The Age of Innocence Study Questions – please write your responses under each

question: 

1. In her autobiography, Wharton wrote of The Age of Innocence that it had allowed

her to find "a momentary escape in going back to my childish memories of a long-
vanished America... it was growing more and more evident that the world I had
grown up in and been formed by had been destroyed in 1914." What do you think
had changed within American society between the 1870s and 1914 and why?

2. The novel is noted for Wharton's attention to detail and its accurate portrayal of how
the 19th-century East Coast American upper class lived. What did you learn about
the lives of the 19 century East Coast American upper class?
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3. Explain why the title is an ironic comment on the polished outward manners of New
York society when compared to its inward machinations (plots and schemes).
The title is ironic as characters within the novel 

4. What were your impressions of the following characters:

Newland Archer is a
 
May Welland is the ideal upper class New York woman, who has been trained and
educated to fulfil the female expectations such as being submissive to her husband
and to centralise her life around her husband - early in the novel Wharton writes
that a female must have no worthwhile life before her husband and she must remain
innocent. May at the start of the novel is wide-eyed and innocent but her
cunningness develops after her realisation of Archer's feelings for Ellen and I believe
she develops independent resilience - resilience that isn’t based on protecting her
and her husband's social image. She becomes manipulative to preserve her position
yet is also is conformed to tradition like Archer is saying ‘we can’t behave like people
in novels can we?’ after the joke of eloping was suggested by Archer.
 Countess Ellen Olenska
Countess Ellen Olenska represents the radical and unconventional of higher New
York society. She is fiercely independent and
What are the similarities and differences between the women? 

5. Explain why Ellen's decision to divorce Count Olenski causes a social crisis for the
other members of her family.
It causes ruin for her family's reputation, as they are at the apex of New York society in the
1870’s. The gossip and talk of the divorce between Ellen and her husband 

6. Twenty-six years later, after May's death, Newland and his eldest son are in Paris.
The son, learning that his mother's cousin lives there, has arranged to visit Ellen in
 her Paris apartment. Newland is stunned at the prospect of seeing Ellen again. On
arriving outside the apartment building, Newland sends up his son alone to meet
Ellen, while he waits outside, watching the balcony of her apartment. Newland
considers going up, but in the end decides not to; he walks back to his hotel without
seeing her. Newland's final words about the love affair are "It's more real to me here
than if I went up." Explain the significance of Newland’s final words. 
It shows Newland yearning to maintain the world of his youth in the superficial fast-paced
world of the early 20th century where there are telephones that reach across continental
and electric lights. The fast paced world belongs to Dallas who made his occupation out of
his passion of art and Mary who is more liberated in her femininity and can climb mountains
There is new machinery and development with motor cars and aeroplanes. Newland wants
to preserve the romanticisation of his earlier days and preserve the memories of his love for
Ellen, the only brighter nostalgic memories left of the old New York. Despite the modern
century bringing freer societal expectations for men and women, with Julius and his
marriage (which before would’ve brought scandal and gossip to New York society), Newland
still craves the past where he wasn’t  a "grey relic of a man," and the orderly structure of
society. 

7. One of the most prominent themes that can be seen throughout the text is the idea
of wealth and social class. The characters take pride in their social standings and
those that come from "old money" feel threatened by those that are coming from
"new money". Write down where you have seen evidence of wealth, social class and
old and new money.
 Societal Class- Ellen Olenska moves into a neighbourhood with artists and
writers which is seen as below her status and crosses class boundaries. Ellen
also attended parties hosted by Mrs Struthers which is seen as against
societal norms and crossing class lines as people of the time were born into
classes and therefore remained in those classes for the rest of their lives-
there was no frolicking with people from different statuses as that could
damage a reputation.
 Wealth-
 Old vs new money - 

8. How are the following themes presented within the novel:

 Love/ desire
 Innocence / betrayal is portrayed by
 Acceptance 
9. What aspects of society is Wharton criticising within her novel? Consider how
“Wharton's late masterpiece stands as a fierce indictment of a society estranged
from culture and in desperate need of a European sensibility.” (Robert McCrum, The
Guardian). 
 10. How does The Age of Innocence (1920) compare to the other American Literature
that you have read (1880-1940)?
 The Grapes of Wrath (1939)
Compared to Grapes of Wrath, these two novels are a stark contrast from one another with
one focusing on the working classes plight and survival whilst the other focuses on the
unreachable, upper class society of the 19th century which hasn’t been blemished with the
cruelty of World War I and economic upheaval. May Welland and Rose of Sharon however
share similarities in their duties and maturation. Both develop resilience yet May develops
cunningness and guileful whereas Rose of Sharon develops empathy and her womanhood.
May uses her resources to fulfil her expectations such as manipulating Archer (like moving
the wedding date to Easter to distract Archer from Ellen) to prevent scandal and damage to
their reputation. This maturation is the full recognition of the female expectations of New
York. Rose of Sharon fulfils maternal duties and matures into a responsible and selfless
woman like her mother. Both May and Rose of Sharon rely on their mother for guidance and
support as May worries what her mother will think and Rose of Sharon needs her mother to
show her how to think. By the end of the novel both characters have matured but only one
has found fulfilment. 

 O Pioneers (1913)

Compared to O Pioneers, the marriages between Alexandra and Carl as well as

May and Archer are fairly similar. Both marriages are to protect shared values
and are safe- they have no risks as Alexandra has known Carl for years and May
has been trained as the perfect expected helpmate of 19th century New York
who fulfils every societal expectation. The main characters of each novel,
Alexandra and Archer both reject societal teachings and structure- Alexandra is
an independent female farmer and profitable landowner who ignores her jealous
brothers, who believe they should own more land. Alexandra rejects the female
expectations to marry early and have children while the men manage the
property, instead using her wits to generate profit and hiring household staff
instead of doing the expected work herself. Archer seeks freedom from societal
norms and enlightenment from an individual who shares the same ideas as
himself. He constantly seeks out Ellen Olenska who represents the foreign
unconventional woman, entirely different to a New York woman like May.