The Age of Innocence is recognized by many critics as the best novel of Edith Jones Wharton. Edith was born into a wealthy New York family in 1862. Her parents are exactly "the Jones" referred to in "keep up with the Jones".
Edith claimed she wasn't a baby desired by her mother, an extremely popular, beautiful and indulgent upper class lady. Edith complained in her essays how the mother made fun of her red hair, spoke of her writing aspiration with disapproval tone, dis valued her writing skill, etc. Edith married at the age of 23 to Teddy Wharton, a Boston banker 12 years her senior.
Marriage was not a pleasant experience for Edith. It appeared that neither the hu*****and nor the wife was loyal to his/her partner. She divorced Teddy in 1913, when she was fully capable of financially supporting herself by yields generated by her books.
Like Ellen Olenska in the novel, Edith Jones traveled frequently then was settled down in Paris, where she devoted the rest of her life time to charity cause and missions.
Had she missed New York? Apparently yes. The Age of Innocence is a perfect nostalgic romance. In the book, Edith probed with accuracy and authenticity the details of the lifestyle and customs that Old New York upper class society valued. From Newland's thoughts in the final chapter, readers can get some insights about Edith's own attitude towards the Old New York: old order is not all bad.
However, Edith had come back to New York once, only once, until she passed away in France in 1937. The purpose of that trip seemed to be receiving the Pulitzer Prize earned by the Age of Innocence in 1921.
The plot was set in upper class New York society in the 1870's, when the "Wrong New York" - self made rich men- threatened the way of the living of the "Right New York" - a small group of people who relied on massive wealth they inherited from the ancestors, while set higher moral standards for themselves and had little intention to extend their circle to new money, fearing money oriented people would degrade the social class as a whole.
Newland Archer, a lawyer and a perfect model gentleman, was set to engage May Welland, a perfect model fair lady of the Right New York. Unlike many gentlemen paramoutly sticking to the prevailing social norms, Newland enjoyed reading, committed to thinking critically and independently. When May's cousin, the disgraced Countess Ellen Olenska returned to New York from Europe and made her debut in an opera evening, Newland, raged by the prejudice of the upper class, announced, ahead of planned timetable, to the surrounding circle his engagement with May, suggesting his and his family's support to the Countess.
Newland was assigned by his firm to handle Ellen's divorce case. He understood his true mission underneath was persuading Ellen to succumb to the social customs, which tolerated separation instead, and give up the divorce proposal.
As Ellen Olenska's free spirited compelling personality fully displayed, Newland's sympathy and kindness to her were ultimately settled into a red hot affection. Resisting to his progressing inner passion, Newland proposed to May Welland an early wedding. May, without sensing into Newland's drifting love, initially declined.
Affection was mounting to uncontainable and unbearable.
May Welland, a girl who lived in real without talking about, counter proposed the early wedding while Newland was secretly planning to break their engagement down. Newland made the concession. Book I was over here.
In the first chapter of book II, Edith deliberately depicted the phenomenal scene of May and Newland's wedding. However, Newland's love with Ellen was not fading among wedding, honeymoon, travels and May's pretended happiness with their marriage life in the City. May's lack of imagination and insensitivity to what was going on beyond the Right New York was deepening Newland's dream of Ellen's intellectual charm.
Without acknowledging each other by any means, the entire Upper Class of New York took the side of May Archer. When Newland desperately attempted to elope with Ellen, leaving this stiffing world behind, May Welland smartly announced her pregnancy to him and Ellen Olenska, eventually made his plot impossible. He had no choice but sadly watched his lover walking away in a snowy night, accompanied by the ones who conspiratorially deprived his last chance to make the farewell to her.
The last chapter of the book is extraordinarily touching. 26 years after the episode, Newland Archer, a father of 3 and a widower, sitting in his office, made a comprehensive retrospect glance at his past. Having maintained the dignity he valued and fulfilled the duties his social class required, he admitted he accomplished little under the new order and had missed the "flower of life", but Ellen Olenska, even though no longer provoking any strong feel, remained some where in his heart in the form of an abstract symbol.
Dallas, Newland's adult son, raised under the new world's standards, made Newland travel to Paris and scheduled an appointment for the father to meet divorced Mrs. Ellen Olenska. Newland's heart was warmed up by the son's arrangement. He seated outside of Ellen's residence, gazing at the shinning window in the sunlight, and then, as 26 years ago, escaped at the last minute.
The novel was woven by Newland's romance and the up and down of Julius Beaufort - a bastard banker with no background valued by the Old New York, once rich enough to gather the entire upper class society in his ball room, fell into bankruptcy after betting wrong in the financial markets and had to flee from the City. Beaufort represented, to some extent, a group of strong minded men - today labeled as "american lords", amongst JP Morgan, John Rockefeller, etc - who shaped many political and economic aspects of the USA in the subsequent 120 years.
20 years later, Fanny Beaufort, Julius's grown up orphan, came back to the City. Unlike poor Ellen Olenska, Fanny was welcomed by the City and married to Dallas Archer. No one even thought such alliance might be improper. The world was changing fast:)
In 1993, new attention was drawn to the novel as it was interpreted into a movie. Dan Day-Lewis (Newland Archer)'s finest gentleman ship, Michelle Pfeiffer (Ellen Olenska)'s gracious melancholy and sweetly bitter facial expression, Winova Ryder's impeccable beauty and perfectly innocent joy, together with lyrical music and elegantly designed costumes, made it one of my all time favorite movies.
