In the short story "Souls Belated," by Edith Wharton, a woman named Lydia leaves her husband for her lover Gannett and with it respectability and social status in the upper class society. In the midst of all the scandal, Lydia discovers the gap between her desires and happiness and the needs of social norms. In this tale, the plot seems to reveal a lot about marriages and perceived notions of what society needs from people and what individuals in a married state do to keep that notion intact. Considering all that Wharton's short story, "Souls Belated," has to offer, it becomes increasingly difficult for the reader to deny the point that Wharton tries to make about marriages as a facade carried on throughout life on the backs of two individuals to please others. members of that society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In "Souls Belated" it seems that the protagonist, Lydia, has left her husband Tillotson for people like Gannett. While it might seem at first that the story is about how women coming out of a divorce cope, it slowly reveals itself to be about the war between personal dreams and social norms. Lydia, proving to be a rebellious and bold character, clearly rejects the upper class lifestyle which in turn leads her to leave her husband. While wanting to escape the boring lifestyle of her marriage forever, she found in Gannett the full realization that what was being imposed on her by the community around her was not in line with what she wanted. From this realization, many would theorize that rejecting her husband for Gannett would mean that Lydia would finally find her happiness in life, which was in finding a compatible mate for herself. However, it becomes apparent that Lydia is far from satisfied. While they're on the train, Gannett asks her if she lives in a house similar to the one the train just passed by, which leads them to finally talk after an uncomfortable silence. After briefly discussing which house to live in, Lydia makes the observation, "Why not live anywhere, like we did?" This alone shows how much of a free spirit Lydia actually is. She would much rather spend her life traveling, free from anything that might hold her back for a moment, which, from a social point of view, is considered scandalous. Wharton adds this to the story to further highlight that Lydia has no intention of wanting to be held back by anything, not even society. Her desire to travel is in direct conflict with what is expected of married people. As the story progresses, Lydia and Gannett have more conflict as Lydia makes it clear that she has no intention of marrying Gannett right away. Wharton's view on marriage was revealed during the passage in which Lydia bellows “We both know that no ceremony is necessary to consecrate our love for each other; What purpose can we have in marrying other than the secret fear of each that the other might escape, or the secret desire to gradually return to the esteem of the people whose conventional morality we have ridiculed and hated? mind: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Wharton forcefully describes a negative view of marriage within this text, implying that marriage in society is only meant for a false sense of security and intended only as a way to legitimize and demonstrate one's love to others thanks to the blind acceptance of what is considered right and what is..