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The Reef
Anna Leath, an American widow living in France, has renewed her relationship with her first love, diplomat George Darrow. But on his way to her beautiful French chateau, Givre, where he hopes to consolidate their marriage plans, Darrow encounters Sophy Viner, who is as vibrant and spontaneous as Anna is reserved and restrained.
Sophy's subsequent employment as governess to Anna's daughter means that her fate becomes inextricably entwined with that of the family at Givre. And what to Darrow is a forgotten interlude becomes the reef on which the lives of four people are in danger of foundering.
Sophy's subsequent employment as governess to Anna's daughter means that her fate becomes inextricably entwined with that of the family at Givre. And what to Darrow is a forgotten interlude becomes the reef on which the lives of four people are in danger of foundering.
353 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1912
201 people are currently reading
3200 people want to read
About the author
Edith Wharton
1,537 books5,396 followersEdith Wharton emerged as one of America’s most insightful novelists, deftly exposing the tensions between societal expectation and personal desire through her vivid portrayals of upper-class life. Drawing from her deep familiarity with New York’s privileged “aristocracy,” she offered readers a keenly observed and piercingly honest vision of Gilded Age society.
Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.
Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.
Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.
Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.
Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.
Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.
Her work reached a milestone when she became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded for The Age of Innocence. This novel highlights the constraining rituals of 1870s New York society and remains a defining portrait of elegance laced with regret.
Wharton’s literary achievements span a wide canvas. The House of Mirth presents a tragic, vividly drawn character study of Lily Bart, navigating social expectations and the perils of genteel poverty in 1890s New York. In Ethan Frome, she explores rural hardship and emotional repression, contrasting sharply with her urban social dramas.
Her novella collection Old New York revisits the moral terrain of upper-class society, spanning decades and combining character studies with social commentary. Through these stories, she inevitably points back to themes and settings familiar from The Age of Innocence. Continuing her exploration of class and desire, The Glimpses of the Moon addresses marriage and social mobility in early 20th-century America. And in Summer, Wharton challenges societal norms with its rural setting and themes of sexual awakening and social inequality.
Beyond fiction, Wharton contributed compelling nonfiction and travel writing. The Decoration of Houses reflects her eye for design and architecture; Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort presents a compelling account of her wartime observations. As editor of The Book of the Homeless, she curated a moving, international collaboration in support of war refugees.
Wharton’s influence extended beyond writing. She designed her own country estate, The Mount, a testament to her architectural sensibility and aesthetic vision. The Mount now stands as an educational museum celebrating her legacy.
Throughout her career, Wharton maintained friendships and artistic exchanges with luminaries such as Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Theodore Roosevelt—reflecting her status as a respected and connected cultural figure.
Her literary legacy also includes multiple Nobel Prize nominations, underscoring her international recognition. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once.
In sum, Edith Wharton remains celebrated for her unflinching, elegant prose, her psychological acuity, and her capacity to illuminate the unspoken constraints of society—from the glittering ballrooms of New York to quieter, more remote settings. Her wide-ranging work—novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, travel writing, essays—offers cultural insight, enduring emotional depth, and a piercing critique of the customs she both inhabited and dissected.
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August 7, 2018
”In every nerve and vein she was conscious of that equipoise of bliss which the fearful human heart scarce dares acknowledge. She was not used to strong or full emotions; but she had always known that she should not be afraid of them. She was not afraid now; but she felt a deep inward stillness.”
I've always really liked this photo of Edith Wharton.
No one was more surprised than George Darrow when the girl he was wooing married Fraser Leath. He may have dallied a bit. He may have flirted with other girls a bit too much, but the intent was always that Anna was to be his bride. Leath sent her a flurry of presents, which certainly helped his cause, but the underlying concern for Anna was whether she could ever really trust George Darrow.
He was a smooth talker, a convincing man. He was elegant, intellectual, and attentive. A man who could stay calm in the face of the most piercing accusations.
As a contrast, Fraser Leath had more of a relationship with his collection of snuff boxes than he did with his wife. He was a man of means, but too unimaginative to really know how best to use his money. He may have actually died of boredom.
Anna and George kept in touch by writing occasional letters to one another. Yes, before Facebook people actually communicated with each other with more than just pithy comments, or by sharing pictures of their cats, or by sending a nudge, though I can’t help but see some parallels with Facebook in the sense that George and Anna were old flames finding each other once again.
Hooking up with an old girlfriend via Facebook has about the same appeal for me as swallowing a gallon of gasoline and throwing a match down my throat.
Maybe things will work out for George and Anna... or maybe not.
Edith Wharton is mischievously cunning and, of course, throws one more twist into the champagne. Her name is Sophy Viner.
So much of life is about timing. Anna wanted George to visit, but after he has left London and arrived in Paris, a telegram caught up with George to wait until later in the month to visit. He suspected cold feet and felt the frigid draft of rejection start to feather his neck.
After all Anna escaped him once before.
George was in a strange frame of mind. He was caught between negative suppositions and yet stirred by the heady first sips of an altered future. With Anna, he had started to see himself differently. ”Everything in him that egotistically craved for rest, stability, a comfortably organized middle-age, all the home-building instincts of the man who has sufficiently wooed and wandered….” At this very moment, when he questioned the dreams he had sketched on the canvas of his mind, he met Sophy Viner. She was between jobs, short on money, lost, and incredibly young and lovely.
A gentleman must offer his assistance.
Her passion and excitement about the theatre, about the fine restaurants, and a glimpse of a different life increased his own enjoyment. She was a ”shimmer of fresh leaves.” A temptation in a time of doubt.
Sophy has a larger role to play, but you will have to read the book to find out. Anna does discover that Sophy was more than a casual acquaintance of Mr. George Darrow.
Anna and George did patch up the misunderstanding over the delay in seeing each other, but Anna was naturally distrustful, as if the impressions she had of a younger George still applied to an older George. ”She reflected with a chill of fear that she would never again know if he were speaking the truth or not.” It became clearer why she married Fraser. Could it be because he was too thick headed to ever conceive of any form of duplicity? She seemed to forget how unhappy he made her. He hardly fulfilled her.
George Darrow made her knees turn to water.
Everyone in this novel finds themselves in an impossible situation. Half truths become hidden agendas, and eventually everything becomes wrapped in tendrils of lies that even start to erode the truth.
Morton Fullerton, the creature who provided a “sexual education” for Edith Wharton.”
Now Edith Wharton is projecting some of her own troubles with love onto George. I’m not sure George ever had a chance at a fair shake. Edith had an affair with a man named Morton Fullerton. He was the love of her life and an intellectually stimulating partner. Her husband suffered tragically from debilitating depression, and she had been living in an intimacy desert for many years. Unfortunately, Morton found other young women stimulating for something other than intellectual discussion.
He broke her heart.
”How could she have thought that this last moment would be the moment to speak to him, when it seemed to have gathered up into its flight all the scattered splendours of her dream?”
Henry James liked this book, referring to it as a ”triumph of method.” He was very good friends with Edith Wharton and also introduced her to Morton Fullerton. I do wonder if James, when he presented Fullerton, was trying to create a situation where he provided the means to stimulate her writing. (Yes, I’m alluded to the thought that James might have been a pimp.) Wharton should have slipped Henry James a happy pill in a tall glass of bourbon and slapped him around a little bit. He could, at the very least, have given her a better compliment than saying this novel was a ”triumph of method” (YAWN!) or maybe a heads up that Fullerton, though charming, was a slippery serpent.
I am truly sorry that Fullerton crushed her, but this novel would have been a different book, probably not a better one, if she had never met him. Tragedy and triumph are both elixirs to a writer. I hope the experience of writing was cathartic for her though I’m sure she restrained herself. ”...and the things she really wanted to say choked in her throat and burned the palms of her hands.”
I always wonder, after finishing a Wharton book, why it takes me so long to read the next one. Her books are always a pleasure, even when they break your heart.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
I've always really liked this photo of Edith Wharton.
No one was more surprised than George Darrow when the girl he was wooing married Fraser Leath. He may have dallied a bit. He may have flirted with other girls a bit too much, but the intent was always that Anna was to be his bride. Leath sent her a flurry of presents, which certainly helped his cause, but the underlying concern for Anna was whether she could ever really trust George Darrow.
He was a smooth talker, a convincing man. He was elegant, intellectual, and attentive. A man who could stay calm in the face of the most piercing accusations.
As a contrast, Fraser Leath had more of a relationship with his collection of snuff boxes than he did with his wife. He was a man of means, but too unimaginative to really know how best to use his money. He may have actually died of boredom.
Anna and George kept in touch by writing occasional letters to one another. Yes, before Facebook people actually communicated with each other with more than just pithy comments, or by sharing pictures of their cats, or by sending a nudge, though I can’t help but see some parallels with Facebook in the sense that George and Anna were old flames finding each other once again.
Hooking up with an old girlfriend via Facebook has about the same appeal for me as swallowing a gallon of gasoline and throwing a match down my throat.
Maybe things will work out for George and Anna... or maybe not.
Edith Wharton is mischievously cunning and, of course, throws one more twist into the champagne. Her name is Sophy Viner.
So much of life is about timing. Anna wanted George to visit, but after he has left London and arrived in Paris, a telegram caught up with George to wait until later in the month to visit. He suspected cold feet and felt the frigid draft of rejection start to feather his neck.
After all Anna escaped him once before.
George was in a strange frame of mind. He was caught between negative suppositions and yet stirred by the heady first sips of an altered future. With Anna, he had started to see himself differently. ”Everything in him that egotistically craved for rest, stability, a comfortably organized middle-age, all the home-building instincts of the man who has sufficiently wooed and wandered….” At this very moment, when he questioned the dreams he had sketched on the canvas of his mind, he met Sophy Viner. She was between jobs, short on money, lost, and incredibly young and lovely.
A gentleman must offer his assistance.
Her passion and excitement about the theatre, about the fine restaurants, and a glimpse of a different life increased his own enjoyment. She was a ”shimmer of fresh leaves.” A temptation in a time of doubt.
Sophy has a larger role to play, but you will have to read the book to find out. Anna does discover that Sophy was more than a casual acquaintance of Mr. George Darrow.
Anna and George did patch up the misunderstanding over the delay in seeing each other, but Anna was naturally distrustful, as if the impressions she had of a younger George still applied to an older George. ”She reflected with a chill of fear that she would never again know if he were speaking the truth or not.” It became clearer why she married Fraser. Could it be because he was too thick headed to ever conceive of any form of duplicity? She seemed to forget how unhappy he made her. He hardly fulfilled her.
George Darrow made her knees turn to water.
Everyone in this novel finds themselves in an impossible situation. Half truths become hidden agendas, and eventually everything becomes wrapped in tendrils of lies that even start to erode the truth.
Morton Fullerton, the creature who provided a “sexual education” for Edith Wharton.”
Now Edith Wharton is projecting some of her own troubles with love onto George. I’m not sure George ever had a chance at a fair shake. Edith had an affair with a man named Morton Fullerton. He was the love of her life and an intellectually stimulating partner. Her husband suffered tragically from debilitating depression, and she had been living in an intimacy desert for many years. Unfortunately, Morton found other young women stimulating for something other than intellectual discussion.
He broke her heart.
”How could she have thought that this last moment would be the moment to speak to him, when it seemed to have gathered up into its flight all the scattered splendours of her dream?”
Henry James liked this book, referring to it as a ”triumph of method.” He was very good friends with Edith Wharton and also introduced her to Morton Fullerton. I do wonder if James, when he presented Fullerton, was trying to create a situation where he provided the means to stimulate her writing. (Yes, I’m alluded to the thought that James might have been a pimp.) Wharton should have slipped Henry James a happy pill in a tall glass of bourbon and slapped him around a little bit. He could, at the very least, have given her a better compliment than saying this novel was a ”triumph of method” (YAWN!) or maybe a heads up that Fullerton, though charming, was a slippery serpent.
I am truly sorry that Fullerton crushed her, but this novel would have been a different book, probably not a better one, if she had never met him. Tragedy and triumph are both elixirs to a writer. I hope the experience of writing was cathartic for her though I’m sure she restrained herself. ”...and the things she really wanted to say choked in her throat and burned the palms of her hands.”
I always wonder, after finishing a Wharton book, why it takes me so long to read the next one. Her books are always a pleasure, even when they break your heart.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
April 29, 2025
Wharton doing what she does so well, exploring the human condition and how the classes interact with one another when the artificial lines collapse. I loved this complex story that asked so many moving, and always pertinent, questions. A gentleman has a brief encounter with a girl who does not rise to his level, he is motivated by good intentions, but things become much more complicated than he expects. When she resurfaces in his life, will he have to pay too high a price for his mistake? Or, will she?
The depths to which Wharton can plumb the soul always amazes me. She seems to see beneath the skin and know that what goes on on the outside is sometimes a total disconnect from what is going on inside. I felt for every single character. Another theme that seemed to run through this story was whether it is ever better to lie or to hide something from your lover that you know will hurt or harm the relationship, particularly if the event in question lies in the past and is over and done. Can a man ever be absolved from a betrayal of trust? And is forgiveness impossible if you cannot put the event from your mind? There is not one of three main characters who is not struggling to understand how they find themselves in this situation or how they can be extracted from it. One thing, for sure, you cannot put the genie back in the bottle.
The one thing that did bother me about this story was the title. What does it mean? Signify? I cannot think of one single reason that would tie this title to this story. Did she pick it out of a hat? If anyone can enlighten me, I would be much obliged.
UPDATE:
Goodreads friends are the bomb! PirateSteve, who I proudly call one of mine, has answered my question regarding the title. His answer is too perfect not to be shared with the world, so here it is:
"But that title would not leave my thoughts. To reef the sails is to roll them up from the large end making the wind catching area smaller. When I go offshore fishing, I fish the reefs because that's where most of the fish are.
An offshore reef is a busy place. Fish are laying eggs, eggs are being fertilized, young fish are hatching. Small fish hide within the structure of the reef, large fish come to the reef in order to feed on the smaller fish. Yet when viewing from the waters surface, one never knows the reef is even there."
What a PERFECT explanation for why Wharton chose this title. If there were ever a story about what is going on beneath the surface, this is it. My thanks to Steve for putting this into perspective for me and with all this reflection...that 4-stars just became a 5.
The depths to which Wharton can plumb the soul always amazes me. She seems to see beneath the skin and know that what goes on on the outside is sometimes a total disconnect from what is going on inside. I felt for every single character. Another theme that seemed to run through this story was whether it is ever better to lie or to hide something from your lover that you know will hurt or harm the relationship, particularly if the event in question lies in the past and is over and done. Can a man ever be absolved from a betrayal of trust? And is forgiveness impossible if you cannot put the event from your mind? There is not one of three main characters who is not struggling to understand how they find themselves in this situation or how they can be extracted from it. One thing, for sure, you cannot put the genie back in the bottle.
The one thing that did bother me about this story was the title. What does it mean? Signify? I cannot think of one single reason that would tie this title to this story. Did she pick it out of a hat? If anyone can enlighten me, I would be much obliged.
UPDATE:
Goodreads friends are the bomb! PirateSteve, who I proudly call one of mine, has answered my question regarding the title. His answer is too perfect not to be shared with the world, so here it is:
"But that title would not leave my thoughts. To reef the sails is to roll them up from the large end making the wind catching area smaller. When I go offshore fishing, I fish the reefs because that's where most of the fish are.
An offshore reef is a busy place. Fish are laying eggs, eggs are being fertilized, young fish are hatching. Small fish hide within the structure of the reef, large fish come to the reef in order to feed on the smaller fish. Yet when viewing from the waters surface, one never knows the reef is even there."
What a PERFECT explanation for why Wharton chose this title. If there were ever a story about what is going on beneath the surface, this is it. My thanks to Steve for putting this into perspective for me and with all this reflection...that 4-stars just became a 5.
February 23, 2018
This is Wharton’s fifth novel. Published in 1912, it is considered, together with the previous Ethan Frome and the subsequent The Custom of the Country, as partly autobiographical. Not so much in deeds as in spirit. As I know very little about her life, I cannot agree nor disagree with this. Rather than engage in searching for the parallels between real life and its representation through a literary disguise, I was more interested in the dynamics of the plot, since it becomes the dynamics of human relationships, and the analysis of character.
This novel presents an imbroglio that reminded me of the very different work Huis clos, suivi de Les mouches. Less claustrophobic than Sartre’s allegorical Hell, we have in the Reef four people caught in a situation out of which there is no possible happy exit. As one of them says: we are all bound together in this coil. There are the circumstances, and these unfold inevitably and irretrievably, similarly to the inexorable path of the Fates pushing the characters, if not to a tragedy, certainly to a drifting end. But there is also the determinant aspect of their various personalities; and their invariability, their being hopelessly what they are, also pushes them to their undesired final situation.
This is particularly apparent with the two female protagonists. Anna Leath and Sophy Viner, could be interpreted as the two possible sides, or two possible lives, of a single woman. The main cleavage between them is class and money, conditions that constrain and release both of them. If Sophy has to find a living, which will prevent her from following her dreams of entering into the theatre world, Anna has no qualms about her position and means. But Anna, in all her security, feels as if she were shut out of the world; as if her life her passing by her side without touching her. In contrast, the limits in Sophy’s life allow her to embrace her destiny and live, if not more beautifully, at least more fully.
She had always felt a romantic and almost humble admiration for those members of her sex who, from force or will, or the constraint of circumstances, had plunged into the conflict from which fate had so persistently excluded her. There were even moments when she fancied herself vaguely to blame for her immunity, and felt that she ought somehow to affront the perils and hardships which refused to come to her.
And so the enigmatic title, The Reef, word that is not found in the text of the novel, looms like the unseen obstacle that will wreck the itinerary of their lives.
June 26, 2022
It is always a treat to enter Edith Wharton's world and The Reef is no exception. The dictionary defines a reef as "a ridge of jagged rock, coral, or sand just above or below the surface of the sea" and "a hazardous obstruction."
It is a fitting title for a novel where the danger lurks below the surface. George Darrow, who appears affable and smooth, is not entirely trustworthy. Sophie Viner, charming and fresh, hides a self-destructive streak and Anna Leith, a beautiful and wealthy widow, struggles with her desires, jealousy and social conventions. Wharton reveals the hazards lying beneath Anna's and George's relationship with an astute and brilliant touch, leaving the reader unsettled.
It is a fitting title for a novel where the danger lurks below the surface. George Darrow, who appears affable and smooth, is not entirely trustworthy. Sophie Viner, charming and fresh, hides a self-destructive streak and Anna Leith, a beautiful and wealthy widow, struggles with her desires, jealousy and social conventions. Wharton reveals the hazards lying beneath Anna's and George's relationship with an astute and brilliant touch, leaving the reader unsettled.
January 25, 2024
3.5★
I finished this one & well...it was better than The Gods Arrive
I'm consoled by the fact that Ms Wharton herself didn't really care much for this one.
From Wikipedia;
Frankly George & Anna's story made me think of;
Most of the writing is as beautiful as one expects from Wharton, but Anna's dilemma went on a bit too long. While I'm glad Anna remained true to herself, this was a sad story where nobody won.
I finished this one & well...it was better than The Gods Arrive
I'm consoled by the fact that Ms Wharton herself didn't really care much for this one.
From Wikipedia;
In a letter to Bernard Berenson in November 1912, Wharton expressed regret regarding her novel, calling it a “poor miserable lifeless lump”. She wrote, “Anyhow, remember it’s not me, though I thought it was when I was writing it—& that next time I’m going to do something worthwhile!!”
Frankly George & Anna's story made me think of;
Most of the writing is as beautiful as one expects from Wharton, but Anna's dilemma went on a bit too long. While I'm glad Anna remained true to herself, this was a sad story where nobody won.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
March 5, 2021
Young diplomat George Darrow is on his way to meet Anna Leath, an old girlfriend who is now a widow with a young daughter and a grown stepson. When Anna abruptly postpones their rendezvous without explanation, Darrow concludes that she is no longer interested in him. A chance meeting with Sophy Viner leads to their brief affair. Unfortunately, the lives of Darrow, Anna, Sophy and Anna's stepson Owen become linked and the extremely discreet sexual relationship between Darrow and Sophy complicates their lives.
This story might have been easier to take if it had been written as a romantic comedy, but instead it's a soap opera. Everyone in this book is so ernest and humorless and they just yammer on endlessly about their feelings. The women change their minds on every other page. Anna's jealousy and obsessive indecisiveness was particularly annoying. The book also had a ridiculous non-ending. As far as I know, Anna is still obsessing.
This is not good Edith Wharton and if you have not read her before do not start here. These characters are tedious and the book lacks the social commentary that often adds an edge to her books. The narration by Kristen Underwood of the audiobook was ok, but she didn't do a very good job with the male voices.
This story might have been easier to take if it had been written as a romantic comedy, but instead it's a soap opera. Everyone in this book is so ernest and humorless and they just yammer on endlessly about their feelings. The women change their minds on every other page. Anna's jealousy and obsessive indecisiveness was particularly annoying. The book also had a ridiculous non-ending. As far as I know, Anna is still obsessing.
This is not good Edith Wharton and if you have not read her before do not start here. These characters are tedious and the book lacks the social commentary that often adds an edge to her books. The narration by Kristen Underwood of the audiobook was ok, but she didn't do a very good job with the male voices.
November 24, 2018
Here is the plotline in a nutshell. George Darrow plans to marry Anna Leath, the two having known each other since they were young. He had lost her once to another, to Fraser Leath whom she had married, but now Fraser Leath has died, and George Darrow has no intention of letting Anna slip by a second time. Anna has agreed to meet George, but she has now two left to care for, her daughter Effie of nine and her stepson, Owen, of legal age, almost an adult, but with whom she has become very close. She cancels her meeting with George, giving him no explanation of why. He is distraught, will he lose her again?! But what does he do, but turn around and have a casual fling with the very pretty, but orphaned and poor, Sophy Viner. The lives of George, Anna, Sophy, Owen and Effie become inextricably intertwined. All are Americans in France, at the turn of the 20th century. Edith Wharton spent many years of her life in France.
The book looks at the repercussions of George’s causal fling. Its characters are those with means and social class and those without. It is about the consequences of deception.
Th book thoroughly analyzes how each character thinks. One sees how each character views a given event from a different angle. One event and so many different perspectives! Can one forgive? Can one forget? Can trust once lost ever be regained?
Reading the book, one considers if perhaps sometimes, in some situations, maybe, just maybe, a deception is best left concealed! Usually, however, one does not have such a choice. Usually, the truth comes out and then the deed must be paid for.
For me, the characters in the book seemed too introspective, too analytical, too obsessed with events of the past. They cannot decide what to do. Individuals do not analyze and consider and reconsider forever and ever. Sure, you ponder a question for a while, but then you make up your mind instinctively and you act. Here, George and Anna and Sophy dither back and forth f-o-r-e-v-e-r! I grew impatient. I wanted to scream, “For God’s sake, make up your mind!”
Edith Wharton has great mastery of the English language. She consistently picks out just the right word, words less frequently used today. I am in awe of her skill.
Kirsten Underwood narrates the audiobook. She uses different intonations for different characters; you can easily identify who is speaking. Effie sounds young and sweet, Owen as a young man, George as the aspiring diplomat that he is. Sophy is direct and determined. Anna is questioning, always questioning and trying to get to the bottom of things. Underwood does a very good job of personifying each character as Edith Wharton has drawn them. Dialogs are well executed, and the reading well-paced. Lines of contemplation and thought are read slowly. This is appropriate. Conundrums do take time to think through. I have given the narration four stars. The flow is not as good at the start as it is by the end.
The book is not bad. I do like it, but again I note that I prefer Edith Wharton’s short books over her long ones.
***************************
The Old Maid: The 'Fifties 5 stars
Bunner Sisters 4 stars
False Dawn 4 stars
Summer 4 stars
The Shadow of a Doubt: A Play in Three Acts 4 stars
The Reef 3 stars
The Glimpses of the Moon 3 stars
Xingu 3 stars
The House of Mirth 3 stars
The Eyes 2 stars
The Age of Innocence 1 star
Ethan Frome 1 star
Coming Home TBR
The Marne TBR
Edith Wharton TBR
The book looks at the repercussions of George’s causal fling. Its characters are those with means and social class and those without. It is about the consequences of deception.
Th book thoroughly analyzes how each character thinks. One sees how each character views a given event from a different angle. One event and so many different perspectives! Can one forgive? Can one forget? Can trust once lost ever be regained?
Reading the book, one considers if perhaps sometimes, in some situations, maybe, just maybe, a deception is best left concealed! Usually, however, one does not have such a choice. Usually, the truth comes out and then the deed must be paid for.
For me, the characters in the book seemed too introspective, too analytical, too obsessed with events of the past. They cannot decide what to do. Individuals do not analyze and consider and reconsider forever and ever. Sure, you ponder a question for a while, but then you make up your mind instinctively and you act. Here, George and Anna and Sophy dither back and forth f-o-r-e-v-e-r! I grew impatient. I wanted to scream, “For God’s sake, make up your mind!”
Edith Wharton has great mastery of the English language. She consistently picks out just the right word, words less frequently used today. I am in awe of her skill.
Kirsten Underwood narrates the audiobook. She uses different intonations for different characters; you can easily identify who is speaking. Effie sounds young and sweet, Owen as a young man, George as the aspiring diplomat that he is. Sophy is direct and determined. Anna is questioning, always questioning and trying to get to the bottom of things. Underwood does a very good job of personifying each character as Edith Wharton has drawn them. Dialogs are well executed, and the reading well-paced. Lines of contemplation and thought are read slowly. This is appropriate. Conundrums do take time to think through. I have given the narration four stars. The flow is not as good at the start as it is by the end.
The book is not bad. I do like it, but again I note that I prefer Edith Wharton’s short books over her long ones.
***************************
The Old Maid: The 'Fifties 5 stars
Bunner Sisters 4 stars
False Dawn 4 stars
Summer 4 stars
The Shadow of a Doubt: A Play in Three Acts 4 stars
The Reef 3 stars
The Glimpses of the Moon 3 stars
Xingu 3 stars
The House of Mirth 3 stars
The Eyes 2 stars
The Age of Innocence 1 star
Ethan Frome 1 star
Coming Home TBR
The Marne TBR
Edith Wharton TBR
August 29, 2021
This novel revolves around four characters. Anna Leath is a widow who now resides in a French Chateau with her nine year old daughter Effie. Owen Leath is her step son. George Darrow is an American diplomat in London who knew Anna prior to her marriage and they are now planning to get married. Sophy Viner is Effie’s new governess and she and Owen wish to marry (this is a problem because of the difference in class). At the start of the novel Sophy and George meet (before she takes up her post as governess) and they spend a few days together. When Darrow goes to the chateau he discovers Sophie is working there. They decide to keep their liaison quiet. The novel works through the drama which follows.
Apparently this is supposed to be partly autobiographical with Sophy and Anna representing different aspects of Wharton. It was also at this time that she discovered her husband was having a string of affairs and she also had an affair.
A great deal of the novel focuses on the interior life of the characters and as a result has been compared to Henry James’s work. This narrowness does make the novel feel rather claustrophobic. The two proposed marriages both run into some difficulties. Anna in particular realises that she will be marrying the former lover of her stepson’s wife and Owen, her stepson, would be marrying his stepfather-in-law’s former mistress. Sexuality is crossing generational boundaries. Observant readers will have recalled that at the beginning of the book, when George introduces Sophy to Paris theatre, the play he takes her to see is Oedipus. The title implies that sexuality is like a reef which will damage unwary boats.
It is beautifully written, but the whole cast managed to irritate me intensely; and then there are paragraphs like this:
“That bliss, in the interval, had wound itself into every fold of her being. Passing, in the first days, from a high shy tenderness to the rush of a secret surrender, it had gradually widened and deepened, to flow on in redoubled beauty. She thought she now knew exactly how and why she loved Darrow, and she could see her whole sky reflected in the deep and tranquil current of her love.”
Of course it is about disillusion and there is depth and subtlety here, However as I was reading it I kept remembering a quote from Colson Whitehead when he was asked about why he wrote so much about slavery:
“Q: Why write about slavery? Haven’t we had enough stories about slavery? Why do we need another one?
A: I could have written about upper middle class white people who feel sad sometimes, but there’s a lot of competition.”
My irritation with this continued with the rather odd ending.
Apparently this is supposed to be partly autobiographical with Sophy and Anna representing different aspects of Wharton. It was also at this time that she discovered her husband was having a string of affairs and she also had an affair.
A great deal of the novel focuses on the interior life of the characters and as a result has been compared to Henry James’s work. This narrowness does make the novel feel rather claustrophobic. The two proposed marriages both run into some difficulties. Anna in particular realises that she will be marrying the former lover of her stepson’s wife and Owen, her stepson, would be marrying his stepfather-in-law’s former mistress. Sexuality is crossing generational boundaries. Observant readers will have recalled that at the beginning of the book, when George introduces Sophy to Paris theatre, the play he takes her to see is Oedipus. The title implies that sexuality is like a reef which will damage unwary boats.
