The Custom of the Country
Encyclopedia
The Custom of the Country is a 1913 novel by Edith Wharton
. It tells the story of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl who attempts to ascend in New York City
society.
at the prompting of their beautiful, ambitious, but socially naive daughter, Undine. She marries Ralph Marvell, a member of an old New York family that no longer enjoys significant wealth. Before her wedding, Undine encounters an acquaintance from Apex named Elmer Moffatt, a character with “a genuine disdain for religious piety and social cant,” as the scholar Elaine Showalter observes. Undine begs him not to do anything that will endanger her wedding to Ralph. Elmer agrees, but it is not made clear exactly what threat he might present. That the threat might be serious is indicated by Elmer's ability to pressure Undine's father into assisting him with an investment, despite the fact that Mr. Spragg's own fortunes are unstable.
Although Ralph dotes on Undine, his finances do not permit the extravagant lifestyle Undine desires, and she feels that her in-laws scorn her. When she becomes pregnant, she is disconsolate; and she neglects her son, Paul, after he is born. Alone in Europe, Undine begins an affair with the nouveau riche
Peter Van Degen, who is married to Ralph's cousin, Clare. She then divorces Ralph in the hope of marrying Peter, but this does not work out: Peter seems to want nothing more to do with Undine, and Clare will not grant him a divorce anyway. As a divorcee, Undine loses her high position in society, and spends a few years living in North Dakota, New York, and Paris, scheming to scramble up the social ladder again.
In Paris, a French count, Raymond de Chelles, falls in love with Undine. They desire to get married, but, as a Catholic
, Raymond cannot marry a divorcée. To procure enough money to bribe the Pope to annul Undine's previous marriage, Undine blackmails Ralph. Having been awarded custody of their son but allowed him to live with Ralph while it was inconvenient for her to raise him in Europe, she demands that the boy be sent to her. It is clear that she will let him remain with Ralph only if he sends her a large sum of money. Ralph does not have sufficient funds of his own, so he borrows money from friends and family and invests it in one of Elmer Moffatt's business deals. The deal does not go through in time to meet Undine's deadline, and Moffat also informs Ralph that he had once eloped with Undine and then was divorced from her—the secret she feared that New York society would discover. Shocked, and also distraught at the thought of losing his son, Ralph commits suicide. Undine is able to marry Raymond as a widow, though this would not be possible if Raymond knew of her first marriage to Moffat.
Undine is soon dissatisfied with Raymond, too. The de Chelles are hidebound aristocrats, their wealth tied up in land and art and antiques that they will not consider selling, and Undine cannot adjust to the staid customs of upper-class French society. She also resents having to spend most of her time in the country because her husband cannot pay for expensive stays, entertainment, and shopping trips in Paris. Ultimately, she divorces Raymond in order to remarry Elmer Moffatt, who by now has made a fortune. Now, married to the crass midwestern businessman who was best suited to her in the first place, Undine finally has everything she ever desired. Still, it is clear that she wants even more: in the last paragraph of the novel, she imagines what it would be like to be an Ambassador's wife — a position closed to her owing to her divorces.
The title has been suggested as coming from Montaigne's essay "On Husbanding Your Will."
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
. It tells the story of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl who attempts to ascend in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
society.
Plot summary
The Spraggs, a family of midwesterners from the fictional city of Apex who have made money through somewhat shady financial dealings, arrive in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the prompting of their beautiful, ambitious, but socially naive daughter, Undine. She marries Ralph Marvell, a member of an old New York family that no longer enjoys significant wealth. Before her wedding, Undine encounters an acquaintance from Apex named Elmer Moffatt, a character with “a genuine disdain for religious piety and social cant,” as the scholar Elaine Showalter observes. Undine begs him not to do anything that will endanger her wedding to Ralph. Elmer agrees, but it is not made clear exactly what threat he might present. That the threat might be serious is indicated by Elmer's ability to pressure Undine's father into assisting him with an investment, despite the fact that Mr. Spragg's own fortunes are unstable.
Although Ralph dotes on Undine, his finances do not permit the extravagant lifestyle Undine desires, and she feels that her in-laws scorn her. When she becomes pregnant, she is disconsolate; and she neglects her son, Paul, after he is born. Alone in Europe, Undine begins an affair with the nouveau riche
Nouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
Peter Van Degen, who is married to Ralph's cousin, Clare. She then divorces Ralph in the hope of marrying Peter, but this does not work out: Peter seems to want nothing more to do with Undine, and Clare will not grant him a divorce anyway. As a divorcee, Undine loses her high position in society, and spends a few years living in North Dakota, New York, and Paris, scheming to scramble up the social ladder again.
