Customer Reviews

Madame De Treymes

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It is very interesting that book written so long ago by Edith Wharton can be so relevant today. Our protagonists include Americans in Paris and their relationship with French aristocracy. Mr. Durham, a middle aged well off man from New York has reconnected with Fanny who he knew as a young woman. Fanny is now married to a French aristocrat, she lives in Paris and has a small child. The marriage is falling apart and Fanny is separated from her husband. Due to social conventions, divorce seems to be out of question. Mr. Durham seeks out Fanny's sister-in-law, Madame De Treymes, hoping to persuade the family to change their mind so that Madame Fanny de Malvile and her husband can be divorced. And the game of cat and mouse starts. Because in case of divorce, there is always something to be gained, or lost in the process. This is a complex story that explores divide between cultures (America and France), religion (protestant and catholic), class (French upper class aristocracy and American new rich). It is a story that explains that good does not always win and in a complex social contracts, someone is always bound to loose - and it is not the bad guy that does. This is a short novella, beautifully written and as all Edith Wharton's novels it is anything but simple.