It is beautifully written, but the whole cast managed to irritate me intensely; and then there are paragraphs like this:
“That bliss, in the interval, had wound itself into every fold of her being. Passing, in the first days, from a high shy tenderness to the rush of a secret surrender, it had gradually widened and deepened, to flow on in redoubled beauty. She thought she now knew exactly how and why she loved Darrow, and she could see her whole sky reflected in the deep and tranquil current of her love.”
Of course it is about disillusion and there is depth and subtlety here, However as I was reading it I kept remembering a quote from Colson Whitehead when he was asked about why he wrote so much about slavery:
“Q: Why write about slavery? Haven’t we had enough stories about slavery? Why do we need another one?
A: I could have written about upper middle class white people who feel sad sometimes, but there’s a lot of competition.”
My irritation with this continued with the rather odd ending.
August 8, 2025
"Morty," Edie Wharton said, "if you can do that again, I'll get naked !"
What was EWs lover Morton Fullerton like ? In her
most autobiographical novel he appears as George
Darrow, an aspiring diplomat who has a casual fling
with a young American woman while waiting for the
widowed Anna Leath (EW) to decide if she wants to
marry him. The ambivalent Anna lives behind a social
mask (outside of Paris) but she can't shake off her Olde
New York upbringing. Her controlling nature is disturbed
by his sexuality.
Henry James, who had a pash for Fullerton, calls this
her masterpiece. A more objective critic says, "It's
such a good novel that one wishes it were better. It's
tone is uncertain." That was before anyone knew about
her secret affair w Fullerton. (In the intro to this
edition Louis Auchincloss wrongly speculates that Darrow
was EWs dogmatic and snobby confidant Walter Berry).
It's difficult at times to get a sympathetic perspective
on Wharton. (Here, she's very cranky). But I'm glad to report that she pushed Mort into high social spheres and helped pay off his blackmailer. She was still smitten.
What was EWs lover Morton Fullerton like ? In her
most autobiographical novel he appears as George
Darrow, an aspiring diplomat who has a casual fling
with a young American woman while waiting for the
widowed Anna Leath (EW) to decide if she wants to
marry him. The ambivalent Anna lives behind a social
mask (outside of Paris) but she can't shake off her Olde
New York upbringing. Her controlling nature is disturbed
by his sexuality.
Henry James, who had a pash for Fullerton, calls this
her masterpiece. A more objective critic says, "It's
such a good novel that one wishes it were better. It's
tone is uncertain." That was before anyone knew about
her secret affair w Fullerton. (In the intro to this
edition Louis Auchincloss wrongly speculates that Darrow
was EWs dogmatic and snobby confidant Walter Berry).
It's difficult at times to get a sympathetic perspective
on Wharton. (Here, she's very cranky). But I'm glad to report that she pushed Mort into high social spheres and helped pay off his blackmailer. She was still smitten.
December 5, 2023
Dupa cum bine se stie, mentorul autoarei a fost scriitorul Henry James, astfel ca stilul si influenta acestuia se pot deslusi cu usurinta in toate operele sale. Imbratisand realismul psihologic, Edith Wharton ramane in atentia cititorilor cu romane celebre cum ar fi: "Age of Innocence", pentru care a luat premiul Pulitzer, dar si " The house of Mirth", care a fost ecranizat cu Gillian Anderson in rolul principal. "The Reef" sau "Obstacole" a aparut in 1913 si ne propune o incalceala sentimentala si morala specifica lui Henry James.
George Darrow, un tanar diplomat, o reintalneste dupa 12 ani pe Anna Summers, fosta lui iubita, care este in prezent vaduva. Relatia lor este sub semnul intrebarii deoarece ea este prinsa in datoriile familiale pe care le are iar el este ocupat cu cariera sa. Obstacolele pe care ea le invoca il dezamagesc pe George, acesta considerand ca este jucat pe degete. Ea insa, din orgoliu si demnitate prefera sa-l lase sa creada ce vrea in loc sa-i dezvaluie 'meschinariile familiale' care o tin legata.
George, in drum spre Paris, oprit fiind de o asemenea scrisoare de refuz din partea ei, o intalneste pe Sophy Viner cu care are o aventura intima. Dupa un timp, cand problema casatoriei cu Anna se ridica, el o reintalneste pe Sophy in casa acesteia, in compania lui Owen, fiul vitreg al lui Anne. Incurcatura sentimentala se naste din faptul ca Owen o iubeste pe Sophy, Sophy il iubeste pe George, iar George o iubeste pe Anna. Care o sa fie rezultatul acestei dramatice probleme morale si sentimentale ramane sa aflati citind romanul.
Cartea mi-a placut prin stilul autoarei care aminteste de Henry James, desi consider ca cel din urma este mai pe gustul meu datorita preciziei ca de chirurg cu care scrie si transmite, Edith fiind un pic mai sentimentala.
Nu mi-a placut faptul ca George a asteptat 12 ani ca Anna sa fie libera si cand se intampla asta, nu a mai putut sa reziste inca o scurta perioada, ci s-a incurcat cu prima ispita care i-a iesit in cale, in prima gara.
Am selectat o declaratie de dragoste demna de retinut, care suna cam asa: "Am ales, asta e tot: te-am avut si am de gand sa te pastrez. [...] Sa te pastrez ascuns aici, sfarsi ea punandu-si mana pe piept."
Inchei cu cateva citate relevante pentru frumosul stil al autoarei:
"Anna e 'moderna' - cred ca asa se spune atunci cand citesti carti indoielnice si admiri picturi oribile."
"Dar tocmai cruzimea lui o atragea. Voia sa se tortureze cu noi suferinte..."
"El urmarea cum se intretese pe chipul ei jocul luminii si al umbrei vechilor amintiri si sperantelor mai noi..."
"Si era agasat sa i se reaminteasca, exact in acest moment, ca naturaletea nu corespunde intotdeauna bunului gust."
"... omenirea n-ar fi fost niciodata nevoita sa inventeze tactul daca n-ar fi nascocit mai inainte complicatiile mondene."
"Merita sa urmaresti lupta dintre instinctul si ratiunea ei, si sa stii ca fiinta ta este obiectul acelei lupte..."
"Dar cu toata distanta dintre ei, Annei i se parea la fel de aproape: de parca gandurile lui se miscau odata cu ea, atingand-o cu maini mangaietoare."
George Darrow, un tanar diplomat, o reintalneste dupa 12 ani pe Anna Summers, fosta lui iubita, care este in prezent vaduva. Relatia lor este sub semnul intrebarii deoarece ea este prinsa in datoriile familiale pe care le are iar el este ocupat cu cariera sa. Obstacolele pe care ea le invoca il dezamagesc pe George, acesta considerand ca este jucat pe degete. Ea insa, din orgoliu si demnitate prefera sa-l lase sa creada ce vrea in loc sa-i dezvaluie 'meschinariile familiale' care o tin legata.
George, in drum spre Paris, oprit fiind de o asemenea scrisoare de refuz din partea ei, o intalneste pe Sophy Viner cu care are o aventura intima. Dupa un timp, cand problema casatoriei cu Anna se ridica, el o reintalneste pe Sophy in casa acesteia, in compania lui Owen, fiul vitreg al lui Anne. Incurcatura sentimentala se naste din faptul ca Owen o iubeste pe Sophy, Sophy il iubeste pe George, iar George o iubeste pe Anna. Care o sa fie rezultatul acestei dramatice probleme morale si sentimentale ramane sa aflati citind romanul.
Cartea mi-a placut prin stilul autoarei care aminteste de Henry James, desi consider ca cel din urma este mai pe gustul meu datorita preciziei ca de chirurg cu care scrie si transmite, Edith fiind un pic mai sentimentala.
Nu mi-a placut faptul ca George a asteptat 12 ani ca Anna sa fie libera si cand se intampla asta, nu a mai putut sa reziste inca o scurta perioada, ci s-a incurcat cu prima ispita care i-a iesit in cale, in prima gara.
Am selectat o declaratie de dragoste demna de retinut, care suna cam asa: "Am ales, asta e tot: te-am avut si am de gand sa te pastrez. [...] Sa te pastrez ascuns aici, sfarsi ea punandu-si mana pe piept."
Inchei cu cateva citate relevante pentru frumosul stil al autoarei:
"Anna e 'moderna' - cred ca asa se spune atunci cand citesti carti indoielnice si admiri picturi oribile."
"Dar tocmai cruzimea lui o atragea. Voia sa se tortureze cu noi suferinte..."
"El urmarea cum se intretese pe chipul ei jocul luminii si al umbrei vechilor amintiri si sperantelor mai noi..."
"Si era agasat sa i se reaminteasca, exact in acest moment, ca naturaletea nu corespunde intotdeauna bunului gust."
"... omenirea n-ar fi fost niciodata nevoita sa inventeze tactul daca n-ar fi nascocit mai inainte complicatiile mondene."
"Merita sa urmaresti lupta dintre instinctul si ratiunea ei, si sa stii ca fiinta ta este obiectul acelei lupte..."
"Dar cu toata distanta dintre ei, Annei i se parea la fel de aproape: de parca gandurile lui se miscau odata cu ea, atingand-o cu maini mangaietoare."
September 27, 2023
This is not a horrible novel, but it’s certainly not one of Wharton’s best. I was reminded of her good friend Henry James at points, due to some ambiguity and the state of the characters’ thought processes, but, for only one thing, her plot points were too predictable and some elements were belabored.
Wharton took the most interesting character in the first part (Sophy) and made her boring in later sections. An extremely well-written section from Darrow’s point of view at the end of the first part set me up for more of that kind of thing, but there’s nothing else like it, so it becomes an oddity. With his burning a letter at the end of that part, there’s either a continuity error later on, or he’s lying, which is possible. Wharton seems to take the easy way out by making him forgetful over what is not a long period of time.
