The Age of Innocence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 1920 first edition |
|
| Author | Edith Wharton |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Grosset and Dunlap |
| Released | July to October 1920 |
The Age of Innocence is a 1920 novel by Edith Wharton which won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize. The novel takes place among New York City's upper class during the 1870s, before the advent of electric lights, telephones or motor vehicles; when there was a small cluster of aristocratic "old revolutionary stock" families that ruled New York's social life; when "being things" was better than "doing things" - one's occupation or abilities were secondary to heredity and family connections, when reputation and outward appearances came at the exclusion of everything and everyone else, and when 5th Avenue was so deserted by nightfall that it was possible to follow the comings and goings of society by watching who went to which household. First published in four parts during July to October 1920 in the Pictorial Review and then in the same year by D. Appleton and Company in New York and in London.
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[edit] Plot introduction
The plot is a love story, but is also well regarded for its accurate portrayal of how the upper class of America at one time lived, for which it won the Pulitzer. (The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington, set in a midwestern town, won a Pulitzer for similar reasons just a few years earlier.) Wharton, born in 1862 and aged 58 at the time of publication, herself lived in this rarefied social world while growing up, only to see it change dramatically by the end of World War I, when she looked back and reminisced about a bygone "age of innocence".
[edit] Plot summary
The novel, set in the upper classes of 1870s Old New York City society, opens with Newland Archer, gentleman lawyer and heir to one of New York's best families, happily anticipating a highly desirable marriage to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. However Newland soon finds reason to doubt his choice of bride after the appearance of Countess Ellen Olenska, May's exotic and beautiful 30-year old cousin who has lived for years in Europe. Ellen has returned to her New York family after separating herself, in what is rumored to be scandalous fashion, from a bad marriage with a Polish Count. Newland, at first distrubed by Ellen's arrival and its potential to taint his future bride's family, becomes increasingly intrigued by the worldly Ellen who appears to flaunt the fastideous rules of New York society. As Newland's admiration for the countess grows, so do his doubts about the prospect of marriage to May, a perfect product of Old New York society. Is the match the ideal fate he had always imagined it to be?
When Ellen decides to divorce her husband (the Polish Count), this creates a social crisis for Ellen's New York family who are terrified of scandal and disgrace (divorce in that time was not socially acceptable, as living apart was). In order to save the Welland family's reputation, Newland is asked by one of the partners of his law firm (since the family are valued clients and he is soon to be related by marrying May) to attempt to convince Ellen not to divorce the Count. He succeeds, but in the process begins to realize he has come to care for her. Afraid of falling in love with Ellen, he begs May to push up their wedding date. May refuses, and Newland admits to Ellen that he loves her. Ellen feels as he does, but is horrified by his declaration and the thought of their feelings agreiving her cousin May. She agrees that she will stay in America, separated but not divorced from the count, but only if they do not consummate their relationship. Newland then receives a telegram from May agreeing to the more expedient wedding date.
Newland and May are married. Newland tries to forget about Ellen but fails. His marriage is loveless and the society life he once found so absorbing becomes equally empty and joyless. Though Ellen has moved to Washington and gone to considerable lengths to remain distant, he is unable to stop thinking about her. Their paths cross again while he and May are in the upper-class town of Newport, Rhode Island. Newland discovers that Ellen’s husband wishes her to return to him and that she has refused, despite her family's desire that she accept the reconcilliation and return to him in Europe. Frustrated by her stubbornness, the family cut her off financially, as her husband has also done.
Newland becomes increasingly desperate to find a way to leave his wife and be with Ellen. He is obsessed with how to finally posess her. Despairing of ever making her his wife, he begins to work on making her agree to be his mistress. When Ellen comes back to New York to care for her sick grandmother, the family finally agrees to finance her to stay in America and not return to her husband, the count.
Once back in New York and under pressure from Newland, she agrees to consummate the relationship. However before this can happen, she suddenly decides to return to Europe. Newland makes up his mind to leave May and follow Ellen to Europe. May decides that she and Newland should throw a farewell party for Ellen. That night, after the party, Newland is set to tell May he is leaving her. She interrupts to tell Newland that she is pregnant and that Ellen was told a few days before (the reason for Ellen's decision to leave for Europe). Hopelessly trapped, Newland gives up the one thing he loves most, Ellen, for the sake of his children, remains in the loveless marriage to May and does not follow Ellen.
Twenty-five years pass and Newland and his son are in Paris after May’s death. They arrange to meet Ellen at her Paris apartment. Upon arriving, Newland sends his son up alone to meet Ellen while he waits outside watching her apartment balcony. Newland considers going up but decides that his dreams and memory of Ellen are more real to him than anything in his life has been, and so walks back to his hotel without meeting her again.
[edit] Characters in "The Age of Innocence"
- Newland Archer – a New York lawyer
- May Welland – Newland's intended
- Ellen Olenska – Countess returned from Europe and May's cousin
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
In 1924, a silent film version was released by Warner Brothers, directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Beverly Bayne and Elliott Dexter.
Margaret Ayer Barnes adapted the novel into a play, first produced on Broadway in 1928. The novel and play were the basis for the RKO film The Age of Innocence (1934) that starred Irene Dunne and John Boles.
In 1993, a motion-picture adaptation was directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Richard E. Grant, and Miriam Margolyes. Ryder won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of May Welland Archer, and the film won an Oscar for costume design. Critics consider The Age of Innocence one of Scorsese's best works, but it did not receive many Oscar nominations and failed to appeal to Scorsese's usual audience, who seemed to prefer his crime movies and such films as Raging Bull.
- Further information: The Age of Innocence (film)
[edit] External links
Editions
- The Age of Innocence, available at Project Gutenberg..
- The Age of Innocence, 1920 first edition, scanned book via Internet Archive
- Photos of the first edition of The Age of Innocence
Resources
| Preceded by 1920:no award given 1919:The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington |
Pulitzer Prize for the Novel 1921 |
Succeeded by Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington |
