“The Moving Finger” takes place in New York in the late 19th century. Told from an unnamed narrator’s point of view, the narrator describes his frequent visits to Mr. Grancy’s house for Sunday gatherings. These gatherings took place in the Grancy’s library in their home outside the city. This library is key to the story and the most important setting throughout because it is primarily where the portrait resides. Before Mrs. Grancy died, the narrator and friends would all see her in the library and associate the library with her and her beauty:
[...] our conception of a glorified leisure took the form of Sundays spent in the Grancy’s library, with its sedative rural outlook and the portrait of Mrs Grancy illuminating its studious walls.
The narrator and other characters associate the library with “glorified leisure” and Mrs. Grancy’s portrait “illuminating its studious walls.” Her portrait, which presides over the library, persists in that space after her death. The library and the portrait become Mr. Grancy’s anchor.
When the narrator encounters Mr. Grancy in Rome and learns of Mrs. Grancy’s death, Mr. Grancy attempts to put on a good face and does not appear very upset. As the narrator remarks, he is distracting himself from his grief with his work. As a result, very little narration occurs in Rome; the plot of the story only progresses when Mr. Grancy is back in his New York house and is forced to confront life there without his wife. The narrator describes his brief interaction with Mr. Grancy in Rome, saying:
He had been appointed secretary of legation at Constantinople and was on the way to his post. He had taken the place, he said frankly, ‘to get away.’ Our relations with the Porte held out a prospect of hard work, and that, he explained, was what he needed.
This brief section is the only aspect of the story that occurs in Rome. Otherwise, the setting is most prominently Mr. Grancy’s house.
Furthermore, the time period is a significant aspect of the setting, as it reflects the social climate in which Wharton was writing. Wharton was wealthy and grew up in social circles such as the Grancy’s, where women were often objectified (as she portrays in this story). In turn, it's possible—and perhaps even likely—that Wharton is writing from her own experience and perspective as she creates these social critiques.
“The Moving Finger” takes place in New York in the late 19th century. Told from an unnamed narrator’s point of view, the narrator describes his frequent visits to Mr. Grancy’s house for Sunday gatherings. These gatherings took place in the Grancy’s library in their home outside the city. This library is key to the story and the most important setting throughout because it is primarily where the portrait resides. Before Mrs. Grancy died, the narrator and friends would all see her in the library and associate the library with her and her beauty:
[...] our conception of a glorified leisure took the form of Sundays spent in the Grancy’s library, with its sedative rural outlook and the portrait of Mrs Grancy illuminating its studious walls.
The narrator and other characters associate the library with “glorified leisure” and Mrs. Grancy’s portrait “illuminating its studious walls.” Her portrait, which presides over the library, persists in that space after her death. The library and the portrait become Mr. Grancy’s anchor.
When the narrator encounters Mr. Grancy in Rome and learns of Mrs. Grancy’s death, Mr. Grancy attempts to put on a good face and does not appear very upset. As the narrator remarks, he is distracting himself from his grief with his work. As a result, very little narration occurs in Rome; the plot of the story only progresses when Mr. Grancy is back in his New York house and is forced to confront life there without his wife. The narrator describes his brief interaction with Mr. Grancy in Rome, saying:
He had been appointed secretary of legation at Constantinople and was on the way to his post. He had taken the place, he said frankly, ‘to get away.’ Our relations with the Porte held out a prospect of hard work, and that, he explained, was what he needed.
This brief section is the only aspect of the story that occurs in Rome. Otherwise, the setting is most prominently Mr. Grancy’s house.
Furthermore, the time period is a significant aspect of the setting, as it reflects the social climate in which Wharton was writing. Wharton was wealthy and grew up in social circles such as the Grancy’s, where women were often objectified (as she portrays in this story). In turn, it's possible—and perhaps even likely—that Wharton is writing from her own experience and perspective as she creates these social critiques.
