Bunner Sisters (pt. 2)

What I noticed to be most significant about this second part in the Bunner Sisters was how quickly Mr. Ramy became the most central aspect of Ann Eliza and Evelina's lives. Wharton positions the women solely in relation to Mr. Ramy; on pg. 298, the narrator says "there was something at once fortifying and pacific in the sense of that tranquil male presence in an atmosphere which had so long quivered with little feminine doubts and distresses; and the sister fell into the habit of saying to each other, in moments of uncertainty: 'We'll ask Mr. Ramy when he comes,' and of accepting his verdict, whatever it might be, with a fatalistic readiness that relived them of all responsibility." I thought this passage was key in explaining the Bunner Sisters' relationship with Mr. Ramy; he is almost posited as a brother or paternal caretaker. Mr. Ramy's presence enables Ann Eliza and Evelina to temporarily retire their responsibilites. I don't think this is a necessarily "good" or "bad" thing. In this second part, Wharton seems more interested in humanizing Ann Eliza and Evelina. Wharton illustrates how significant these social interactions are for them, and how a male presence opens them up to another world; literally we see this happen when Mr. Ramy takes them to the countryside.

I also thought Ann Eliza's anxiety that she experiences when traveling to the countryside (on pg. 308-309) seemed  to largely represent Wharton's role within the modernist canon. The modernist era posited anxieties about an industrialized and technological world. We begin to understand these anxieites through the narrative of Ann Eliza's emotions and thoughts about Mr. Ramy, her sister, and the world outside of their shop.