Edith Wharton Imagery

It’s scary to think that there are certain things that will reveal itself only when the time comes. Being kept out of the loop, desperately trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle, only to realize that there’s one piece missing, the last piece needed to construct the whole picture. That’s how Mary Boyne, the character from Edith Wharton’s short story “Afterward”, feels. Her husband suddenly disappears and she’s left alone to try and make sense of everything, only to discover the truth long after; a truth that shattered her reality. She was the one who “sent him to Ned”; she “told him where to go!” (Wharton lines 25-26). Wharton builds up the tension towards this revelation in the last 31 lines of the story and had revealed it all in the

Riddled in this passage are references of Mary Boyne’s eyes, describing her travelling “white stare”, her “dilated eyes”, and her “gaze” (lines 6, 11, and 14). Wharton’s mentioning Mary’s eyes to hint on what they are seeing. It’s not a physical object upon which she lays her eyes, but rather, it’s the unveiling of a truth that she’s witnessing before her. Any revelation is seen through the eyes, and here, “I see now”, Mary says (line 20). Her eyes not only show her new profound realization; they also show her reaction. Her widened eyes seem unable to look away from the sight. They’re transfixed. The tension had got to her and she continues to discover and explore deeper into the

‘You won’t know till afterward,’ it said. ‘You won’t know till long, long afterward” (line 31). It’s true that this happens after the big revelation, but Wharton seems to carry the tension to the very end of the story. Perhaps Mary had finally connected the dots when she had “screamed out” the devastating truth, but the last line is when the audience finally connects the dots (lines 25-26). An iconic end to a masterpiece. The moment when the readers find themselves gasping and unable to look away; the moment their eyes grew widest, almost as wide as Mary’s