About this title: THE AGE OF INNOCENCE is Edith Wharton's insider's look at New York society at a time when an address above 12th Street was considered the wild frontier. May Welland, demure and pretty, is born and bred to marry Newland Archer, a thoughtful barrister. He in turn loves the brazen, unconventional, and attractive Countess Ellen Olenska, who has left her Count behind in Europe and returned to New York alone to get over a bad marriage. As the delicacies of this love triangle are played out, Wharton takes the opportunity to effect a subtle critique of America's East Coast upper classes, not only ...
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"I am not a novel reader; in general I prefer non-fiction especially biographies. However, the National Library Assoc had noticed that the reading of novels was in decline in our country, and has sponsored the reading of Age Of Innocence and discussion groups,and other activities to stimulate this once again. To this end, our island library was giving free copies of this book, along with a study guide, had a speaker come and lead a reading group, and presented the film. I can only be in favor of supporting such a quest; the libraries are , to me, the mark of everything that can be right and good in our culture. THe book itself is, to me, a perfect read. I looked forward to each and every sentence, her sense of humor and sarcasm, the detailed description of the times in a physical, social, and interpersonal sense . High society in the late 1800's which can seem like a distant place to visit, but she brings the inner workings of the characters to the fore, and this is timeless. I was most impressed with her understanding of the thought process behind seemingly simple actions, especially from the male point of view. It seems that each word is so carefully employed ; a really flawless and thoughtful read."
"I just finished. The writing is amazing and I loved the unreliable narratorness of Newland. I really felt no envy for his privilege. I really liked the depiction of May, a nice but dull person, and Wharton's explanations of why women ended up Mays were not heavy handed. I felt like Madame Olenska was a bit of a blind spot. I couldn't see what was so attractive about her. She didn't seem to have any interests. The most fascinating thing about her was her husband. This was also really quotable. I liked the discussion of innocence.
There were a few quotes I liked. 1) this struck me because of how often the adjective nice when used in conversation comes across as derogatory, regardless of the user's intentions:
"What if 'niceness' carried to that supreme degree were only a negation, the curtain dropped before an emptiness? As he looked at May, returning flushed and calm from her final bull's-eye, he had the feeling that he had never yet lifted that curtain."
2) this was just kind of funny, about how he doesn't read poetry aloud to her anymore because of the comments she makes "In the days of their engagement, she had simply (as he now perceived) echoed what he told her; but since had ceased to provide her with opinions she had begun to hazard her own, with results destructive to his enjoyment of the works commented on."
Anyway there were more. Of course ultimately what was sad was how Newland couldn't perceive he was the main obstacle in his way. Or maybe he could. His frustrations about being locked in the ill-chosen marriage were intense. Newton came across as a bit of a kept woman himself."
"The problem with writing a novel about people who are elite do-nothings with dull lives is that you run this risk of producing a dull novel. The Age of Innocence isn't exactly saved from this fate; as a novel, it isn't a very thrilling one. After all, it's about a wishy-washy young man who silently critiques everything. He's engaged to one lady, falls in love with another, and persists in a constant state of indecision and paralysis. Obviously, with a main character like that, you aren't going to get a novel jam-packed with excitement.
What I find to be so interesting about this novel is the struggle that ensues both thematically and within the narration over how people shift from object to subject and vice versa. This is particularly true of the Countess Olenska; she remains an object for many of the characters in the novel--a figure of pity, of problematic sexuality, of repression, and of rebellion. Even her own grandmother turns away from the Countess as soon as Ellen refuses to return to her husband; it is not until Ellen is once more physically present that her grandmother again treats her as an individual rather than a symbol. Interestingly, Ellen never seems to become an individual for Newland. Instead, she is always an object for him--a means by which he can escape what he sees as the impossibility of his marriage and his position. This is most true at the moment he asks Ellen to come to him and is cemented by his refusal, twenty-five years later, to meet her in Paris with his son. May is quite right in referring to Ellen as a "thing"; for Archer, Ellen is little else. Ironically, Ellen is a signpost for pointing out the inescapable subjectivity of other characters--the dullness of the Duke, the haughty pride of the Van der Luydens, and even May's potential for pain at the betrayal of her husband and cousin.
Much of the shifting from subject to object and back again is predicated on the ambiguity of language Wharton uses to describe these shifts. If Newland Archer seems indecisive and hesitant, it's in part because the narrator seems so unwilling to define exactly what Archer thinks and feels. Again, ironically, Archer complains at May's inability to speak openly what she really feels (to call, for example, the Duke boring), and yet remains himself unable to articulate his feelings for Ellen or even for May. I bet this is one of the reasons the book is taught so often in high school--it facilitates a discussion in which everyone can talk about the characters without having to mention in detail S-E-X. I wonder what Wharton would think about the fact that her great novel about our inability to communicate only fosters a state in which we refuse to communicate. I bet she'd get a kick out of that, actually."
"Edith Wharton's classic novel "The Age of Innocence" is a quietly sad tale of two anachronistic people. Ellen Olenska is eminently modern; she simply does not see the social restrictions and rules that govern everyone around her. She lives her life according to her own code of honor, and has no concept of "the way things are done." Newland Archer, on the other hand, is painfully aware of social trappings and cannot overcome them to live in accordance with his inner beliefs. Because of this, Archer strikes the reader as slightly less noble than Ellen. He's something of a coward, and as the protagonist of the story, his constant waffling lends drama to the narrative. At its core, "The Age of Innocence" is the deftly told story of two people who find each other too late. Both are paired to other people; one is unwilling to cause an innocent person to be hurt, the other totally willing but ultimately chooses the safe, staid path. I've made it sound very dour, but the book is actually a lively examination of the trap that was the rigid social structure of the time."
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