Summary:
In the novel The Age of Innocence, the author, Edith Wharton, makes American struggles of social repression and ideological conformity evident through her use of theme, most notably in the main character, Newland Archer.
The 1870's in New York was a period of social repression and ideological conformity. In the novel The Age of Innocence, the author, Edith Wharton, makes these American struggles evident through her use of theme, most notably in the main character, Newland Archer. Archer is a young man who was immersed in the upper crust of the New York social hierarchy the moment he was born. When the reader first encounters Archer, he has just become engaged to the well-off May Welland, and is satisfied with his life and his position in society. The arrival of May's exotic cousin, Ellen, forces Archer to re-evaluate his life and decide whether he wants to be free from the throes of society and run off with Ellen, or be socially acceptable and marry May. Through his struggles, Archer epitomizes the main theme of the novel: society versus freedom.
Archer's desire to remain in harmony with societal wishes and demands is seen throughout the novel. We first see this desire in his complete satisfaction with having May as his fiancée. Archer believes that May perfectly fits society's form for a wife. She is innocent, pure, and beautiful. Archer "delighted in the radiant good looks of his betrothed, in her health, her horsemanship, her grace, and in her quickness at games;" all things that society applauded (Wharton 40). Eventually, Archer begins visiting Ellen in her unacceptable little house and starts to question May's precise upbringing and her blindness to "the facts of life" (Wharton 40). He begs May to move their wedding date a couple of months sooner so that he doesn't do anything he will regret. This in itself shows that society's strong hold has been implanted inside of Archer. One night, as he decides that he is ready to "love" Ellen and leave May, Archer receives a letter stating that May is willing to move up the wedding date. He immediately leaves Ellen and goes to marry May, demonstrating that he is ready to think outside of societal conventions, but not ready to live outside of them. Later in the novel, Archer again foils his chances at being with Ellen. In the beginning of the novel, it is discovered that Ellen has a husband in Europe who has been treating her poorly, hence her escape to New York. Ellen decides she wants to divorce him, a very scandalous thing to do. All of the Welland family members think it's improper for her to do so because of the blemish it would leave on the family name. Archer is furious when he first realizes that everyone wants her to sacrifice her personal freedom for the good of the family, but when he is asked to advise her not to divorce him, he follows their wishes and does just that. He tells her that New York "legislation favors divorce", but its "social customs don't" (Wharton 129). Again, society prevails in Archer.
Though society's grasp is clearly seen through Archer's actions, his desire to be free from it is often greater. The moment Archer meets Ellen, he begins to comment on the hypocrisy and artificial nature of his society. He says believes that his neighbors live "in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs" (Wharton 39). He begins to see how May is exactly like all the other young wives; never thinking for herself, and never questioning anything. Archer feels that young girls are brought up to be factitiously innocent, without natural fears or instincts. He abhors this "this creation of factitious purity, so cunningly manufactured by a conspiracy of mothers and aunts and grandmothers and long-dead ancestresses, because it was supposed to be what he wanted" (Wharton 41). Upon uncovering May's ordinary nature, Archer says he "does not in the least" want a wife who is a "simpleton" (Wharton 13). He begins to visit Ellen more frequently, and though he has decided to marry May, he often rethinks this decision. When a friend of Archer's challenges Ellen's choice to live in a "slum", he justifies her decision with a "secret pride", saying "she doesn't care a hang about where she lives--or about any of our little social sign-posts" (Wharton, 118). As Archer's thirst for freedom continues to grow, he questions society and wants desperately to leave it all for the individualistic and often alarmingly unconventional Ellen.
Archer is unable to let either opposing side of his ongoing internal struggle fully win him over, though. He is afraid that if he gives in to society, he will have no unique thoughts and will become dead to the world outside of upper crust society. He would have to become exactly what is expected of him in order to keep his roots firmly planted. If he allowed himself to be free, he would lose the hold that his roots had and his entire foundation would be destroyed; his past would have been spent on nothing. After a few excruciatingly consistent married years, Archer once again decides that he will move away to Europe with Ellen. As he is confessing this to May, she tells him that she is pregnant. Archer has finally been defeated by society, because after all, society favors a man who raises children over a married man who leaves the country with another woman. This time, Archer's yearning for freedom has been forcefully extinguished, and while he detests it, and feels he is missing out on "the flower of life," he learns to live with it (Wharton 307). After May has died, Archer and his eldest son, Dallas, visit Europe. Dallas knows about Ellen and wants to go visit her. Archer finally has his chance at being free of society with the woman he loves. Dallas ascends into Ellen's apartment, but Archer remains outside, saying he preferred to dream about her than see her in person. Archer still cannot escape the values instilled in him from the very beginning of his existence.
Archer epitomizes the main theme of the book, society versus freedom, quite evidently through his trial and tribulations. He was brought up in a culture where individuality was shunned and a strict set of unspoken social codes was enforced. Though he eventually opens his eyes to the hypocrisy of his society, he cannot throw off the shackles of society's imprisonment from his ankles.
This is the complete article, containing 1,066 words
(approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page).
