MASTERCLASS

Look beyond character flaws to discover motivation, says Helen Walters, with an example story by Edith Wharton

This month’s story, ‘The Dilettante’ by Edith Wharton, is about a love triangle. Although, as it turns out, the relationship between the three characters is more about manipulation than about love. What I want to focus on is the light and shade of mood and emotion the characters go through, and the personality attributes they display, in the course of the story. As always, you’ll get the most out of this masterclass if you read the story for yourself: www. literaryladiesguide.com/full-texts-ofclassic-works/the-dilettante-by-edithwharton-1903-short-story-full-text/

The ‘Dilettante’ of the title is a man called Thursdale, and this definition of Thursdale sets the tone of the story. He is a womaniser who is interested in women, but does not want to make a meaningful commitment. Indeed, we learn that he has considered previous romantic relationships and feelings as encumbrances. The two women involved in the story are the young and inexperienced Miss Gaynor and the older, more experienced Mrs Vervain.

We first meet Thursdale as he is on his way to visit Mrs Vervain. Note how we are told he is acting impulsively in visiting her on this occasion, although he has visited many times before.

The first thing we learn about Mrs Vervain, from Thursdale’s point of view, is that she could be trusted to handle the meeting between the two of them skilfully. We are also told that Thursdale considers the rare and excellent conduct of Mrs Vervain to be down to his ‘training’. He excuses himself for feeling a sense of pride in this matter. The reader may well see this as a strong indication of his manipulative nature, particularly when he later refers to her as being ‘fine material’ to work with.