Anthony Carrasco
Mr. Williams
English VI
11/8/15
Innocence Corrupted
The historical setting of The Age of Innocence is a very important aspect of the novel. While set in New York City in the 1870s, Edith Wharton wrote it in the early 20th century. This fact causes the novel to be very aware of the future. Wharton clearly intended to draw a contrast between the two time periods. The effect that this strange tension has on the novel is profound. In The Age of Innocence, an entire society refuses to be thrust into a form of the 1920s, an age in which Wharton, as well as others, considers to be corrupted and reproachable. The Age of Innocence presents us with a very strict society where a breach in “normal” behavior is very uncommon and disapproved
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At first situated to live a classical gentleman life with Mary Welland, he then goes through emotional turmoil throughout the rest of his life, fighting to remain faithful to his innocent life in the face of his passionate love for Countess Odenska. Archer, representing the old innocent values of 1870’s America, is attracted by Odenska’s “foreign”-ness, as Wharton writes “what struck him was the way in which Medora Manson’s shabby hired house, with its blighted background of pampas grass and Rogers statuettes, had, by a turn of the hand, and the skilful use of a few properties, been transformed into something intimate, “foreign,” subtly suggestive of old romantic scenes and sentiments” (Wharton 129). In a way, Ellen lures Archer into her “modern” and “dangerous” world with her unfamiliarity and …show more content…
Edith Wharton does this by contrasting the way of life before the 20th century and after it. She does this through personification. Newland Archer, in the novel, represents the old way of life and the innocence of 19th century America. Countess Ellen Odenska, on the other hand, represents approaching 20th century with its extravagance and lack of innocence. Ellen’s arrival in Newland’s life was uncontrollable and often unwelcomed, as Wharton writes “As for the momentary madness which had fallen upon him on the eve of his marriage, he had trained himself to regard it as the last of his discarded experiments” (Wharton 126). His innocence began to wither away as Wharton describes Archer’s change, “The things that had filled his days now felt like a nursery parody of life, or like the wrangles of medieval schoolmen over metaphysical terms that nobody had ever understood,” emphasizing his loss of innocence in the way that he perceived the world around him (Wharton 111). Because she has separated from her husband and does not exactly conform to the rest of American society, she is seen as a dangerous outsider. When Odenska is placed into the order of wealthy New York society, she causes Newlands life to be torn apart between his wish to live an innocent life with Mary and his love for Ellen. The longer Newland is married to Mary for, the more he is
Despite the common cliché, ?don?t judge a book by its cover,? you never get a second chance to make a first impression, most first impressions are derived from appearance. Edith Wharton harshly juxtaposes the appearances of Mattie and Zeena, to such an extreme that it almost seems bias. From the beginning of the novel, Zeena is depicted as an old and ?repugnant? (46) housewife. Substantial background information is not given, nor causes for her worn out and ?bloodless? (53) demeanor. ?Though she was but seven years her husband?s senior, she was already an old woman.? (53) In harsh comparison, Mattie is portrayed as a youthful, vivacious woman, yet with natural beauty. This drastic juxtaposition is black and white, with no grey areas, just the strong Mattie and the feeble Zeena. However, the colors used to describe Mattie and Zeena are not black and white, they each ...
“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). In Edith Wharton’s framed novel, Ethan Frome, the main protagonist encounters “lost opportunity, failed romance, and disappointed dreams” with a regretful ending (Lilburn 1). Ethan Frome lives in the isolated fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts with his irritable spouse, Zenobia Frome. Ever since marriage, Zenobia, also referred to as Zeena, revolves around her illness. Furthermore, she is prone to silence, rage, and querulously shouting.
Analyzing innocence has always been a difficult task, not only due to it’s rapid reevaluation in the face of changing societal values, but also due to the highly private and personal nature of the concept. The differences between how people prioritize different types of innocence - childhood desires, intellectual naivety, sexual purity, criminal guilt, etc. - continually obscures the definition of innocence. This can make it difficult for people to sympathize with others’ loss of purity, simply because their definition of that loss will always be dissimilar to the originally expressed idea. Innocence can never truly be adequately described, simply because another will never be able to precisely decipher the other’s words. It is this challenge, the challenge of verbally depicting the isolationism of the corruption of innocence, that Tim O’Brien attempts to endeavour in his fictionalized memoir, The
Edith Wharton’s brief, yet tragic novella, Ethan Frome, presents a crippled and lonely man – Ethan Frome – who is trapped in a loveless marriage with a hypochondriacal wife, Zenobia “Zeena” Frome. Set during a harsh, “sluggish” winter in Starkfield, Massachusetts, Ethan and his sickly wife live in a dilapidated and “unusually forlorn and stunted” New-England farmhouse (Wharton 18). Due to Zeena’s numerous complications, they employ her cousin to help around the house, a vivacious young girl – Mattie Silver. With Mattie’s presence, Starkfield seems to emerge from its desolateness, and Ethan’s vacant world seems to be awoken from his discontented life and empty marriage. And so begins Ethan’s love adventure – a desperate desire to have Mattie as his own; however, his morals along with his duty to Zeena and his natural streak of honesty hinder him in his ability to realize his own dreams. Throughout this suspenseful and disastrous novella, Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton effectively employs situational irony enabling readers to experience a sudden shock and an unexpected twist of events that ultimately lead to a final tragedy in a living nightmare.
