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...