Customer Reviews

Madame de Treymes

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Edith Wharton's novella, "Madame de Treymes", was published on March 2nd of 1907. It is a story about John Durham, and his desire to marry Fanny Frisbee, who is living in France and who became Madame de Malrive by marriage. Though separated from her husband and in custody of their son, Madame de Malrive fears that she cannot get a divorce which would allow her to marry John Durham. Durham goes to her cousin by marriage, Madame de Treymes, to try to determine if the family will allow a divorce. Madame de Treymes tries to work out a deal, but always there is a test of Durham's character involved, and John Durham is a man of high character.

It is a fairly quick read, and it does hold the reader's interest for the most part, but I felt it didn't meet the standards of what I have come to expect from Edith Wharton's writings. The story was fairly predictable, and the moral contrast between the Americans Durham and Madame de Malrive verses Madame de Treymes and the rest of her family has been done better in other stories. That is not to say that this is a bad story, I am not sure it is possible for Edith Wharton to have written anything which falls into that category, it is just that this is far from her best or most interesting works. I wouldn't avoid this story, but I also wouldn't go out of my way to find it.