Edith Wharton's "The Reef" (1912)

I listened to this on BBC Radio 7. Frankly it depressed me somewhat with its constrained morality and manners. It was however beautiful writing and a study into the finer life of the upper class where vulgarity and emotion was forbidden. On the other hand for a modern woman it was frustrating to see how rigid society was, and how the characters failed to communicate their deepest selves barely only skimming it themselves. Still we are talking about a society that corseted women into alien shapes physically, so why not expect that to happen with women's souls as well.