Published in 1904, Edith Wharton's 'The Other Two' explores the infancy of divorce in middle-class New York society in using the concept of futile struggle. to escape social forces beyond our control. In addition to this, the story presents the consequences of this change in the social system in the form of social Darwinism, which is observed through the characteristics of Waythorn's wife, Alice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Wharton uses Alice's divorces from Haskett and Varick to reveal the true nature of society's attitude toward the notion of divorce. It was a relatively new concept at the time that gained societal approval, including that of a woman inciting separation. However, with her kind personality, Alice easily gives herself the image of the “wounded wife” – the victim of all the tribulation – and naturally “takes on an air of holiness”. Certainly, her luck played a role in this positive outcome, because her first husband Haskett was never met by her friends and acquaintances, and therefore "it was easy to believe the worst of him"; and her second husband, Varick, was known to have possessed a temper that made even his "strongest supporters" admit "he was not cut out for marriage." A woman who files for divorce would be forced to give up all the benefits of marriage, such as wealth and security. Thus, the audience not only sympathizes with Alice's separation, but also perceives her as courageous and independent, thus automatically making her worthy of a "diploma of virtue." Yet it seems that society has unconsciously set a limit on the number of times. a woman can remarry rather than divorce. “…when it became known that she was going to marry Waythorn, there was a momentary reaction. Her best friends would have preferred to see her stay in the role of the injured wife. Whether Alice's friends would have felt the same way if she had divorced a third time, instead of marrying a third time, is an ambiguous question that can be suggested. However, what can be conclusively seen is that society has its own views on divorce and marriage, which concern the public's opinion of an individual's personal life choices. Even Waythorn is criticized for announcing his marriage to the "popular" Alice whose past divorces are obviously not a private matter to the bourgeois community of New York. It is therefore obvious that society romanticizes Alice's situation as a divorcee. Her friends were pleased with Alice's second separation and her escape from an unhappy and "stormy" marriage that placed her in the position of helpless victim in marital conflict. This idea of ​​her that society has constructed is linked to the image of purity: “A New York divorce is in itself a diploma of virtue”. Perhaps this sentence indicates that at the time, it was only in New York that a divorce resulted in a certificate of virtue; and Alice's marriage to Waythorn would distance her from this character of sanctified victim. It is this certification of Alice's righteousness that society is unwilling to abandon. After Alice's marriage to Waythorn, Alice's personality is highlighted: first as a "fresh" and "elastic" woman with "imperturbable cheerfulness" who appropriately balances her "grays" and a temperament. and an uninspiring lifestyle. Then, after befriending her two former husbands and beginning to doubt the true causes of the breakdown of Alice's previous marriages, Waythorn.