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The Age of Innocence Summary & Study Guide Description
The Age of Innocence Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:
This detailed literature summary also contains For Further Study and a Free Quiz on The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.
The Age of Innocence Plot Summary
Preview of The Age of Innocence Summary:
Book 1: Chapters 1 - 9
The book opens as members of old New York society gather at the opera. Although they have not come to the opera together, Newland Archer rests his gaze on his fiancée, May Welland. He considers her innocence and how he will educate and enlighten her, so that she can become his ideal woman. A stir is created when May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, arrives in the Wellands' box. She married a Polish Count and lived in Europe until she left her husband, reportedly with his secretary. By inviting her to their opera box, the Wellands knowingly risk becoming the subject of gossip.
Newland thinks about the Welland family matriarch, Catherine Mingott, who is a powerful figure in New York society. Catherine is an enormous woman, whose weight prevents her from leaving her house. Still, she is a respected and animated member of her community.
During intermission, Newland visits...
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This section contains 1,423 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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