Edith is not only a novelist, but also a talented interior designer, a "born to be" architect and a taste maker of her time.
Edith claimed she wasn't a baby desired by her mother, an extremely popular, beautiful and indulgent upper class lady. Edith complained in her essays how the mother made fun of her red hair, spoke of her writing aspiration with disapproval tone, dis valued her writing skill, etc. Edith married at the age of 23 to Teddy Wharton, a Boston banker 12 years her senior.
Marriage was not a pleasant experience for Edith. It appeared that neither the hu*****and nor the wife was loyal to his/her partner. She divorced Teddy in 1913, when she was fully capable of financially supporting herself by yields generated by her books.
Like Ellen Olenska in the novel, Edith Jones traveled frequently then was settled down in Paris, where she devoted the rest of her life time to charity cause and missions.
Had she missed New York? Apparently yes. The Age of Innocence is a perfect nostalgic romance. In the book, Edith probed with accuracy and authenticity the details of the lifestyle and customs that Old New York upper class society valued. From Newland's thoughts in the final chapter, readers can get some insights about Edith's own attitude towards the Old New York: old order is not all bad.
However, Edith had come back to New York once, only once, until she passed away in France in 1937. The purpose of that trip seemed to be receiving the Pulitzer Prize earned by the Age of Innocence in 1921.
The plot was set in upper class New York society in the 1870's, when the "Wrong New York" - self made rich men- threatened the way of the living of the "Right New York" - a small group of people who relied on massive wealth they inherited from the ancestors, while set higher moral standards for themselves and had little intention to extend their circle to new money, fearing money oriented people would degrade the social class as a whole.
Newland Archer, a lawyer and a perfect model gentleman, was set to engage May Welland, a perfect model fair lady of the Right New York. Unlike many gentlemen paramoutly sticking to the prevailing social norms, Newland enjoyed reading, committed to thinking critically and independently. When May's cousin, the disgraced Countess Ellen Olenska returned to New York from Europe and made her debut in an opera evening, Newland, raged by the prejudice of the upper class, announced, ahead of planned timetable, to the surrounding circle his engagement with May, suggesting his and his family's support to the Countess.
Newland was assigned by his firm to handle Ellen's divorce case. He understood his true mission underneath was persuading Ellen to succumb to the social customs, which tolerated separation instead, and give up the divorce proposal.
As Ellen Olenska's free spirited compelling personality fully displayed, Newland's sympathy and kindness to her were ultimately settled into a red hot affection. Resisting to his progressing inner passion, Newland proposed to May Welland an early wedding. May, without sensing into Newland's drifting love, initially declined.
Affection was mounting to uncontainable and unbearable.
May Welland, a girl who lived in real without talking about, counter proposed the early wedding while Newland was secretly planning to break their engagement down. Newland made the concession. Book I was over here.
In the first chapter of book II, Edith deliberately depicted the phenomenal scene of May and Newland's wedding. However, Newland's love with Ellen was not fading among wedding, honeymoon, travels and May's pretended happiness with their marriage life in the City. May's lack of imagination and insensitivity to what was going on beyond the Right New York was deepening Newland's dream of Ellen's intellectual charm.
Without acknowledging each other by any means, the entire Upper Class of New York took the side of May Archer. When Newland desperately attempted to elope with Ellen, leaving this stiffing world behind, May Welland smartly announced her pregnancy to him and Ellen Olenska, eventually made his plot impossible. He had no choice but sadly watched his lover walking away in a snowy night, accompanied by the ones who conspiratorially deprived his last chance to make the farewell to her.
The last chapter of the book is extraordinarily touching. 26 years after the episode, Newland Archer, a father of 3 and a widower, sitting in his office, made a comprehensive retrospect glance at his past. Having maintained the dignity he valued and fulfilled the duties his social class required, he admitted he accomplished little under the new order and had missed the "flower of life", but Ellen Olenska, even though no longer provoking any strong feel, remained some where in his heart in the form of an abstract symbol.
Dallas, Newland's adult son, raised under the new world's standards, made Newland travel to Paris and scheduled an appointment for the father to meet divorced Mrs. Ellen Olenska. Newland's heart was warmed up by the son's arrangement. He seated outside of Ellen's residence, gazing at the shinning window in the sunlight, and then, as 26 years ago, escaped at the last minute.
The novel was woven by Newland's romance and the up and down of Julius Beaufort - a bastard banker with no background valued by the Old New York, once rich enough to gather the entire upper class society in his ball room, fell into bankruptcy after betting wrong in the financial markets and had to flee from the City. Beaufort represented, to some extent, a group of strong minded men - today labeled as "american lords", amongst JP Morgan, John Rockefeller, etc - who shaped many political and economic aspects of the USA in the subsequent 120 years.
20 years later, Fanny Beaufort, Julius's grown up orphan, came back to the City. Unlike poor Ellen Olenska, Fanny was welcomed by the City and married to Dallas Archer. No one even thought such alliance might be improper. The world was changing fast:)
In 1993, new attention was drawn to the novel as it was interpreted into a movie. Dan Day-Lewis (Newland Archer)'s finest gentleman ship, Michelle Pfeiffer (Ellen Olenska)'s gracious melancholy and sweetly bitter facial expression, Winova Ryder's impeccable beauty and perfectly innocent joy, together with lyrical music and elegantly designed costumes, made it one of my all time favorite movies.
Edith is not only a novelist, but also a talented interior designer, a "born to be" architect and a taste maker of her time.
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