The ending is odd, too, also unlike what’s come before. I’m guessing Wharton was going for humor with the antics of the dog and certainly trying for a kind of sordidness with the scene. The ending creates more sympathy for Sophy, though a comment about her origins comes across as unsympathetic—or maybe it’s irony.
I don’t believe the word ‘reef’ is included anywhere in the text. Near the end of the book the main character Anna, who’s been developed more than the others by this time (maybe too much?) compares herself to “a traveller on a giddy path between a cliff and a precipice”; I suppose a reef is a sort of precipice.
Wharton took the most interesting character in the first part (Sophy) and made her boring in later sections. An extremely well-written section from Darrow’s point of view at the end of the first part set me up for more of that kind of thing, but there’s nothing else like it, so it becomes an oddity. With his burning a letter at the end of that part, there’s either a continuity error later on, or he’s lying, which is possible. Wharton seems to take the easy way out by making him forgetful over what is not a long period of time.
The ending is odd, too, also unlike what’s come before. I’m guessing Wharton was going for humor with the antics of the dog and certainly trying for a kind of sordidness with the scene. The ending creates more sympathy for Sophy, though a comment about her origins comes across as unsympathetic—or maybe it’s irony.
I don’t believe the word ‘reef’ is included anywhere in the text. Near the end of the book the main character Anna, who’s been developed more than the others by this time (maybe too much?) compares herself to “a traveller on a giddy path between a cliff and a precipice”; I suppose a reef is a sort of precipice.
May 13, 2020
Greuț început, dar merită citită!
"- Oamenii fermecători există pretutindeni... și trebuie să cauți întotdeauna ce e mai bun... dar cînd ai trăit atîta timp într-o lume cu tradiții, e dificil să te adaptezi la idei noi..."
"- Firește! Avem cu toții atîtea planuri să ne facem - și să le punem de acord unele cu altele."
"- Oamenii fermecători există pretutindeni... și trebuie să cauți întotdeauna ce e mai bun... dar cînd ai trăit atîta timp într-o lume cu tradiții, e dificil să te adaptezi la idei noi..."
"- Firește! Avem cu toții atîtea planuri să ne facem - și să le punem de acord unele cu altele."
March 23, 2008
This is supposed to be Wharton's Jamesian book....whatever that means. Probably, it's the convoluted plotting in which all is NOT revealed until the end...and then, we "Dear Readers" are treated to the weirdest ending in years. Anna, major female protagonist, visits the blowsy sister of the woman her fiance' has "known" in the biblical sense. Ensconced in a huge pink bed with those annoying barky dogs around her, this parody of who knows what is the last vision Wharton paints. Anna has been struggling with her love for George Darrow, a tremendously attractive man in all respects, even from her youth. She was not vibrant enough to respond to him in her youth: now ten years later, she wants to respond but cannot get past his little fling with Sophie (who just happens to be her daughter's governess). Yes, it is "une belle salade" if that's the appropriately naughty description.
Mind you, she agonizes over this problem a bit too much. I found her excessively scrupulous. George obviously loves her....ya know...the real love, and only took up with little Sophie (who is a free spirit and, of course, loves
George and, give her a gold star, renounces him), because Anna the ice-princess could not let her hair down.
Confusion aside, at the end when we leave the boudoir of Sophie's artiste sister (there is a deep message here for all us women), we are supposed to imagine that Anna and George will clasp each other in an eternal embrace anyway and sail off to his diplomatic posting in South America. What really annoyed me in this arrangement was she was ok to be leaving her only daughter for a year or more in the hands of whatever governess she would find. Sophie, who btw was also being pursued by Anna's stepson, the Lord of the Chateau, had to quit the premises.
Edith had no children; she had bad parenting. It shows.
She did know how to choose a title. This story is indeed a reef....fascinating on the surface and full of terror and danger underneath.
Mind you, she agonizes over this problem a bit too much. I found her excessively scrupulous. George obviously loves her....ya know...the real love, and only took up with little Sophie (who is a free spirit and, of course, loves
George and, give her a gold star, renounces him), because Anna the ice-princess could not let her hair down.
Confusion aside, at the end when we leave the boudoir of Sophie's artiste sister (there is a deep message here for all us women), we are supposed to imagine that Anna and George will clasp each other in an eternal embrace anyway and sail off to his diplomatic posting in South America. What really annoyed me in this arrangement was she was ok to be leaving her only daughter for a year or more in the hands of whatever governess she would find. Sophie, who btw was also being pursued by Anna's stepson, the Lord of the Chateau, had to quit the premises.
Edith had no children; she had bad parenting. It shows.
She did know how to choose a title. This story is indeed a reef....fascinating on the surface and full of terror and danger underneath.
July 16, 2022
31. The Reef by Edith Wharton
published: 1912 (with an introduction from 1965 by Louis Auchincloss)
format: 362-page paperback
acquired: December read:May 22 – Jun 21 time reading: 11:14, 1.9 mpp
rating: 4½
genre/style: Early 20th-century American novel theme: Wharton
locations: France
about the author: about the author: 1862-1937. Born Edith Newbold Jones on West 23rd Street, New York City. Relocated permanently to France after 1911.
I'm working through Edith Wharton's novels with a group on Litsy. This is our 8th novel/novella by her. It was written in the shadow of her impending divorce, and a failed secret affair. This was also the time she moved from the mansion she designed for herself in Lenox, MA, The Mount, to Paris. She would live in France permanently from that time. Wharton was unhappy with the novel, and called it a “poor miserable lifeless lump”.
The meaning of the title is symbolic. It's a novel about relationships, touching on the themes of her real life, looking at fidelity and infidelity and maybe protective boundaries.
In the briefest summary, George Darrow has a fling in Paris with an immature young American, Sophie Viner, while waiting for the answer to a marriage proposal to a somewhat stately Anna Leath, a widowed mother living in a French chateau. Things don't turn out well. All the characters are Americans in France.
It's a difficult novel to capture. It starts out fun, with some well setup dramatic dark humor. Things bumble along, but the writing is terrific and the book propels itself. But then the novel turns inward. Anna and Darrow are doomed, but it does something to Anna. She faces a problem she can‘t solve, and her self-confidence is undermined. The book's propulsion comes to an introspective tortured halt. Anna leaves us very unsettled. (Both possible subjects in that sentence apply)
I'm a bit lost in the sense of how ending really washes out all the impression of the fun the novel I was reading halfway through. I liked both parts, and they link fine. But they have some kind of troubling relationship, or I have trouble accepting them as parts of the same novel.
Anyway, recommended only for completists, but I don't think it will disappoint. Wharton was master of her craft at this point.
published: 1912 (with an introduction from 1965 by Louis Auchincloss)
format: 362-page paperback
acquired: December read:May 22 – Jun 21 time reading: 11:14, 1.9 mpp
rating: 4½
genre/style: Early 20th-century American novel theme: Wharton
locations: France
about the author: about the author: 1862-1937. Born Edith Newbold Jones on West 23rd Street, New York City. Relocated permanently to France after 1911.
I'm working through Edith Wharton's novels with a group on Litsy. This is our 8th novel/novella by her. It was written in the shadow of her impending divorce, and a failed secret affair. This was also the time she moved from the mansion she designed for herself in Lenox, MA, The Mount, to Paris. She would live in France permanently from that time. Wharton was unhappy with the novel, and called it a “poor miserable lifeless lump”.
The meaning of the title is symbolic. It's a novel about relationships, touching on the themes of her real life, looking at fidelity and infidelity and maybe protective boundaries.
In the briefest summary, George Darrow has a fling in Paris with an immature young American, Sophie Viner, while waiting for the answer to a marriage proposal to a somewhat stately Anna Leath, a widowed mother living in a French chateau. Things don't turn out well. All the characters are Americans in France.
It's a difficult novel to capture. It starts out fun, with some well setup dramatic dark humor. Things bumble along, but the writing is terrific and the book propels itself. But then the novel turns inward. Anna and Darrow are doomed, but it does something to Anna. She faces a problem she can‘t solve, and her self-confidence is undermined. The book's propulsion comes to an introspective tortured halt. Anna leaves us very unsettled. (Both possible subjects in that sentence apply)
I'm a bit lost in the sense of how ending really washes out all the impression of the fun the novel I was reading halfway through. I liked both parts, and they link fine. But they have some kind of troubling relationship, or I have trouble accepting them as parts of the same novel.
Anyway, recommended only for completists, but I don't think it will disappoint. Wharton was master of her craft at this point.
July 5, 2012
I love Edith Wharton’s New York novels, and I teach Ethan Frome, so I was delighted to recently come across a book of hers I’d never heard of, The Reef. It is neither a New York novel nor a New England one, like Frome and its counterpart Summer, though one of The Reef’s main characters, Sophy Viner, reminds one of Summer’s heroine. After I finished the novel, I was nonplussed – what had just happened? -- so I did a little research. I found it is considered Wharton’s most “Jamesian” novel, and that it was Henry James’ favorite of her oeuvre. Its plot is minimal and frustrating, but as in a James novel, plot is secondary. This novel must be read on another level.
A quick summary: George Darrow and Anna Summers were childhood sweethearts, but Anna went on to marry Fraser Leath; she adopted his son by a former marriage, Owen, and had a child with Leath. Now Fraser Leath is dead. Anna and Darrow meet again by chance and renew their romance. The novel opens with Darrow on his way from London to Paris to meet Anna, who resides with her former mother-in-law on a provincial French estate. Darrow is deeply in love, so he is anguished to receive a telegram from Anna, pushing off their meeting for two weeks, citing an “unexpected obstacle.”
While Darrow is agonizing over the meaning of Anna’s deferral, he runs into Sophy Viner, a young woman who once acted as secretary in a home where he was a suitor. She is also going to France, alone and jobless, so he takes her under his wing and they travel together. Darrow waits in vain for an explanation from Anna, and by week’s end, he has a fling with young Sophy.
