Edith Wharton\'s the Age of Innocence

Edith Wharton's 'The Age of Innocence'

The Age of Innocence is an enchanting Victorian era novel that eloquently illustrates the price of being among New York's high society the late nineteenth century. The novel's main characters are Newland Archer, a high society attorney, his fiance May Welland, and her cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska.

Archer is captivated by May's girl-like innocence and her firm grasp on their society's traditions. Their families are among New York City's social elite, and their marriage is a profitable one from both sides. The arrival of May's bohemian cousin, Countess Olenska, shakes their society and threatens to spark their engagement with controversy.

Archer, on behalf of his in-laws, announces his engagement to May in order to draw attention away from Countess Olenska, in an attempt to prevent scandal. It is here that Archer sets himself up as Olenska's defender - a role he fulfills both reluctantly and dutifully throughout most of the book.

In the beginning of the novel, when Archer's sister Janey begins gossiping about Countess Olenska's scandalous evening at a commoner's house, Archer replies: "Hang Countess Olenska...I'm not her keeper." (Wharton, 56)

When Countess Olenska decides to divorce her horrible 'brute' husband, Archer is the attorney assigned to her case. He halfheartedly continues to take interest in the Countess, as he does not desire to mar his social standing by marrying into a family with a looming divorce. Divorce, in the upper echelons of New York society, is considered damning. After Archer advises Countess Olenska against divorce, the van der Luydens, (New York's most influential family), attempt to bring her forward in their society.

The more Archer becomes involved with Olenska, the harder he finds it to escape her. Eventually, he realizes that he is drawn to Ellen Olenska not because of her need for guidance, but for her passion and slant view of life.

Unfortunately, both Archer and Ellen know that they must never marry or be united in any manner. Ellen decides that the only way they can truly love one another is to give each other up. Persuaded by societal pressures and family honor, Archer marries May despite his love for Ellen. Archer and Ellen continue to see one another after his marriage. However, his dreams of living a passionate life with Ellen fall away. They are deeply in love with one another, but decide not to pursue their feelings out of respect for May and societal obligation. Even after May's death, Archer chooses not to see Ellen.

The characters May Welland and Ellen Olenska are very different from one another. May is domesticated and sensible. She is the ideal wife for a proper man in New York at this time. May embodies old worldly sensibilities. Archer has the 'upper hand' when it comes to his relationship with May. She is controllable and respectful.

For example, Archer did not consider May conscious of the fact that she was, in any way, his equal. Although he fantasizes about intellectually liberating May while they are engaged, after their marriage he sees no potential for her intellectual growth. "It was less trouble to conform with the tradition and treat May exactly as all of his friends treated their wives...There was no use in trying to emancipate a wife who had not the dimmest notion that that she was not free." (Wharton, 125)

May is depicted as being naive and highly devoted, the epitome of New York's old traditions. From Archer's point-of-view, May is unwaveringly and unusually childlike. She doesn't want to know the reality around her, and prefers to be protected from it. While in many ways, her character can be construed as being both manipulative and calculating.

Archer occasionally infers that May might be more aware of the world around her than he had anticipated. After their marriage, her thoughts and actions become more transparent. A year and a half after their marriage, Archer again has contact with Ellen.

May becomes a fervent opponent of her cousin Ellen, disregarding her prior loyalties. Before they can consummate their love affair, May strategically reveals to Ellen, prior medically confirming it, that she is pregnant with Archer's first child. This is what leads to the final separation of Archer and Ellen. This is one of the many instances in which May exercises her power over Archer. She is in essence, the typical high society female who feigns weakness in order to gain control of a male. Although there is little supporting text for this claim, it is insinuated by being left unsaid.

Countess Ellen Olenska is almost the exact opposite of May Welland. She is not traditional at all, nor is she intentionally manipulative. She is a symbolic reference of the future of New York society. Married to a philandering European Count, Ellen is initially driven to the pursuit of divorce. Divorce in early New York society, is the equivalent to ultimate social ruin. Even so, Ellen decides divorce is best. She cares little for societal rules or family aristocracies, as does May. While it is May's primary goal in life to be popular and traditional, it is Ellen's goal to be different and out of the public eye.

When Ellen first returns to New York, it is almost as if she is entirely unfamiliar with its social customs. Characters throughout the book spend time reminding Ellen of New York society's social rules, such as those surrounding divorce, which she is bent on breaking. Meanwhile, May would never dream of doing anything that could be construed as a movement against her family, husband, or tradition. Ellen is bohemian, while May is the ideal young woman of her time.

Ellen is a daring, intellectually awakened woman whose gift of self-realization enabled her to conform to the old custom of the society. This same self-realization also enabled her to break free from her old bondage. She is not held down by society's label of what a proper 'woman' should or should not do.

Newland Archer admires both women for their differences. He is caught in a continuous struggle between the old and new, between the custom and love, May and Ellen. Archer's way of thinking represents the present, but is clearly unable to break free from the old ways of society. He clings to May because of her hold on custom. She is a handsome, respectable woman of high society. He likewise clings to, and runs away from, Ellen because of her courageous plight to refuse to be defined by customs and social standards. Archer makes the safest choice he can - to marry May, who will preserve his future family's position in society.

The relationship between Newland Archer and Ellen Olenska is complex. Though they never consummate their love for one another, it continues to grow. Eventually, their love becomes so strained beneath the facade of custom, that they are forced to tear away from one another.

Archer and Ellen resemble and differ from one another in their outlook on the customs and values of society, and their speculation of life. Both characters dislike New York's social customs and protocol and are eccentric in their way of thinking, yet are willing to sacrifice their happiness. They differ in their ways of dealing with customary social injustice.