"All things truly wicked start from an innocence,” states Ernest Hemingway on his view of innocence. Innocence, what every youth possesses, is more accurately described as a state of unknowing but not ignorance- which connotation suggests a blissfully positive view of the world. Most youth are protected from the harsh realities of the adult world. Therefore they are able to maintain their state of innocence. While innocence normally wanes over time, sometimes innocence can be abruptly taken away. Some of the characters in Truman Capotes In Cold Blood lost their innocence due to the traumatic events they experienced in childhood and adulthood while some had none to begin with.
Wharton’s parents raised her in aristocratic society. Her father, George supported the family working in real estate, while her mother Lucerita was a stay at home mom. Her mother was devoted to high society, and was unsupportive of her interests in writing. (Todd and Wetzel) Unlike her mother, Morton Fullerton supported Wharton. While in England, Wharton met Fullerton. As their relationship progressed, she became close friends with Katharine Fullerton. Katharine was Morton’s orphaned sister, that his family took in. (Witkosky) While Wharton was in England her husband was seeking “cures” for his depression. As portrayed in the novel, Ethan Frome’s wife Zeena was constantly seeking cures for her illness. Like Teddy, Zeena was isolated from society and kept to herself. Ethan’s wife was devoted to high society because she came from an aristocratic home. Therefore, Zeena never supported Ethan’s interest in becoming an engineer. Wharton’s mother was alike to Zeena when it came to how her life was lived. Ethan’s lover, Mattie Silver, was taken in by the Frome’s in the novel. She had no family who wanted her just like Katharine Fullerton. Mattie was raised by the Frome’s in a society she did not know how to adapt to because she was never taught how. “Mattie is attempting unsuccessfully to fit in a society she does not understand.”
The creative writing techniques that Wharton uses within her writing enhance the story and make it worth reading. Wharton is very descriptive in almost every aspect of her story. This gives the reader another element to the story rather than just reading dialogue or general descriptions. A point where Wharton gets descriptive, is when she starts to explain Frome’s house and how “ the image (of itself) presents of a life linked with the soil, and enclosing in itself the chief sources of warmth and nourishment, or whether merely because of the consolatory thought that it enables the dwellers in that harsh climate to get to their mornings’ work without facing the weather, it is certain that the ‘L’ rather the house itself seems to be the center, the actual hearth-stone of the New England farm” (Wharton 11). This shows how detailed Wharton can get. It not only gives the reader a g...
One of the ways to turn a critical lens onto Edith Wharton’s writing would be to approach texts through various modes of reading. Through this approach, critical discourse often assumes that the text offers readings that work in spite of the text itself and that authorial intention does not matter. The premise of these tenets, of course, is that so much of textual analysis is rooted in a separation of text and author and also between text and reader. These distinctions provide a space in which Wharton thrives, particularly in Ethan Frome, whose narratives are multiple and fluid. Indeed, as a story fixed in rural Masachusetts, a town entirely of its own character and yet anonymous enough to serve as any town, Ethan Frome emblematizes an
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
Novels such as “The Age of Innocence”(The Editors of), which discusses a “ picture of upper-class New York society in the 1870s” (The Editors of), strongly relates to Wharton and her background. “The Age of Innocence” is considered Wharton’s “finest work” (The Age Of). The novel is based off Newland Archer and May Welland’s troubled marriage. At first, the married couple live in harmony and joy, however this dramatically changes throughout the book. Once Newland meets “May's cousin, the Countess Ellen Olenska, on the run from an unhappy marriage” (The Age of Innocence), Newland immediately falls in love. Society plays a major key role in this book. Therefore, Ellen cannot divorce her husband or make a public announcement of her feelings for Newland. As Newland’s feelings grow deeper for Ellen he feels a strong need to run away with her and live their life together. However, Newland knew that severe consequences would be upheld against him if he were to run away with Ellen. Such as, being disowned from his family. However, he never cared much about the consequences and put Ellen as his main focus. May is a sharp woman and figured out their feelings toward each other and as a result, the day they planned to leave was the day May announced her pregnancy with Newland. The book ends with May and Newland carrying on their unhappy marriage and kids while Ellen and Newland’s relationship is forever
Loss of innocence is a time-worn theme in the literature of every culture. It traditionally takes the form of some type of epiphany visited upon an unsophisticated character as she grows up and encounters the larger world. The focus of this theme is normally personal, in the point of view of an individual, or the omnipotent third person account of the reaction of an individual. While this aspect can be found in the novel, it additionally explores the loss of innocence of a family, people or race, called estirpe in the original edition.
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 desires to be a free soul in old New York, differing from those around him. May Welland’s actions and naivety help Newland realize he wants to break away from the norm of society. Ellen Olenska arrives in New York to stay with family during her divorce with a Polish Count. Ellen and Newland are formally introduced by May, beginning Ellen and Newland’s odious relationship. Ellen offers a fresh change to Newland’s monotonous lifestyle; she shows Newland the excitement of going against the moral code. After Ellen’s arrival, Newland briefly believes he wants to be with someone who is not like women from New York, and when given the chance to be with Ellen, Newland turns it down, showing he is truly an old-fashioned man at heart.
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 story is said to be largely based on the authors life since she grew up with these types of circumstances. Archer to the reader seems to be in control of everything in his life but this is not true it seems that he was the most naïve character in the whole story despite being the narrator of it. He never realized that May knew for most of the book that his feelings lay with her cousin instead of her. It isn’t until his son Dallas tells him that on her death bed she confessed to knowing all about Archers sacrifice. Although his views are different and more open he still believed that if he were to have an affair with Olenska it would have been accepted showing that he was never realistic in this sense.