Art, for novelist Edith Wharton, was primarily a matter of selection of ; the novelist's task that of disengaging "crucial moments form the welter of existence "and making them vivid and meaningful. She rejected both the"slice of tile"theory and the "stream of consciousness "technique which,in her eyes, was merely a newfangled from of the former with Freudian trimmings.
She knew that there were no trivial subjects per se, and She believed that It was precisely when dealing with apparent trivialities that the writer had need of the greatest aptitude. A Story might begin for Edith Wharton with either the characters or the situation. If the situation came first,she was always very careful to let it lie in her mind until It had brought forth of itself the people it needed. It was an idiosyncrasy of her creative mind that her character always came to her with their names,which she could not change except at the cost of losing her hold on them. She always knew the destiny of her people from the beginning, but she did not know how that destiny would be expressed. Although her characters were portrayed in many settings and situations, they all reflected,by the often tragic outcome of their lives, her profound conviction that no human could be happy if that happiness was root in the wretchedness of another.