In Paris, a French count, Raymond de Chelles, falls in love with Undine. They desire to get married, but, as a Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, Raymond cannot marry a divorcée. To procure enough money to bribe the Pope to annul Undine's previous marriage, Undine blackmails Ralph. Having been awarded custody of their son but allowed him to live with Ralph while it was inconvenient for her to raise him in Europe, she demands that the boy be sent to her. It is clear that she will let him remain with Ralph only if he sends her a large sum of money. Ralph does not have sufficient funds of his own, so he borrows money from friends and family and invests it in one of Elmer Moffatt's business deals. The deal does not go through in time to meet Undine's deadline, and Moffat also informs Ralph that he had once eloped with Undine and then was divorced from her—the secret she feared that New York society would discover. Shocked, and also distraught at the thought of losing his son, Ralph commits suicide. Undine is able to marry Raymond as a widow, though this would not be possible if Raymond knew of her first marriage to Moffat.
Undine is soon dissatisfied with Raymond, too. The de Chelles are hidebound aristocrats, their wealth tied up in land and art and antiques that they will not consider selling, and Undine cannot adjust to the staid customs of upper-class French society. She also resents having to spend most of her time in the country because her husband cannot pay for expensive stays, entertainment, and shopping trips in Paris. Ultimately, she divorces Raymond in order to remarry Elmer Moffatt, who by now has made a fortune. Now, married to the crass midwestern businessman who was best suited to her in the first place, Undine finally has everything she ever desired. Still, it is clear that she wants even more: in the last paragraph of the novel, she imagines what it would be like to be an Ambassador's wife — a position closed to her owing to her divorces.
Characters in "The Custom of the Country"
- Undine Spragg, a young woman, the protagonist
- Mr. Abner E. Spragg, a financier
- Mrs. Leota B. Spragg, a housewife
- Elmer Moffatt, a cunning financier from Apex whom Undine marries (he is her first, and her fourth, husband)
- Ralph Marvell, a New York society gentleman who marries Undine, has a son with her and is then divorced by her
- Peter Van Degen, a man with whom Undine has an affair
- Clare Van Degen, married to Van Degen, unhappy with their marriage; she is Ralph Marvell's cousin who is deeply in love with him
- Charles Bowen, an elderly man from New York City, who acts as a kind of observer; friend of Laura Fairford
- Raymond De Chelles, a French aristocrat who marries Undine after she is widowed; he is her third husband
- Paul Marvell, Undine's and Ralph's child, Raymond's stepson
- Laura Fairford, Ralph Marvell's sister; due to the customs of the era, she needed to invite Undine to dinner in order for Ralph to indirectly see her again
- Henley Fairford, husband to Laura Fairford
- Claud Walsingham Popple, a painter who paints a portrait of Undine
- Mrs. Heeny, a masseuse who keeps company first with Undine and Mrs. Spragg and later with Undine and her son; she also keeps clippings of all high society events
- Celeste, Spragg family's French maid
Allusions to other works
- Edith WhartonEdith WhartonEdith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
said the title of the novel came from a play by English playwrights John FletcherJohn Fletcher (playwright)John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
and Philip MassingerPhilip MassingerPhilip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
, entitled The Custom of the CountryThe Custom of the Country (1647 play)The Custom of the Country is a Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger, originally published in 1647 in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio.-Date and sources:The play is usually dated to c. 1619–23...
, in which the term 'custom' referred to the money paid by a master to get a girl's maidenhead.
The title has been suggested as coming from Montaigne's essay "On Husbanding Your Will."
Scholarship
- Gerard Sweeney has claimed a connection between the "Pure Water Move" and Wharton's cousin Joseph WhartonJoseph WhartonJoseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, who was involved in mining, manufacturing and education...
's interest in Philadelphia water supplies.http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/custom.html (citation to come)
- Bill Gleason reads anxieties about masculinity in "The Phantom Toothpick: Men's Mouths in The Custom of the Country." The Custom of the Country, de E. Wharton. Eds. Isabelle Boof-Vermesse and Anne Ullmo-Michel. Paris: Ellipses, 2000. 128-137.http://www.editions-ellipses.fr/fiche_detaille.asp?identite=1794