Age Of Innocence

593 Words2 Pages

The Age Of Innocence by Edith Wharton takes place during the 1870s in New York. Newland Archer, a upper class and well respected man, and May Welland, Newland Archer’s wife has a well respected upper class family, announce their engagement after May’s married cousin Ellen returns to town from Europe Newland begins to spend some time with May’s cousin and becomes increasingly infatuated with her. May ends up shortening the engagement, thanks to Newland’s insistence when he is torn between his loyalty to May and his desire for Ellen. .Newland Archer misunderstands Ellen Olenska and even more so his wife, May Welland, because he feels that May is innocent while Ellen is bold, therefore causing him to send each woman the incorrect flower, hurting …show more content…

When Newland sees Ellen again he gets a feeling that will eventually cause drama and controversy. Newland states “The exciting fact was her having lived in an atmosphere so thick with drama that her own tendency to provoke it had apparently passed unperceived” (PG 134.) Newland finds Ellen to be bold and exotic. Newland finds Ellen's to be so powerful and mysterious and not like anyone he has seen in New York. As Newland describes “But there was about her the mysterious authority of beauty, a sureness in the carriage of the head, the movement of the eyes, which, without being in the least theatrical, struck him as highly trained and full of a conscious power.” (Page 80.) Newland Archer was talking about... Newland went see where Ellen went and he found out that she was waiting at the lighthouse. Newland headed down to find her. Newland found her down by the lighthouse looking out at the sunset. “Archer waited till a wide space of water sparkled between the last reef of the island and the stern of the boat; but still the figure in the summer-house did not move.” (Page 234.) Ellen was being bold here by knowing that Archer was waiting for her to turn around but she did not. Based on Newland’s experiences with Ellen he was attracted to her bold and exotic

Open Document