Project Gutenberg 2005-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 246 Wharton, Edith 1862 1937 Wharton, Edith Newbold Jones Olivieri, David Crucial Instances Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucial_Instances Reading ease score: 79.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. The Duchess at prayer -- The angel at the grave -- The recovery -- "Copy": a dialogue -- The Rembrandt -- The moving finger -- The confessional. Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, William Flis, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team HTM version by Chuck Greif "Crucial Instances" by Edith Wharton is a collection of short stories written during the late 19th century. The work delves into themes of love, loss, and existential contemplation, often set against the backdrop of the upper-class society that Wharton was known for critiquing. The opening story, "The Duchess at Prayer," introduces us to the tragic and complex figure of Duchess Violante, exploring the intermingling of art, devotion, and the shadows of personal anguish in her life. The opening of "Crucial Instances" presents a richly descriptive setting within an old Italian villa, where the narrator encounters an elderly guide. As they explore the faded grandeur of the Duchess's apartment, including a chilling statue of the Duchess in prayer, a sense of mystery unfolds. The old man hints at a dark history involving the statue, which once bore a serene visage but has now twisted into a depiction of horror. Through the old man's fragmented memories, we learn of the Duchess's once-vibrant spirit, her isolation, and how she may have succumbed to despair, leading to the statue's chilling transformation. The tone is laced with a sense of foreboding and intrigue, setting the stage for Wharton's exploration of deeper psychological themes. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Short stories, American American fiction -- 19th century PS Text Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 341221 341089 2025-03-03T12:28:25.857681 2023-10-04T04:25:37.178937 text/html text/html 341070 2021-01-26T23:40:23 text/html; charset=utf-8 162277 2021-01-26T23:40:23 text/html; charset=utf-8 application/zip 172914 2025-03-03T12:28:30.957144 application/epub+zip 177425 2025-03-03T12:28:26.589822 application/epub+zip 35549 2017-10-20T09:39:18 image/jpeg 177425 2025-03-03T12:28:26.217711 application/epub+zip 280202 2025-03-03T12:28:34.395166 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 260329 2025-03-03T12:28:30.612131 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 260453 2022-09-04T06:25:25.636825 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 323488 317892 2025-03-03T12:28:25.181694 2023-10-04T04:25:36.471907 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 323277 2017-10-20T09:49:36 text/plain; charset=utf-8 124826 2020-12-30T15:41:41 text/plain; charset=utf-8 application/zip 317945 2020-12-30T15:41:41 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 124239 2020-12-30T15:41:41 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 317940 2020-12-30T15:41:41 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 124189 2020-12-30T15:41:41 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 24811 2025-03-03T12:28:34.538104 application/rdf+xml 12461 2025-03-03T12:28:26.302697 image/jpeg 2286 2025-03-03T12:28:26.258692 image/jpeg 164139 2025-03-03T12:28:25.893657 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia fr.wikipedia