'The candle . . . or the mirror'

 

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton

 

Wise words from one of the greatest writers in history, who was born on this date in 1862.  Raised in New York City, Wharton began writing poetry and fiction as a young girl and even attempted to write a novel at age 11.  Her first published work came at age 15.

 

Despite that, her “Upper Crust Society” family discouraged her from writing and publishing because they didn’t think it was either “ladylike” or worthwhile.   But after marrying, she pursued it anyway and went on to publish 16 novels, dozens of novellas, 85 short stories, 3 books of poetry, and 9 nonfiction books.  In 1921 she won the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Innocence, and in 1927, 1928 and 1930 she was a finalist for the Nobel Prize.

 

Her novella Ethan Frome and her novel House of Mirth are widely studied in American literature classes in both high schools and colleges and universities around the world, lauded for their realism and portrayal of the times and places in which she lived.

 

Wharton loved life and writing about it and said it kept her young and vibrant.  “Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed,” she said.   “Give me the tightrope.”