Essay Questions

Why is Charity bored most of the days while living with her father?

Charity lives with her father in a remote town where people strictly observe cultural traditions. For instance, people are less educated and more conservative. Springfield is the complete opposite of the rural village where Charity lives with her father. For example, Springfield people are modern, and they embrace education, technology, and any other form of contemporary innovations. Charity would like to belong to a civilized and modernized society like that of Springfield. Charity envies Balch, a young girl living in Springfield, and by all standards, she outdoors her.

How does Charity betray her friend, Annabelle Balch?

Charity's betrayal is unintentional because she only realizes later that her newly found boyfriend is the current boyfriend of Balch. When Harney comes from New York and meets Charity for the first time, she falls in love with him. Harney also realizes that he loves charity, and the two start a sexual relationship. In no time, Charity finds herself sleeping with Harney, only to realize later that he is Balch's boyfriend as well. Harney tells Charity that he does not love Balch and he will break up with her so that he can marry her.

Is the book ‘Summer’ by Edith Wharton a satirical text?

According to the reader, it does not add that a father can marry her adopted daughter just to cover up her reputation. Charity realizes that she is carrying the child of Harney, who is nowhere to be seen. Harney just used Charity to satisfy his sexual appetite and ran away, never to return to her again. Charity gets depressed and decides to return to her adoptive father. Upon realizing that Charity is pregnant, the adoptive father marries her to protect her reputation. The reader finds this even more satirical because the girl's reputation might worsen when people realize that she is married to her father.