PUBLISHED DRAWING ROOMS

Ellen’s Objects

“The atmosphere of the room was so different from any he had ever breathed that self-consciousness vanished in the sense of adventure.”

Silk fragment, 17th c.

The reader’s understanding of Ellen’s drawing room is channeled through Newland’s point of view. While he waits for Ellen to arrive, he marvels at the space and its every detail. Some of Newland’s excitement results from the sense of intimacy with Ellen that his visit suggests. Yet he is most astonished by the pleasing strangeness of the objects in Ellen’s drawing room and the peculiarities of their placement. Ellen’s wall is covered with red damask, a type of cloth with a shiny pattern, as seen in the example to the left. Ellen’s choice of damask fabric, more commonly found as a wallcovering in the eighteenth century, points to her interest in refining the existing space according to older conventions.

On the mantel, Ellen places a “Greek bronze.” During the nineteenth century, such an object would have likely been a reproduction of a classical work produced as a souvenir. The low lighting, cloth-covered walls, and dark wood table create an intimate effect in the space. The objects in Ellen’s drawing room provide the sense of a curated touch that shows off her tastefulness.

Narcissus, 1889

Table, ca. 1860

Later in the passage, Wharton writes that “only two Jacqueminot roses (of which nobody ever bought less than a dozen) had been placed in the slender vase at his elbow.” In her drawing room Ellen ignores society fashions to offer a personal, more stripped-back approach. This deliberateness is akin to the simplicity Wharton and Codman advocate for in The Decoration of Houses.