Freedom
The characters in the novel get caught up in a frenzy of hate, scandal, and love. Newland Archer is a wealthy societal man who views his wife, May, as the reason for his unhappiness. In addition, Newland Archer get swept into the scandal and falls in love with Ellen, who he sees as a route to independence. Ellen Olenska, the cousin of May, brings a tornado of scandal to New York and becomes the center of criticism in society. In The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, Archer and Ellen describe the desire for freedom in order to portray society as an oppressor.
Newland Archer goes through a conflict on whether or not to break the chains society has committed to him. Wharton writes, "Yes, May might die - people did: young
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The intimidation is evident when Archer forces her to rethink her divorce, “What harm could such accusations …do me here? My poor child, far more than anywhere else” (91). Archer is telling Ellen that the scandal of her divorce will affect her “far more” in New York’s society than “anywhere else”. The Mingott’s, Ellen’s family, do not want the accusations of her husband to affect their imprint on society and destroy their reputation. Therefore, they must revoke her right to freedom. Wharton writes, “Countess Olenska thought she would be conforming to American ideas in asking for her freedom” (119). Ellen decides to get a divorce from her husband believing that society will support her. When Wharton writes “thought she would be conforming to American ideas”, Countess Olenska foolishly believes that America is civilized enough to give her the freedom she desires. She feels as though “asking for her freedom” will be reinforced by society when in reality it is seen as distasteful. In The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, the narrator describes Archer and Ellen’s need for freedom in order to show their desire to escape the abuse of society. Newland Archer wishes death on his wife because he believes if she dies so will societies pressures. And Ellen Olenska rejects Archer’s proposal for freedom to find her own independence. Ellen Olenska rethinks her divorce in order to become less of an outsider
Throughout “Ethan Frome,” Edith Wharton renders the idea that freedom is just out of reach from the protagonist, Ethan Frome. The presence of a doomed love affair and an unforgiving love triangle forces Ethan to choose between his duty and his personal desire. Wharton’s use of archetypes in the novella emphasizes how Ethan will make choices that will ultimately lead to his downfall. In Edith Wharton’s, “Ethan Frome.” Ethan is wedged between his duty as a husband and his desire for happiness; however, rather than choosing one or the other, Ethan’s indecisiveness makes not only himself, but Mattie and Zeena miserable.
Ethan Frome is the main character of Edith Wharton’s tragic novel. Ethan lives the bitterness of his youth’s lost opportunities, and dissatisfaction with his joyless life and empty marriage. Throughout the story Ethan is trapped by social limits and obligations to his wife. He lives an unhappy life with many responsibilities and little freedom. Ethan Frome studied science in college for a year and probably would have succeeded as an engineer or physicist had he not been summoned home to run the family farm and mill. Ethan quickly ended his schooling and went to run the family farm and mill because he feels it is his responsibility. He marries Zeena after the death of his mother, in an unsuccessful attempt to escape silence, isolation, and loneliness. Ethan also feels the responsibility to marry Zeena as a way to compensate her for giving up part of her life to nurse his mother. After marring Zeena he forgets his hope of every continuing his education and he is now forced to remain married to someone he does not truly love.
Many people oppose society due to the surroundings that they face and the obstacles that they encounter. Set in the bleak winter landscape of New England, Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton is the story of a poor, lonely man, his wife Zeena, and her cousin Mattie Silver. Ethan the protagonist in this novel, faces many challenges and fights to be with the one he really loves. Frome was trapped from the beginning ever since Mattie Silver came to live with him and his wife. He soon came to fall in love with her, and out of love with his own wife. He was basically trapped in the instances of his life, society’s affect on the relationship, love, poverty, illness, disability, and life.
In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Ethan, a reserved young man was torn between two women. He was married to Zenobia Frome, but his true love was his wife’s cousin, Mattie Silver. Zeena and Mattie were different in all aspects. Mattie was a caring, loving, beautiful young girl, while Zeena was a sickly, shrewish woman aged well beyond her years. Ethan was continuously drawn to Mattie throughout the novel, as she was much more attractive and amicable than Zeena.
Perhaps Edith Wharton's reason for writing Ethan Frome, was that it so vividly reflected her own dreary life. Abandoned of any love as a child from her mother and trapped in a marriage similar to that of Zeena and Ethan, Wharton found herself relying on illicit love. This illicit love was also her favorite topic of writing, which helped her to escape her own tragedies. She spent many nights in the arms of other men searching desperately for the love she believed existed, but had never felt, which is evident in all of her writings.
While everyone is legally intitled to the pursuit of happiness, the truth of the matter is that very few ever achieve it. Ones morals, standards, conscious, or perhaps even fate, keep them from accepting a pure form of satisfaction. While a person can search and struggle their entire life for happiness, the truth of the matter is, that they will never be happy with what they have infront of them. The character Ethan, portrayed in Edith Whartons novel, Ethan Frome, is emotionally weak, he battles constantly with what he wants, how to get it, and what is ethically right. Ethan was obligated to care for his wife Zeena until death, but his misguided decisions lead him to be concerned only with his immediate happiness. Much like Ethan in Ethan Frome, people who concentrate on personal happiness, without factoring in personal responsibility, set themselves up for a painful reality check.
