“Do we even have to say that physical beauty is beside the point when discussing the work of a major author? Was Tolstoy pretty? Is Franzen? Wharton’s appearance has no relevance to her work. Franzen perpetuates the typically patriarchal standard of ranking a woman’s beauty before discussing her merits, whether she is an intellectual, artist, politician, activist, or musician.”

Victoria Patterson in the LA Review of Books, dissecting Jonathan Franzen’s misogynist essay rant in The New Yorker. I wonder if Franzen would support the work of his sister, wife, or daughter subjected to the same standard of beauty of marital fidelity?

Interesting that Franzen finds Wharton so homely. I’d love to see his latest conquests.

                                          Edith Wharton, 1885

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