The Fruit of the Tree

The Fruit of the Tree (1907) is the surprise point in Edith Wharton's nearly 60-year writing career. It deals with old New York's upper class the way Wharton's readers still expect -- from the inside. Born to privilege, she writes from the same experience she brought to her Pulitzer Prize winner, The Age of Innocence (1920). But here, she coils the story of a troubled marriage around two issues that remain as timely as ever: labor relations and euthanasia. John Amherst, a middle manager at a textile plant, wants better treatment for the workers he supervises. His wife's money makes it possible for him to push through many reforms. But she is too accustomed to frivolous "change and amusement" to support him for long. Circumstances force Amherst's wife and her friend, a nurse, (and the reader) to decide if a case of mercy killing is right. But the greatest surprise is Wharton's understanding of the working poor. The "subtle folds" in a rich woman's dress, she notes, are thanks to "thin shoulders in shapeless gingham," bent to the endless task of sewing.