The Custom of the Country (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Edith Wharton
- First Published: 1913
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: Late nineteenth century
- Setting: New York City and Paris
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Suicide, Nineteenth century, New York City, Social issues, Paris, Divorce, Ethics, Business or business people, Scandal
- Locales: New York, NY, Paris, France
Characters Discussed
Undine Spragg (uhn-DEEN sprag), an insatiably ambitious young woman whose beauty gains for her a place in society, four marriages, each more materially profitable than the last, and, finally, a desire for a fifth marriage to which she cannot attain because of her divorces.
Elmer Moffatt, Undine’s vulgar, outspoken first husband. Forced by Undine’s parents to get a divorce early in his marriage, Moffatt goes to New York, where he becomes a significant financial figure. Later, as one of the richest men in the city, he remarries Undine and becomes...
[The entire page is 514 words long]
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