Edith Wharton vs. Henry James...in a steel cage match

The two works of Henry James and Edith Wharton appear seemingly unrelated, but under closer review, have a considerable amount of similarities. Most obviously, James’ is an essay that discusses and analyzes the various approaches of fiction while Wharton presents a short story that centers on the effects the confines of society has on people’s actions. So how can a short story and an analysis be comparable when the two genres are so distinct in character? It is not in the context, but in the execution of Wharton’s writing do we find parallels to the theories that James describes.
In The Art of Fiction, Henry James’ major assertion is that in order to create successful fiction, and author must be able to capture the experience of their life with both natural ability and through study of craft. Souls Belated is the tale of a woman who has to battle the conventions of her time to which she bases her decisions. They relate in that both discuss the importance of individual experience. It is almost a dissertation in it: the theory and the application. In that way, it is like the ideas of Robert Frost that believed that through experience and observation contained truth.
However, that is not to say that Souls Belated is an actual account of Wharton’s life – that would be a gross misinterpretation of James’ writing. It was through Wharton’s personal experience growing up in a well-to-do family and the conventions that went along with it to create a story using similar ideas.