Archer is caught up in society's demand for social etiquette. He is able to think for himself, and disagrees with most of this etiquette, but he finds himself bound to it. Archer believes that he should fulfill his obligations as a husband and son. Though he longs to be with a woman that society has not prescribed to be his wife, he faithfully fulfills society's expectations of him.

Ellen is focused more on her own happiness. Although she was raised in New York society, her encounter with European culture made her more appreciative of art, love and happiness. She experiences some what of a culture shock when she is re-submerged into New York society.

It is through the character of Ellen that the author chooses to reveal the effects of one society upon another. Wharton "explores the international world of the "wretched exotic," the American affected by contact with Europe...the "safe, shallow, shadowless" world of Old New York society is threatened by the interloper Ellen Olenska, whose European upbringing has brought her into contact with a bohemian world of real writers and artists."

Joslin and Price, 11)

Like a "wretched exotic," Ellen claims that she does not know how to fulfill New York society's customary duties, and in the beginning she implies that she does not care to anyway. Ellen simply carries on as she wishes, and with whom she wishes, until her relatives insist that she adhere to some of their rules. She seems to want to make her family happy in addition to herself, as opposed to Archer who lives only to make others happy. In the end, they both choose to sacrifice themselves for the happiness of others - Ellen for Archer, and Archer for May.

Ellen introduces a unique window into New York society. Their society does not tolerate deviation from its authoritarian etiquette. Ellen Olenska comes back into this society from the outside, genuinely unaware of its' unyielding boundaries. She is both a heroine and victim of society. She has come from a difficult period in her life, and initially finds the safety of this world charming. Later on, she realizes how cruel and ridiculous the society is.

Ellen emerges from the criticism of her peers and evolves from it. "In a society which raises every barrier against a woman living apart from her husband, the Countess faces the censure of two continents, sustained only by her own good conscience."

Jessup, 18)

Her life, until this point, has been vastly different than Archer's. In Europe, everyone solely pursued their own happiness, in spite of the consequences. There, Ellen's life was free-spirited and bohemian. Her husband, an astoundingly affluent Polish count, led an extravagant lifestyle. Unfortunately, he also cruelly abused Ellen to selfishly suit his own needs.

In New York, Ellen finds a higher standard of morally that she has long forgotten. In this society, the individual promotes the happiness of the many, or the common good, instead of seeking after personal pleasures. In adopting this code of ethics as her own, she sacrifices her happiness.

Ellen, who is being ushered against her will into their society, begs the question "Does no one want to know the truth here, Mr. Archer? The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!" (Wharton, 50)

Meanwhile, these ethics have always guided Archer's every movement. He has lived solely in a world where social and moral codes dictate the actions of the individual. New York society expects both Archer and Ellen to sacrifice their desires in order to maintain the time-honored order of their world.

Archer is clearly the protagonist of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Wharton describes him as a 'dilettante', an amateur who enjoys the finer pleasures of the ruling class. Archer also enjoys maintaining a high level respectability. However, he has a more unique viewpoint than those of his peers.

He follows social code without hesitation, but does so with a touch of irony, openly mocking its ridiculousness at times. He recognizes the superficiality of it all, yet participates in it eagerly.

Archer is the character chosen to reveal the author's sentiments on the inadequacies of American society. Wharton "uses frequently the concept of the tribe, with its tribal principles and tabus, the most important of which existed to secure its own survival and purity of race by breeding and its protection against social contamination by exclusion from its environment of alien elements. She sees that in America, against the need and power of money and the lure of sex, tribal instincts and customs, family pride and hereditary principles are bound to go down... The wasting away of an aristocracy."

Lovett, 47)

Upon meeting Ellen, his attitude changes some what. Unlike his peers, Archer finds Ellen's unconventional behavior intriguing. He begins to see the society which he has devoted himself to with open eyes for the first time. Archer suddenly begins to dread his place in society, and his inevitable future inside of it. He sees the true nature of his peers, firsthand, as they cruelly condemn Ellen for her eccentricity.

The high society families think nothing of sacrificing Ellen's happiness for the mere purpose of preserving their comfortable existence. Her own family encourages her to return to her abusive husband. When she refuses, they cut her off from them financially. When Ellen finally concedes to submit to society's rules, Archer considers abandoning them. However, she shows her strength and decides not to allow him to do so.

When Archer makes a move towards Ellen she replies, "Ah, don't make love to me! Too many people have done that." To which Archer replies, "I have never made love to you...and I never shall. But you are the woman I would have married if it had been possible for either of us." (Wharton, 109)

Catastrophe on many levels would have ensued if they had decided to fulfill their love for one another. Their reputations would be marred, as would the reputations of their families, and neither would be able to pursue a life of high social standing in New York. It would also damage May, whom they both love. Realizing these consequences, both Archer and Ellen surrender all hope and remain safely within the confines of social order. Both feel that the good of the many, outweighs the good of the few. Ellen sums this up by stating to Archer, "I can't love you unless I give you up." (Wharton, 112)

Archer lives his life with May, producing children and his esteemed career. Meanwhile, Ellen is forsaken by the very society she has sacrificed herself to preserve. "Her subtle and supple mind so distresses her American relatives that they expel her from their midst, sending her to Wharton's district of Paris to live out, presumably, a gracious life in exile."

Joslin and Price, 11)

When May dies, Archer, who is fifty-seven, mourns his past. Although he has been the ideal loving husband and father, he did so at an expense. He gave up true love and happiness in his quest for social prosperity.

His son Dallas persuades him to go to Paris, where he discovers Countess Olenska is expecting them for a visit. In a strange twist, Archer does not go inside to see her, but instead sits outside on a bench, gazing up at her window. He tells his son to tell her that he is old-fashioned. After a servant closes the window, he walks away.