Months later, Darrow and Anna are reconciled. He goes to her country home to propose, and whom does he find there but Sophy – acting as governess to Anna’s young daughter. You might think this would be enough of a dramatic twist, but no -- Sophy is also engaged to Anna’s step-son, Owen. The irony is that the “unexpected obstacle” of Anna’s message to Darrow was literally Sophy: Anna delayed Darrow’s visit in order to find a governess, which turns out to be Sophy. However, Sophy is able to become an obstacle between Anna and Darrow precisely because of that delay. Indirectly and unwittingly, Anna brings her main conflict upon herself.
The ensuing psychological drama makes up the rest of the novel. Anna forces the truth out of Darrow. Sophy declares her love for Darrow and breaks with Owen. Owen suspects the real reason, but does he ever learn the truth? The novel ends with the news that Sophy has returned to her original employer and is bound for India, a conclusion that reminds me of the idealist St. John Rivers of Jane Eyre, who exiles himself to India after Jane’s rejection, never to love again.
Wharton tells us early on that this novel is not meant to be read for plot. When Darrow takes Sophy to the theater in Paris, he is disappointed to find she is focusing on “the story” and the acting craft, not on the internal “conflict of character producing” that plot (47). This can be taken as Wharton’s advice to us on how to the read the novel in our hands. Anna has also focused on the superficial aspects of life. This is symbolized by the name of her husband’s family’s home, Givré, which means frosted with ice, indicating the Leath family’s lethal lack of emotion and depth, as well as by her late husband’s trivial hobby of collecting enameled snuffboxes. Anna has yet to dive beneath the surfaces of experience to explore the reef, a phenomenon simultaneously alluring and threatening.
When Anna learns that Darrow has had an affair with Sophy, it is not the class discrepancy or even the adultery that bothers her. Of course, the usual tensions of class conflict and social expectations are present in this novel, as in all of Wharton’s other work. Before focusing on her imminent marriage to Darrow, Anna’s first priority is persuading her staid mother-in-law to approve of Owen’s engagement to the governess. Social mores are changing: Anna and Darrow are part of a transitional generation that thinks less rigidly about class, while Owen has flung all such prejudices aside. But by setting these American characters in France, rather than under the microscope of New York society, Wharton signals that she is paying less attention to the constant social control seen in the New York novels.
Rather, the obstacles for Anna are her knowledge -- and her imagined knowledge -- of Darrow’s past. She visualizes Sophy in Darrow’s arms, in restaurants where he now wants to take Anna. One irony that emerges from her suffering is that she is finally experiencing what Darrow may have felt for decades while she was married to Fraser Leath. One theme of the novel is to warn against this sort of naive hypocrisy: “…when she [Anna] had explored the intricacies and darknesses of her own heart her judgment of others would be less absolute” (307). Anna’s perspective has been broadened and deepened by learning of Sophy’s love for Darrow.
Wharton also includes a strangely Oedipal twist to the lesson Anna learns. Anna is almost too close to her step-son Owen. They bonded in the emotional frigidity of the Leath home, as she explains to Darrow: “Owen's like my own son--if you'd seen him when I first came here you'd know why. We were like two prisoners who talk to each other by tapping on the wall” (243). Owen calls her “dear,” and she treats him like her own, feeling that she owes him, as suggested by his name. Likewise, Darrow’s first impulses toward Sophy are fatherly and protective. Even when he questions her alliance with Owen, he seems to do so not out of a lover’s jealousy, but out of a paternal desire for her well-being. Like Anna, he feels that he owes the younger person his assistance, but in his case, it is because of their liaison. As other readers have pointed out, Anna’s jealousy is compounded by the possibility of having Sophy as a daughter-in-law, especially wed to her beloved Owen. The mother is willing to give up the son, but not when his fiancée is revealed as a rival.
Though Darrow may appear to be this novel’s protagonist at the beginning, he remains steadfast in his loyalty to both women. It is Anna who must change, when she realizes that others have pasts and feelings, and that if she wants to experience true passion, she must accept the abyss of potential heartbreak that is its counterpart. Anna’s vacillations -- hating and loving Darrow, resenting and respecting Sophy – are the frustrating outcome of these conflicts. Just as we think she has resigned herself to accepting Darrow and his past, she decides she must leave him and seeks to confront Sophy. Anna is irresistibly drawn to this girl who, in such a short time, and with such limited means, has lived a more honest and more passionate life than she herself ever dreamed of. Sophy is the reef. For Darrow, a man and therefore used to doing as he pleases, Sophy is a superficial fling, something just below the surface, not a true deep love. For Anna, Darrow and Sophy’s affair is her first glimpse under the waves at the possibilities of true love. And so they both flounder there, like ships run aground.
A quick summary: George Darrow and Anna Summers were childhood sweethearts, but Anna went on to marry Fraser Leath; she adopted his son by a former marriage, Owen, and had a child with Leath. Now Fraser Leath is dead. Anna and Darrow meet again by chance and renew their romance. The novel opens with Darrow on his way from London to Paris to meet Anna, who resides with her former mother-in-law on a provincial French estate. Darrow is deeply in love, so he is anguished to receive a telegram from Anna, pushing off their meeting for two weeks, citing an “unexpected obstacle.”
While Darrow is agonizing over the meaning of Anna’s deferral, he runs into Sophy Viner, a young woman who once acted as secretary in a home where he was a suitor. She is also going to France, alone and jobless, so he takes her under his wing and they travel together. Darrow waits in vain for an explanation from Anna, and by week’s end, he has a fling with young Sophy.
Months later, Darrow and Anna are reconciled. He goes to her country home to propose, and whom does he find there but Sophy – acting as governess to Anna’s young daughter. You might think this would be enough of a dramatic twist, but no -- Sophy is also engaged to Anna’s step-son, Owen. The irony is that the “unexpected obstacle” of Anna’s message to Darrow was literally Sophy: Anna delayed Darrow’s visit in order to find a governess, which turns out to be Sophy. However, Sophy is able to become an obstacle between Anna and Darrow precisely because of that delay. Indirectly and unwittingly, Anna brings her main conflict upon herself.
The ensuing psychological drama makes up the rest of the novel. Anna forces the truth out of Darrow. Sophy declares her love for Darrow and breaks with Owen. Owen suspects the real reason, but does he ever learn the truth? The novel ends with the news that Sophy has returned to her original employer and is bound for India, a conclusion that reminds me of the idealist St. John Rivers of Jane Eyre, who exiles himself to India after Jane’s rejection, never to love again.
Wharton tells us early on that this novel is not meant to be read for plot. When Darrow takes Sophy to the theater in Paris, he is disappointed to find she is focusing on “the story” and the acting craft, not on the internal “conflict of character producing” that plot (47). This can be taken as Wharton’s advice to us on how to the read the novel in our hands. Anna has also focused on the superficial aspects of life. This is symbolized by the name of her husband’s family’s home, Givré, which means frosted with ice, indicating the Leath family’s lethal lack of emotion and depth, as well as by her late husband’s trivial hobby of collecting enameled snuffboxes. Anna has yet to dive beneath the surfaces of experience to explore the reef, a phenomenon simultaneously alluring and threatening.
When Anna learns that Darrow has had an affair with Sophy, it is not the class discrepancy or even the adultery that bothers her. Of course, the usual tensions of class conflict and social expectations are present in this novel, as in all of Wharton’s other work. Before focusing on her imminent marriage to Darrow, Anna’s first priority is persuading her staid mother-in-law to approve of Owen’s engagement to the governess. Social mores are changing: Anna and Darrow are part of a transitional generation that thinks less rigidly about class, while Owen has flung all such prejudices aside. But by setting these American characters in France, rather than under the microscope of New York society, Wharton signals that she is paying less attention to the constant social control seen in the New York novels.
Rather, the obstacles for Anna are her knowledge -- and her imagined knowledge -- of Darrow’s past. She visualizes Sophy in Darrow’s arms, in restaurants where he now wants to take Anna. One irony that emerges from her suffering is that she is finally experiencing what Darrow may have felt for decades while she was married to Fraser Leath. One theme of the novel is to warn against this sort of naive hypocrisy: “…when she [Anna] had explored the intricacies and darknesses of her own heart her judgment of others would be less absolute” (307). Anna’s perspective has been broadened and deepened by learning of Sophy’s love for Darrow.
Wharton also includes a strangely Oedipal twist to the lesson Anna learns. Anna is almost too close to her step-son Owen. They bonded in the emotional frigidity of the Leath home, as she explains to Darrow: “Owen's like my own son--if you'd seen him when I first came here you'd know why. We were like two prisoners who talk to each other by tapping on the wall” (243). Owen calls her “dear,” and she treats him like her own, feeling that she owes him, as suggested by his name. Likewise, Darrow’s first impulses toward Sophy are fatherly and protective. Even when he questions her alliance with Owen, he seems to do so not out of a lover’s jealousy, but out of a paternal desire for her well-being. Like Anna, he feels that he owes the younger person his assistance, but in his case, it is because of their liaison. As other readers have pointed out, Anna’s jealousy is compounded by the possibility of having Sophy as a daughter-in-law, especially wed to her beloved Owen. The mother is willing to give up the son, but not when his fiancée is revealed as a rival.
Though Darrow may appear to be this novel’s protagonist at the beginning, he remains steadfast in his loyalty to both women. It is Anna who must change, when she realizes that others have pasts and feelings, and that if she wants to experience true passion, she must accept the abyss of potential heartbreak that is its counterpart. Anna’s vacillations -- hating and loving Darrow, resenting and respecting Sophy – are the frustrating outcome of these conflicts. Just as we think she has resigned herself to accepting Darrow and his past, she decides she must leave him and seeks to confront Sophy. Anna is irresistibly drawn to this girl who, in such a short time, and with such limited means, has lived a more honest and more passionate life than she herself ever dreamed of. Sophy is the reef. For Darrow, a man and therefore used to doing as he pleases, Sophy is a superficial fling, something just below the surface, not a true deep love. For Anna, Darrow and Sophy’s affair is her first glimpse under the waves at the possibilities of true love. And so they both flounder there, like ships run aground.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2013
Edith Wharton's The Reef was written in 1912 when she was essentially at her very best as a novelist, and I think her powers are quite evident in this engaging tale. Also, this is a very theatrical story that I personally think would lend itself very well to a stage adaptation. The book could just as easily have been entitled, The Chateau, as basically three-quarters of the novel takes place within the confines of Mrs Anna Leath's French estate, Givre.
