![]() ![]() In The Age of Innocence, Newland Archer's life is predestinated by the enclosed society of New York City which finds expression in his eventual decision to marry May Welland, separate with Ellen Olenska who transgresses the boundaries of this society, and feeling misplaced as the world familiar to him approaches change. The story of Newland Archer, a young lawyer from a respected upper-class family, who is torn between marrying his betrothed May Welland and thereby following society's expectations and entering into a relationship with her cousin, Ellen Olenska, and with that superordinate his personal happiness, won Edith Wharton a Pulitzer Prize in 1921. Having lived in New York of the Gilded Age, Wharton provides a rich description of the life of the upper class in The Age of Innocence -and contrasts this life to the European society she had encountered during her numerous travels. 1 Edith Wharton's description of the protagonist in her novel The Age of Innocence, published in 1920, unveils the significant influence of the small New York City society the author grew up in. ![]() Conformity to the discipline of a small society had become almost his second nature”. “Newland Archer was a quiet and self-controlled young man. ![]() The Impact of Old New York Society on Newland ArcherĢ.1 A Seemingly Perfect Couple: Archer's Marriage with MayĢ.2 Society's Boundaries: Ellen Olenska as the “polluting Force”Ģ.3 The “Vanished America”: Wharton's Depiction of Old Newland Archer ![]()
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