Book 303: French Ways and Their Meanings

French Ways and Their Meanings, Edith Wharton, Berkshire House.  (Originally published in 1919.)

I always enjoy Wharton's writings. Her novels bely her study of human nature.  So, not surprisingly, a non-ficition book about the French people and culture would be all about human nature.

This book was written nearly 100 years ago, so certainly some aspects have changed for both cultures.  Women in the US routinely work alongside men.  My social circle is not limited to other women as would seem to have been the case in America a hundred years ago for married women.  I cannot "partner" with my husband in his work as Wharton describes for the French women -- I am not a rocket scientist --  but I can and have influenced decisions he has made within his career.  So, either the US has "grown up" a bit as a nation and within its culture, or I have been deeply affected by my French maternal grandmother.