This is the story of romantic relationships, double-standards and consequences among four Americans in Europe just before the First World War, and the entire plot turns on the things said and unsaid among the four protagonists. Wharton, through the course of the novel, puts the reader squarely inside the mind and emotions of each of the four characters. Consequently, it becomes hard to say with any certainty that this person is right, or that that person is wrong. It is simply a "Human Story" and mistakes are made by each in turn, and this reader found it damnably difficult to side with one over the other. Another element that I found intriguing is that Wharton only gives the reader the barest amount of background information about each of the characters throughout the book, as she wants the reader to focus on and fully experience the emotional crisis and psychological struggle that each is undergoing as the tale plays out.
While devastatingly painful to read at times, The Reef is an insightful portrait of the interactions among the men and women of "Society" at the beginning of the 20th century. In some respects the moral ambiguity and dilemmas faced by Wharton's characters in The Reef really have not changed all that much--people still fall in love, deception still occurs, and feelings still mean everything. When done with the book, one can't help but realize that Wharton's title--The Reef--is spot-on. The challenge that each of us faces as we move through life is to sail carefully, but exuberantly, and avoid crashing on the reefs that will always be perilously close. I am so glad to have read this and look forward to picking it up again sometime.
This is the story of romantic relationships, double-standards and consequences among four Americans in Europe just before the First World War, and the entire plot turns on the things said and unsaid among the four protagonists. Wharton, through the course of the novel, puts the reader squarely inside the mind and emotions of each of the four characters. Consequently, it becomes hard to say with any certainty that this person is right, or that that person is wrong. It is simply a "Human Story" and mistakes are made by each in turn, and this reader found it damnably difficult to side with one over the other. Another element that I found intriguing is that Wharton only gives the reader the barest amount of background information about each of the characters throughout the book, as she wants the reader to focus on and fully experience the emotional crisis and psychological struggle that each is undergoing as the tale plays out.
While devastatingly painful to read at times, The Reef is an insightful portrait of the interactions among the men and women of "Society" at the beginning of the 20th century. In some respects the moral ambiguity and dilemmas faced by Wharton's characters in The Reef really have not changed all that much--people still fall in love, deception still occurs, and feelings still mean everything. When done with the book, one can't help but realize that Wharton's title--The Reef--is spot-on. The challenge that each of us faces as we move through life is to sail carefully, but exuberantly, and avoid crashing on the reefs that will always be perilously close. I am so glad to have read this and look forward to picking it up again sometime.
January 9, 2016
At the top of the box to write a review is the question "What did you think"? At some point during my reading of any book, phrases start running through my head as to what I do think about what I'm reading. I laughed at myself in this one. The question in school was always "and what do you think will happen next". I was so poor at this type of prognostication that I rarely even try, but I did try in this one. My surmises were wrong. And then they were right. And then they were wrong again. Maybe you will do better.
My experience with Wharton is that her characters yearn for what might have been. The Reef might epitomize this yearning. It's simply filled with it. "I love him". "I love him not". No wonder I couldn't tell what was going to happen next - the characters were filled with indecision.
But I thought they were also wrong in many instances. "She wondered that he would address himself so composedly to his task, and then ironically reflected that such detachment was a sign of his superiority." "No, not superior, but different," I wanted to shout.
I'll keep on reading Wharton as long as there is Wharton to read.
My experience with Wharton is that her characters yearn for what might have been. The Reef might epitomize this yearning. It's simply filled with it. "I love him". "I love him not". No wonder I couldn't tell what was going to happen next - the characters were filled with indecision.
But I thought they were also wrong in many instances. "She wondered that he would address himself so composedly to his task, and then ironically reflected that such detachment was a sign of his superiority." "No, not superior, but different," I wanted to shout.
I'll keep on reading Wharton as long as there is Wharton to read.
August 10, 2021
Close interpersonal relationships and love examined. This book made me feel smart. My copy had a good introduction by Julian Barnes which I recommend reading after reading the novel. I thought most of the action took place in or near Paris.
May 27, 2025
No logre empatizar mucho con la historia.
Entiendo la critia o mensaje que quiere dar, pero no logre involucrarme tanto y siempre llego a afectar.
En fin, fue agradable el libro.
Entiendo la critia o mensaje que quiere dar, pero no logre involucrarme tanto y siempre llego a afectar.
En fin, fue agradable el libro.
January 5, 2024
Finally, I have finished it.
I really appreciate what questions were behind this story, and I understand that Edith Wharton was struggling with happenings in her own life, that were similar to those in the novel. So it was her own way of coping - through writing.
Yet, to my taste, there was too much drama. All those constant: "I want to be with him, but I can't", "I should be with him, but I don't want", etc. Anna seemed too unstable. The book could have had the subtitle: "much talking about nothing".
Again, I understand and like the idea, the complex situation of the characters. Yet, the way the story was delivered bored and annoyed me, alternately.
[2.5 stars]
I really appreciate what questions were behind this story, and I understand that Edith Wharton was struggling with happenings in her own life, that were similar to those in the novel. So it was her own way of coping - through writing.
Yet, to my taste, there was too much drama. All those constant: "I want to be with him, but I can't", "I should be with him, but I don't want", etc. Anna seemed too unstable. The book could have had the subtitle: "much talking about nothing".
Again, I understand and like the idea, the complex situation of the characters. Yet, the way the story was delivered bored and annoyed me, alternately.
[2.5 stars]
August 13, 2015
I love Edith Wharton, but this book was terrible! I was curious as to why it could be so bad, so I read a bit about it. She wrote it during a time when she was very unhappy in her marriage. The character Anna is said to be based on the author, and Sophy based on her alter ego. That being said, the writing was overdone with too many adjectives, too much whining, not enough plot. It was sooooo drawn out, I just couldn't wait for it to end to see what would happen to these miserable characters! This brings us to the worst part- the ending! At first I thought I had a defective book and this couldn't possibly be the last page..... But it was. No resolution, no point to the story. Another annoyance - the title. There is no " reef " in this book- no ocean, no water... No reef. There are no themes or ideas which a reef could be symbolizing here- I looked in reviews and books written by smart literary people - this title is senseless! This must have been one long therapy session on paper for Edith Wharton. Her other novels such as " Summer" and " Age of Innocence " are so much better they seem to have been written by someone else. Don't bother with this one if you are her fan!
March 18, 2021
Обичам романите на Едит Уортън. Прочетох всичките ѝ преведени на български. Дойде ред и на „Рифът“. За мен това е най-богатият като език неин роман. Поздравления за великолепния превод на Мария Стоева. Било е истинско предизвикателство да се предаде красивият и наситен с описания, сравнения, епитети и метафори език на Уортън. Романът като цяло се чете бавно, защото самият той забавя времето. Изпъстрен с описания на природни картини, на бита и отношенията, характерни за епохата, създава уют с всичките обичайни занимания на героите като оправяне на тоалета, следобеден чай, разходки в градината и, разбира се, любовни терзания.
Диалозите също са бавни, въпросите са заобиколни, а отговорите – уклончиви. Във всекидневната лудост понякога имам нужда от това сладко и меланхолично забавяне, което ми носят тези романи. Харесват ми конфликтите, които Уортън представя – любовни триъгълници, силни жени в търсене на себе си отвъд представите и обществените очаквания на епохата. В „Рифът“ отново имаме любовен триъгълник, сблъсък на социални класи, който до голяма степен предопределя съдбите на героите, ревност, нерешителност, колебания, съмнения, жени от два различни свята с различни характери и светоглед и един мъж, когото и двете обичат. Главното тук за мен отново не беше конфликтът, колкото красотата на езика, стилът и пресъздадената атмосфера.
Диалозите също са бавни, въпросите са заобиколни, а отговорите – уклончиви. Във всекидневната лудост понякога имам нужда от това сладко и меланхолично забавяне, което ми носят тези романи. Харесват ми конфликтите, които Уортън представя – любовни триъгълници, силни жени в търсене на себе си отвъд представите и обществените очаквания на епохата. В „Рифът“ отново имаме любовен триъгълник, сблъсък на социални класи, който до голяма степен предопределя съдбите на героите, ревност, нерешителност, колебания, съмнения, жени от два различни свята с различни характери и светоглед и един мъж, когото и двете обичат. Главното тук за мен отново не беше конфликтът, колкото красотата на езика, стилът и пресъздадената атмосфера.
August 26, 2010
This is one of Wharton's best, tightly plotted, excellent characterization, and extremely painful emotional impact. Louis Auchincloss, who wrote the introduction to my edition, spectacularly misreads nearly everything about the novel. His statement that Wharton's "hero" is Darrow is belied by Wharton's obvious disgust with him for most of the work; Darrow, after all, lies and otherwise does his best to avoid responsibility for the lives he has ruined by his thoughtless actions at the beginning of the novel. The real "hero," if there can be said to be such a thing in an Edith Wharton novel, is Anna Leath: her tragic flaw, her inability to free herself from convention and to stop vacillating over the past, points strongly toward her heroic status (though, unlike mythic heroes, Wharton's characterization of Mrs. Leath is heartbreakingly realistic). Similarly, Auchincloss's contention that Wharton could not think of a way of getting Sophy Viner offstage other than "awkwardly" sending her off to India at the end of the novel is dead wrong: the circumstances of her leaving and Miss Viner's actions preceding the denoument are vital and integral elements in making sense of the plot. This is a terrific novel by one of the best modern writers America produced.
