One of伊迪丝·沃顿这部中篇小说的许多故事是在1924年的五十年代发表的，作为题为“四卷”中的第二卷。旧纽约。这个故事体现了沃顿讽刺和现实主义描绘面临道德困境的角色。未婚的夏洛特·洛维尔（Charlotte Lovell），她似乎“认真”和“审慎”（378），她已婚的堂兄迪莉亚·拉尔斯顿（Delia Ralston），当她要求迪莉亚（Delia）养育一个她认罪的孩子是过去恋爱的产物时，她的天性另一面揭示了她的本性。尽管这件事发生在一个年轻人，他曾经爱过自己，但由于缺乏财富而没有结婚，但她同意抚养孩子蒂娜（Tina），后者开始称她为“妈妈”。夏洛特（Charlotte）扮演了斯皮斯特姨妈的尴尬角色。

Tension between the two caregivers mounts as Tina becomes a marriageable young woman herself. Tina becomes involved with a young man, Lanning Halsey, who in some ways resembles Clement Spender, her father and the suitor of Delia’s past. Delia, concerned that Tina may enter into an illicit affair as Charlotte did, realizes she must precipitate marriage between the two. In order to make Tina socially acceptable in the society of the Ralstons and Halseys, she adopts her. Charlotte at first resists this action, vowing to take away Tina and tell her the truth, but Delia criticizes Charlotte’s sacrifice of the girl to her “desire for mastery” (430), and Charlotte acquiesces.

伊迪丝·沃顿

中篇小说在蒂娜（Tina）与哈尔西（Halsey）的婚礼之前结束了，因为两个女人争论要告诉女孩的“新职责和责任”是婚姻的一部分（437）。夏洛特指出：“问题是：她的母亲是我们哪个?” (438), voicing her long misery over her diminished maternal rights, and Delia agrees to let Charlotte talk to Tina. Charlotte returns, however, her courage having failed her, and tells Delia, “You’re her real mother. Go to her” (442). In essence, this is Charlotte’s final renunciation, an acknowledgment that Tina should never know her true status.

The novella, according to Shari Benstock, deals with “themes of secrecy, jealousy, and mutual dependency in one of New York’s ruling families” (362); and R. W. B. Lewis points out that this “melancholy drama” was often regarded by reviewers as the best of the旧纽约set (459). Cynthia Griffin Wolff asserts that “the tale is dominated by the passion of [Charlotte’s] despair”; she is “the parent who was never—really—a parent at all; and for her, the spectacle of youth brings not renewal and comfort, but a bitter recollection of everything that has been snatched from her” (345).

参考书目
本斯托克，伊斯兰教。没有机会的礼物：伊迪丝·沃顿的传记。纽约：Scribner，1994年。
刘易斯，R。W。B.伊迪丝·沃顿（Edith Wharton）：传记。纽约：Scribner，1975年。
Rae, Catherine M. Edith Wharton’s New York Quartet. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1984.
沃顿，伊迪丝。老女仆（五十年代）。在沃顿语：中篇小说和其他著作。纽约：美国图书馆，1990年。
沃尔夫（Wolff），辛西娅·格里芬（Cynthia Griffin）。一句话：伊迪丝·沃顿的胜利。纽约：牛津大学出版社，1977年。

类别：American Literature,文学批评,文学,短篇故事

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