Although when we are young, we commonly find ourselves gravitating to books with predictable endings that leave the protagonist and us with what we want, as we mature we develop a hunger for different, more thoughtful or realistic solutions. This is not to say, however, that we can be satisfied solely through the reading of any story that concludes with mere tragedy. The reason why the book Ethan Frome is so widely read is because there is a great deal of technique behind the element of mere tragedy. Edith Wharton is able to distinguish her novel through the use of irony. Irony has been the defining element of many great pieces of literature throughout time. The use of irony dates back all the way to ancient Greece when it was used by Sophocles in the play Oedipus Rex. Irony was also a key element in many of Shakespeare's works and appears in many famous short stories. In Ethan Frome, Ethan ends up falling in love with Mattie who at the time seems young and effervescent in comparison to his sickly, deteriorating wife. In attempting to free himself and Mattie from his commitment to Zeena, Ethan ends up causing Mattie to become paralyzed, taking with it her previous, lively characteristics. All the household responsibilities then fall into the hands of Zeena who is ultimately the most vivacious of the three.
In Edith Warton’s novel, The Age of Innocence the main character Newland Archer has a complex personality that is filled with hidden desires and ideas; some of these ideas are controversial in the society that he lives in. The arrival of Ellen Olenska and the harsh realization of living in a boring society help expose these unseen traits.
Silence has been described as "a category of intelligence of the twentieth century," a response to the modern experience of "alienation from reason, society, and history." Silence has also been designated a feminist issue, one not confined to any historical moment but "a form of imposed repression" which enforces the traditional view of the "appropriate condition for women” (Hurvitz). Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, a novel poised between the American Victorian and modern eras which examines the potential for women's freedom and independence through a male center of consciousness, encourages a close analysis of its many silences.
The lives we lead and the type of character we possess are said to be individual decisions. Yet from early stages in our life, our character is shaped by the values, customs and mindsets of those who surround us. The characteristics of this environment affect the way we think and behave ultimately shaping us into a product of the environment we are raised in. Lily Bart, the protagonist in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, is an exceedingly beautiful bachelorette who grows up accustomed to living a life of luxury amongst New York City’s upper-class in the 20th century. When her family goes bankrupt, Lily is left searching for security and stability, both of which, she is taught can be only be attained through a wealthy marriage. Although, Lily is ashamed of her society’s tendencies, she is afraid that the values taught in her upbringing shaped her into “an organism so helpless outside of its narrow range” (Wharton 423). For Lily, it comes down to a choice between two antagonistic forces: the life she desires with a happiness, freedom and love and the life she was cut out to live with wealth, prestige and power. Although, Lily’s upbringing conditioned her to desire wealth and prestige, Lily’s more significant desires happiness, freedom and love ultimately allow her to break free.
In the novel, “The Age of Innocence” two of the main characters come to be introduced in the first chapter where they are seen at the Opera house. Newland Archer, a well respected lawyer of New York looks across from his box seat to see his newly engaged fiancée May Welland. Sitting next to her, he sees May’s mother and aunt. Next to them he sees a woman who is familiar to him-she is May’s cousin, Ellen Olenska. These two women play important roles throughout the whole novel. There are two different personality types which are displayed in both May and Ellen.
In The Age of Innocence, women are viewed in a white light of innocence. Promiscuity was excusable, even expected of men, but for women sexuality was a part of the criteria to be accepted into society or find a husband. Women were expected to be loyal to their husbands, accept restrictions, and never divorce. Archer sees May exactly as he is expected to, as a pure young woman in need of guidance. However, May had powers of her own that weren’t taken into account by Newland. May had her loyalty, duty, and most importantly, her pregnancy. May had been aware of Newland’s desire to be with Ellen for some time. New York society never would have approved of his choice to do what would make him happy, but May takes matters into her own hands in her final fight for Newland. May reveals that she is pregnant, and this piece of news immediately eliminates Archer’s choice to leave May. Finally, Newland cannot gather up the courage to go against the morals of New York society. He has no choice but to put the interests of his family above his own desires once again. The idea of a female character revealing her intuition and shred of social power ultimately forces Newland, and the reader, to question who is really in
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton is a book that gave the word “love” many other meanings, such as impossible, meaningless and incomplete. There were many unbearable obstacles that Countess Ellen Olenska, one of the main characters, had to face because of love. She was treated badly by many people and always longed for love but never obtained it. With everyone cursing her, betraying her and hurting her, there was one person who was always there for her. Newland Archer wasn’t only sympathetic towards her; he also began to fall in love with her. The love she always wanted. He was the man who truly cared for her and always helped her make decisions. Out of all the selfish people in New York who degraded her, including her very close relatives, Newland Archer was one person who was there to listen to her problems and helped her solve them.
The loss of innocence is an occurrence that happens in every life, and it is so easily taken. A traumatic moment is often the thief of innocence, leaving the victim scarred from the experience. Events like these are often the process of paving the road into adulthood, and aid in the metamorphosis of a child to an adult. In “My Father’s Noose” by Grace Talusan, “Dothead” by Amit Majmudar, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, each of the characters do not understand the concept of negligent personages. Once the protagonist knows that society is not composed of perfect people, their character and personality changes, as it forces them to take a look at their own morals. This prepares the protagonist for the lives
The short story Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid is a mother’s compilation of advice, skills, and life experience to her daughter. The mother believes that her offer of practical and helpful guidance will assist her daughter in becoming a proper woman, and gaining a fulfilling life and respectable status in the community. Posed against the mother’s sincere concern for her daughter’s future is Sir Walter’s superficial affection to his daughters in the novel Persuasion written by Jane Austen. Due to his detailed attention for appearance and social rank, Sir Walter has been negligent to his daughters’ interests and fails to fulfill his responsibility as a father. Throughout both literary works, the use of language and tone towards persuasive endeavors reveals the difference in family dynamics and the success of persuasion on the character’s transformation.