Cynthia Griffin Wolff
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Cynthia Griffin Wolff (née Griffin; August 20, 1936 – July 25, 2024) was an American literary historian and editor known for her biographies of
Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...
and
Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...
. She was the Class of 1922 Professor of Humanities at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
.


Biography

Cynthia Griffin Wolff was born on August 20, 1936, in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, Missouri. She was the daughter of Eunice ( Heyn) and
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
executive James T. Griffin. She studied at
Hathaway Brown School Hathaway Brown, commonly referred to as HB, is an all-girls private school located in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The school serves pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students. Hathaway Brown is a member of the National Coalition of Girls' Schoo ...
and
Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...
(where she obtained a BA in 1958). Wolff later moved to
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, where, in addition to studying at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
, she obtained a PhD in English in 1965; her dissertation was titled ''The Puritan Sources of Richardson's Psychological Realism''. Wolff worked as an assistant professor at
Manhattanville College Manhattanville University is a private university in Purchase, New York, United States. Founded in 1841 as a school at 412 Houston Street in Lower Manhattan, it was initially known as the "Academy of the Sacred Heart". In 1917, the academy recei ...
and later at
University of Massachusetts, Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the Flagship university, flagship campus of the Univer ...
, before being promoted by the latter to professor in 1976. While working at UM Amherst, she published two books: ''Samuel Richardson'' (1972) and '' A Feast of Words: The Triumph of Edith Wharton'' (1977). In 1980, Wolff moved to the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, where she became Class of 1922 Professor of Humanities in 1985. In 1984, Wolff received an
American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...
Grant-In-Aid for a project called "The life of Emily Dickinson". In 1986, Wolff published ''
Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...
'', a biography of Emily Dickinson. Wolff worked on a third biography, focusing on
Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', ''The Song of the Lark (novel), The Song of the Lark'', a ...
, but it was abandoned and remained unpublished at the time of her death. In 1997, she was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
. Wolff retired in 2003. Wolff also edited at least four books: ''Other Lives'' (1973), ''Classic American Women Writers'' (1980), ''The House of Mirth'' (1985), and ''Four Stories by American Women'' (1990). Wolff was married twice. Her first marriage, to political philosopher
Robert Paul Wolff Robert Paul Wolff (December 27, 1933 – January 6, 2025) was an American political philosopher and professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Wolff wrote widely on topics in political philosophy, including Marxism, tolera ...
, lasted from 1962 until their divorce in 1986. She married Nicholas J. White in 1988; the couple divorced in 2019. She had two children from her first marriage, chess grandmaster
Patrick Wolff Patrick Gideon Wolff (born February 15, 1968) is an American chess Grandmaster. He is the son of philosopher Robert Paul Wolff and brother of law professor Tobias Barrington Wolff. Wolff won the United States Chess Championship in 1992 and ...
and legal scholar and LGBT activist Tobias Barrington Wolff. Wolff died on July 25, 2024, at the age of 87.


Bibliography

* ''Samuel Richardson and the Eighteenth-Century Puritan Character'' (1972) * '' A Feast of Words: The Triumph of Edith Wharton'' (1977) * ''
Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...
'' (1986)


As editor

* ''Other Lives'' (1973) * ''Classic American Women Writers'' (1980) * ''The House of Mirth'' (1985, by
Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...
) * ''Four Stories by American Women'' (1990)


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Cynthia Griffin 1936 births 2024 deaths American women biographers American academics of English literature American literary historians American women literary historians American literary editors American women editors 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American women writers Writers from St. Louis Manhattanville University faculty University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Radcliffe College alumni Harvard University alumni