September 5, 2014
The Reef, Edith Wharton’s eighth novel and published in 1912, is a book that couldn’t possibly have been written today. Its subject matter is so dated that I found myself quite exasperated with its central character, Anna Leath because I cannot imagine any contemporary 30-something woman getting so worked up about a suitor’s ‘past experience’. However, despite the disproportionate angst that forms the novel’s raison d’être, The Reef is a fascinating exploration of trust – how easy it is to lose, and how hard it is to restore…
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2013/08/17/th... but there are spoilers.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2013/08/17/th... but there are spoilers.
May 25, 2019
This novel started off very strong, but quickly became more dull as it progressed. Most of the characters are extremely vain and unlikeable. The last chapter was completely unnecessary and almost ruined the ending.
For it’s time though The Reef was a good novel.
For it’s time though The Reef was a good novel.
April 3, 2022
Click here to hear my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
January 30, 2022
Edith Wharton does it again with this biting novel of love, deception, and social mores.
Synopsis: Two seemingly happy couples join in France to announce their engagements. But things begin to unravel as secret pasts come to light. What are the effects of a casual sexual betrayal in an era far more dignified and couth than our own?
Basically this book takes the prototypical "you cheated on me!"/"I thought we were broken up!" situation and turns it on its head. Beautifully written (as all of Wharton's works), perfectly timed, and hauntingly wise, this story will be sure to stay with me for a long time.
I was ruminating on the title as I considered my review, slightly bemused because in no way is this book about ocean life, beaches, or the sea. In fact, the word "reef" never even appears. And then, low and behold, this morning I sat down to watch an episode of Magic School Bus with my son and what was the episode about?? Coral reefs! 😂 A reef is a ragged ridge of rock in a shallow part of the ocean, just beneath the surface. It can't be seen from above, and it generally houses its own secret ecosystem of fish and ocean life.
Um.....How genius is Edith Wharton??? The main character, George Darrow, has this horrible secret he's hiding from the love of his life, one that is inwardly destroying him and churning just beneath the surface of their lives together. I don't want to give anything away by saying too much, so I'll just leave it at this: go read this masterpiece of a novel. Be mind blown.
Synopsis: Two seemingly happy couples join in France to announce their engagements. But things begin to unravel as secret pasts come to light. What are the effects of a casual sexual betrayal in an era far more dignified and couth than our own?
Basically this book takes the prototypical "you cheated on me!"/"I thought we were broken up!" situation and turns it on its head. Beautifully written (as all of Wharton's works), perfectly timed, and hauntingly wise, this story will be sure to stay with me for a long time.
I was ruminating on the title as I considered my review, slightly bemused because in no way is this book about ocean life, beaches, or the sea. In fact, the word "reef" never even appears. And then, low and behold, this morning I sat down to watch an episode of Magic School Bus with my son and what was the episode about?? Coral reefs! 😂 A reef is a ragged ridge of rock in a shallow part of the ocean, just beneath the surface. It can't be seen from above, and it generally houses its own secret ecosystem of fish and ocean life.
Um.....How genius is Edith Wharton??? The main character, George Darrow, has this horrible secret he's hiding from the love of his life, one that is inwardly destroying him and churning just beneath the surface of their lives together. I don't want to give anything away by saying too much, so I'll just leave it at this: go read this masterpiece of a novel. Be mind blown.
March 16, 2018
An interesting Wharton novel. Not my favourite of hers, but not a bad read. The characters are all difficult to like, and seem very confused about what they want. The "dramatic, soul-revealing" moments Wharton's writing is known for don't really come up in this book in the same way they do in, say, The Age of Innocence or The House of Mirth.
July 28, 2015
Jamesians: why on earth have you not read this book?
January 17, 2010
The Reef was beautifully written, subtle and tense. We have for our story a simple drama between two sets of lovers. But the undercurrents of distrust, passion, secrets, loyalties and lies pull the story along inexorably.
Darrow, on his way to propose to the woman he has been courting, encounters an appealing young woman very unlike most women he knows. Sophy is direct, unabashed, self-sufficient and outspoken, but also very vulnerable. He takes her under his wing, so to speak, and introduces her to some of the pleasures Paris has to offer.
Next we meet Anna, poised to marry Darrow once her stepson's proposed marriage is blessed by a disapproving grandmother. All these characters lives wrap around each other's like long fronds of kelp, knotted together despite their separate aspirations. Not everything goes well for them, and they find themselves adrift, marooned, or sunk, as the case may be.
I loved all the sea metaphors. All through the book there are references to currents, tides, waves and eddies in human relationships and life. For example:
What the reef of the title refers to is not explicitly stated. It could be, in a shipping sense, an obstacle that the characters hit and founder on, hidden from view but dangerous to cross. Or it could be, ecologically speaking, the natural shelter that the characters keep returning to despite being washed to and fro by the tide.
I'm sure Wharton means to leave it ambiguous, like the characters' hidden motives.
The themes addressed here are more interesting to me than the plot itself. Silence and secrets drive much of the emotional narrative. The characters spend more time not talking to each other than they do talking. However, what speaks the loudest for each of them is their face, especially the eyes. Despite their unwillingness to speak, all the characters tell the truth through their (involuntary) facial expressions.
There was so much not said in this story, those unspoken words actually seem to drive the story forward. The characters spend a great deal of time and effort wondering what each other are thinking, reading each other’s facial expressions, interpreting silences and assessing the invisible waves of tension between the other characters.
I’m not accustomed to reading books from this era and it was hard for me in places to keep track of what each character was thinking or intending. I had to go back and reread a few bits to understand what was happening, because it was all so understated. However, I did like the introspective nature of the story and the ever-present play between what is hidden and what is revealed.
Darrow himself is a master of keeping things hidden. I think his character can be summed up by this sentence, which Darrow applies to himself when thinking back over his past actions:
He can’t describe himself as totally scrupulous but he can forgive himself his minor transgressions. Of course, whether those around him can do the same is another matter.
For Anna, her inability to speak her mind or ask for the truth separates her from those she loves. Her story is summarized in this sentence from near the end of the book:
I enjoyed this book, especially the quality of the writing, but the main feeling I’m left with at the end is bewilderment. How could the characters remain so hidden from each other, even while they are passionately in love? Were any of them honest with each other? How could they let old-fashioned reservations, especially about sexuality, keep them from fully knowing one another? Was there any possible escape from behind the wall of silence that they created for themselves?
In some ways this book seems to be a product of its time. Plot devices such as frantic concern over a young woman’s purity and the grandmother’s disapproval of her grandson’s choice of wife (because she didn’t come from a good family) seem dated. On the other hand, themes of jealousy, lies and the difficulty of truly understanding another person are still current.
Darrow, on his way to propose to the woman he has been courting, encounters an appealing young woman very unlike most women he knows. Sophy is direct, unabashed, self-sufficient and outspoken, but also very vulnerable. He takes her under his wing, so to speak, and introduces her to some of the pleasures Paris has to offer.
Next we meet Anna, poised to marry Darrow once her stepson's proposed marriage is blessed by a disapproving grandmother. All these characters lives wrap around each other's like long fronds of kelp, knotted together despite their separate aspirations. Not everything goes well for them, and they find themselves adrift, marooned, or sunk, as the case may be.
I loved all the sea metaphors. All through the book there are references to currents, tides, waves and eddies in human relationships and life. For example:
Anna herself, at the moment, was floating in the mid-current of felicity, on a tide so bright and buoyant that she seemed to be one with its warm waves. (177)
What the reef of the title refers to is not explicitly stated. It could be, in a shipping sense, an obstacle that the characters hit and founder on, hidden from view but dangerous to cross. Or it could be, ecologically speaking, the natural shelter that the characters keep returning to despite being washed to and fro by the tide.
I'm sure Wharton means to leave it ambiguous, like the characters' hidden motives.
The themes addressed here are more interesting to me than the plot itself. Silence and secrets drive much of the emotional narrative. The characters spend more time not talking to each other than they do talking. However, what speaks the loudest for each of them is their face, especially the eyes. Despite their unwillingness to speak, all the characters tell the truth through their (involuntary) facial expressions.
There was so much not said in this story, those unspoken words actually seem to drive the story forward. The characters spend a great deal of time and effort wondering what each other are thinking, reading each other’s facial expressions, interpreting silences and assessing the invisible waves of tension between the other characters.
I’m not accustomed to reading books from this era and it was hard for me in places to keep track of what each character was thinking or intending. I had to go back and reread a few bits to understand what was happening, because it was all so understated. However, I did like the introspective nature of the story and the ever-present play between what is hidden and what is revealed.
Darrow himself is a master of keeping things hidden. I think his character can be summed up by this sentence, which Darrow applies to himself when thinking back over his past actions:
In the recognized essentials he had always remained strictly within the limits of his scruples. (129)
He can’t describe himself as totally scrupulous but he can forgive himself his minor transgressions. Of course, whether those around him can do the same is another matter.
For Anna, her inability to speak her mind or ask for the truth separates her from those she loves. Her story is summarized in this sentence from near the end of the book:
‘He will always know what I am thinking, and he will never dare to ask me,’ she thought; and she saw between them the same insurmountable wall of silence... (354)
I enjoyed this book, especially the quality of the writing, but the main feeling I’m left with at the end is bewilderment. How could the characters remain so hidden from each other, even while they are passionately in love? Were any of them honest with each other? How could they let old-fashioned reservations, especially about sexuality, keep them from fully knowing one another? Was there any possible escape from behind the wall of silence that they created for themselves?
In some ways this book seems to be a product of its time. Plot devices such as frantic concern over a young woman’s purity and the grandmother’s disapproval of her grandson’s choice of wife (because she didn’t come from a good family) seem dated. On the other hand, themes of jealousy, lies and the difficulty of truly understanding another person are still current.
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