The Death of Lily Bart
Photo: Erik Jacobs for the New York Times
Suicide or accident?
NYTimes:
A letter, recently brought to light, written by Wharton herself, seems to point to the suicide theory. It is dated Dec. 26, 1904, just a month before “The House of Mirth” began appearing in monthly installments in Scribner’s Magazine, and is addressed to Dr. Francis Kinnicutt, a well-known society doctor who specialized in the mental ailments of the well-to-do. The letter was found stuck into a first-edition copy of “The House of Mirth,” along with a poem, dated 1906.
The letter begins by resorting to the timeless disguise of the advice-seeker. “A friend of mine has made up her mind to commit suicide,” Wharton writes, “& has asked me to find out ... the most painless & least unpleasant method of effacing herself.”
Only on the second page does Wharton reveal that her “friend” is in fact a fictional character appearing in the pages of Scribner’s, explaining, “I have heroine to get rid of, and want some points on the best way of disposing of her.”
Suicide or accident?
NYTimes:
A letter, recently brought to light, written by Wharton herself, seems to point to the suicide theory. It is dated Dec. 26, 1904, just a month before “The House of Mirth” began appearing in monthly installments in Scribner’s Magazine, and is addressed to Dr. Francis Kinnicutt, a well-known society doctor who specialized in the mental ailments of the well-to-do. The letter was found stuck into a first-edition copy of “The House of Mirth,” along with a poem, dated 1906.
The letter begins by resorting to the timeless disguise of the advice-seeker. “A friend of mine has made up her mind to commit suicide,” Wharton writes, “& has asked me to find out ... the most painless & least unpleasant method of effacing herself.”
Only on the second page does Wharton reveal that her “friend” is in fact a fictional character appearing in the pages of Scribner’s, explaining, “I have heroine to get rid of, and want some points on the best way of disposing of her.”
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