Even though the characters in Edith Wharton's novels The Age of Innocence and Summer are dissatisfied with their orthodox lifestyle, they know the title of "outcast" is an even heavier burden to bear. In the novel The Age of Innocence, Old New York stifles the individual development of young Newland Archer.

If a woman is a victim of one thing, she is often vulnerable of other sources of shame due to a low self esteem. The female protagonists in Edith Wharton's Summer and Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl of the Streets is victims of society due to their social and economic statuses.

Throughout the novel, Summer, Edith Wharton uses symbolism in the characters, their actions, the setting, and images. By using this literary technique, Edith Wharton portrays feelings and ideas to the reader without using the narrator.

The works of Edith Wharton, including her classic "Ethan Frome," reflected how society was quickly changing during the early 20th century.