________________________ Anne E. Rowe Committee Member ______________________________ W. T. Lhamon, Jr. Committee Member Approved: _____________________________________________ Hunt Hawkins, Chair, Department of English The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS When I first began this project, I did so with the intention of focusing on Edith Wharton. My reasons were varied and many, but not the least of those was that I find the “bridge” period of American literature—that period between the usual academic divisions of early American and modern American literature—particularly interesting. As a writer working in the craft today, the period of turning and shaping what had come before into the foundation of what we have now fascinates me. A second reason was that Wharton was, in her own way, a pioneer in both the industry and the craft, and I was intrigued by her achievement. She was an unusual woman doing the unexpected during a time when conformity was the rule rather than the exception and writing was a still often considered a less than socially acceptable occupation for a woman. As I began to delve deeper into the subject, however, I found myself with a heartfelt itch to complicate my subject matter with an area I had made a point of including in my earlier studies: the literature of the American South. The problem, of course, was that I was not entirely certain how to go about doing that. I felt rather like a kid who had been handed a fifty-dollar bill and turned loose in a Willy Wonka-style chocolate factory; the choices were overwhelming. For inspiration, I turned to my ever-tolerant outside committee member who just happens to focus on the South—Dr. Elna Green of the Department of History with The Florida State University. In her usual graceful and non-directive fashion, Dr. Green pointed me toward separating the toffees from the creams and I came away with a reminder of a writer I had already touched upon under her direction. For that creative nudge I shall always be grateful. The journey I have taken since then has been a challenging one, but one I value greatly. I knew little about Mary Johnston when I began the project, and was not entirely certain that I could find enough material about this lesser known writer, particularly given that I was trying to gather that material from overseas. Had I known about the difficulties inherent in conducting research on a little-researched American subject from half a world away, I do not iii honestly know that I would have pursued it. Certainly I would have approached the task much differently, but the advantages of hindsight are indeed many. Without the benefits of that knowledge, however, I plodded my way through, stumbling over language barriers, differences in educational systems and library formats, copy and loan costs increased in proportion to the increased distance, and a sheer lack of access to necessary resources. While I took a few scrapes and bruised a knee or two in the journey, I could not have reached this final destination without the aid of a host of helping hands along the way. Among them I must mention first Christopher Scott Forster, a doctoral student with the University of Virginia who carefully photographed a host of primary materials in the Mary Johnston collection, then went above and beyond the call of duty by noting peculiarities within the collection and deciphering library notes, coding, and file organization. Without his assistance, I would not have been able to obtain a fraction of the materials which went into this project and will be used for future projects. I owe special thanks to Gregory A. Johnson, Ann L. S. Southwell, and the rest of the library staff in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia for providing microfilms of Johnston’s diaries and other research aid, Lucy Patrick in the special collections of Strozier Library with The Florida State University for providing assistance with a rare Wharton text, Dr. Dale Flynn of the Edith Wharton Society for providing back copies of the Edith Wharton Review, Dr. C. Ronald Cella for encouraging words and confirming some of my information about Mary Johnston, Anita Firebaugh for her willingness to share her own Johnston information and insight, and Katherine Stolz Barber with the Three Hills Inn for answering questions about Mary Johnston’s old home. Thanks also go to Kristin Sponaas, librarian with the Norges Tekniske-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet (NTNU) at Dragvoll in Trondheim, Norway—and her colleagues—for her immeasurable help in obtaining those resource materials which could be obtained within the Scandinavian system. I owe a special word of thanks to Kjell Erik Pettersson for allowing me after-hours access to the Stjørdal library and his carefully tended microfilm reader in order to read the Johnston microfilms. Special thanks go to my committee for their quiet support—even when I am certain they wondered whether I had fallen off the planet. While Dr. Dennis Moore performed as key iv administrative contact, Dr. Anne Rowe, Dr. Rip Lhamon, and Dr. Elna Green stood ready to provide feedback, guidance, and encouragement through the usual messy chaos that comes with writing a doctoral dissertation. Nor, however, may I forget Dr. Rick Straub, who began the journey with us but, because of a tragic accident, was not able to be here at the end. He has indeed been missed. Last, and far from least, I owe a special thanks to my friends, family, and husband. Wendy McLallen and Elizabeth Trelenberg—both of whom understand the peculiar obstacles associated with distance and isolation—and I formed our own support group and shared resources, anxieties, and small triumphs. Dr. Jason Nolan provided server space and answered software questions for a dissertation blog in order to make that sharing process simpler. Most especially, my mother and stepfather have shipped pound upon pound of books and research materials to me, and a more thoughtful receiving and shipping point one never had. My husband has endured the usual burdens that come with having a spouse in another country for semesters at a stretch, has uncomplainingly mended computers and software to provide me with the necessary tools, served as chauffeur between libraries and home, fetched one mail parcel of books and resources after another, provided meals during critical periods, all even while I am certain he sometimes wondered—as did I—if the goal would ever be achieved. To all of them, I am eternally grateful for their faith and confidence, and their never-ending support. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................... viii I. INTRODUCTION...........................................................1 The Environment........................................................1 The Writers ............................................................9 A Brief Overview of Works and Writing History . 11 Current Status of Both Writers and Academic Resources . 14 Project Scope..........................................................22 II. BIOGRAPHICAL OVERVIEW: LIFE AND WORKS . 26 Edith Wharton Family and Background............................................26 Childhood and Education...........................................30 Travel and Marriage...............................................33 Writing Identity: Citizenship in a Land of Letters . 37 Mary Johnston Family and Background............................................43 Childhood and Education...........................................45 From Teens to Adulthood ..........................................46 Writing Identity: Discoverer in the Realms of my own Being . 49 III. A CASE EXAMPLE: AUTHORIAL IDENTITY AND WHARTON’S “WRITING A WAR STORY” ............................................55 IV. WAR WRITINGS.........................................................75 Edith Wharton .........................................................75 Book of the Homeless ..............................................76 Fighting France ..................................................80 The Marne ......................................................85 A Son at the Front ................................................89 On the Periphery .................................................91 French Ways and their Meaning ...............................91 “The Refugees” ............................................92 vi Mary Johnston.........................................................95