The English Department congratulates third-year Bachelor of English student Solveig Landsem on winning the Edith Wharton Society’s Undergraduate Research Prize. Landsem’s essay, titled “Silence as Power in Wharton’s The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence,” was selected for this award by an independent committee in a blind review, and from among entries by English students from across the world.

Landsem’s prize-winning essay was based on her BA research thesis, which was supervised by English Department colleague Dr. Myrto Drizou. According to Dr. Drizou:

“I encouraged Solveig to submit her work for the Edith Wharton Society Undergraduate Research Prize because I wanted her to see she can participate in a broader community of scholarship and research. It’s important for our students to see themselves as part of a global conversation. This way, we, as teachers, can develop a culture of undergraduate research and help our students find their voice both within and beyond the classroom.”

The adjudication committee for the award provides additional praise for Landsem’s essay:

“The essay is well written and conveys the paradoxes expressed in Wharton’s use of silence. The writing is engaging with a nicely complex approach to readings of The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence. There are useful readings as the essay highlights paradoxes throughout with attention to the characters, the performance of their gender roles, and the choices they made within the social strictures.”

“This nuanced exploration not only deepens our understanding of Wharton’s work but also underscores the enduring relevance of her themes in contemporary discussions of gender and power.”

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was a significant force in American literature and women’s literature more broadly, and her work continues to resonate in contemporary cultural and academic discourse. Her fiction documents and critiques aspects of the American class system and gender roles at the turn of the 20^th century. She was also known for her war reporting during the First World War as well as her in-depth knowledge of architecture and interior design. Her 1920 novel The Age of Innocence won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel (now known as the prize for “Fiction”), and her short stories are anthologized in the Norton and other significant collections of American literature.

Landsem’s essay and more information about Edith Wharton, the Edith Wharton Society and its Undergraduate Research Prize, can be viewed here: https://edithwhartonsociety.wordpress.com