The Golden Bowl

The Golden Bowl examines the lives of people who, whether by choice or accident, find themselves as outsiders. The clearest expression of this theme is in the novel’s setting. The Golden Bowl is set entirely in Edwardian England, and the characters are beholden to the social mores of the era. They adhere to Edwardian social etiquette and navigate their lives by the morals and values of the English social elite, even though none of the major characters are English. The majority of characters in the novel are American, while Amerigo is Italian. In the British society, they are outsiders. They adhere to the rules and expectations of a society that is not their own, operating in accordance with the social expectations which are not always natural to them. Amerigo is bemused by many of the British attitudes, while the Americans such as Maggie and Charlotte must try hard to fit in with those around them. They are so frightened of causing a scandal that they harbor secrets and deny themselves their true desires. Their status as outsiders makes them all the more beholden to British values, as they struggle to navigate a culture that is both familiar and strange at the same time. The effect is to drive the characters into their own bubble, sectioning them off from the mainstream of British society by dint of their status as outsiders.

Another way in which the novel creates clear social distinctions is through the portrayal of social class. Edwardian England emphasized the importance of social class, particularly with the privileges afforded to the ruling upper classes. Unlike America—a more socially mobile society at the time—British understanding of class is largely immutable and thoroughly separate from material wealth. People are born into their social class and, even if they lose or gain wealth, their social class may not change. An aristocrat like Prince Amerigo, for example, is naturally welcomed into the British social elite even though he is relatively poor, while a family of millionaires like the Ververs can only get access through Amerigo. A character like Fanny Assingham is even more on the periphery, to the point where Amerigo and Charlotte assume that she will not tell anyone about their affair because to do so would shut her out of high society. Charlotte, likewise, is only welcomed through her associations with upper-class people. The British understanding of class turns a collection of wealthy people into relative outsiders simply because of their family connections.

The material wealth of the characters also allows them to make themselves into outsiders. In big cities like London, they are forced into contact with other (often poorer) people regularly. Since the Ververs are rich, however, they have the chance to seclude themselves away from society at a property like Fawns. The characters are outsiders in terms of class and nationality, which has the effect of pushing them to the periphery of society, but they also make a conscious decision to separate themselves from other people. Adam and Maggie are most guilty of this, as they often decline to attend the parties where Amerigo and Charlotte spend time together and are welcomed into society as outsiders with the right to enjoy insider events. Adam and Maggie make themselves into comparative outsiders, especially compared to their respective spouses, through an active choice. While they have their outside status pushed on them by broader factors in some senses, Adam’s refusal to attend social events accelerates his social alienation. Since Maggie wants to be with her father, they together embrace their status as outsiders, retreating to the periphery where they feel most at home. They enjoy each other's company more than the company of others.