The Age of Innocence Group at eNotes

Emotional conflicts of the age of innocence

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 10:54:45 PST

Emotional conflicts of the age of innocence

thank you so much lynn30k!

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 13:56:41 PST

thank you so much lynn30k!

Just the fact that she is a divorced woman makes her highly suspect in...

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 13:33:23 PST

Just the fact that she is a divorced woman makes her highly suspect in that society. Because she has been married, she is no longer "innocent", and therefore a threat to the other women; after all, she is so scandalous as to be divorced, so what is to stop her from coming after their men? She is also someone who is not going to be included in gatherings; her ex-husband's group would never include her when inviting guests, and for dinner...

Besides her troubles with Newland and her divorce, what other hardships...

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 12:46:46 PST

Besides her troubles with Newland and her divorce, what other hardships does Ellen face because of society in the Age of Innocence?

Thanks so much for your replies sfwriter

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 12:12:37 PST

Thanks so much for your replies sfwriter

Hi danomitex, I've been thinking about your question about how...

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:17:38 PST

Hi danomitex, I've been thinking about your question about how Ellen has power over Newland. In terms of the relationship between them, Ellen is certainly the more powerful individual. Though she is a married (though a permanently separated individual) and Newland was technically still "free" when they met, he, as a gentleman, had a duty to May that she would not have if the situations were reversed. One of the few things which...

Hi danomitex -- see my answer in the Q and A. In addition to the...

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:56:01 PST

Hi danomitex -- see my answer in the Q and A. In addition to the things I brought up in answer to your question, consider Ellen as a character. Specifically, consider her in comparison to the other women in the novel. What does Ellen do that no one else does? She crosses rooms to talk to men, for example, like she does in that first dinner at the Van der Luydens. She arrived late, fastening her bracelet on her wrist as she walked...

Ellen Olenska is powerful in various ways, in contrast to the other...

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:06:43 PST

Ellen Olenska is powerful in various ways, in contrast to the other women of New York society, because she is willing to make decisions on her own and face consequences. It is certainly true that Ellen goes to Skuytercliff and Newland follows her there and other places, but that is not a main source of her power. Her power -- and it is one that is not found in the other women of Archer's set (such as May Welland, Regina Beaufort, or...

In The Age of Innocence, how is Ellen seen as powerful in the way that...

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:46:22 PST

In The Age of Innocence, how is Ellen seen as powerful in the way that she directs Newland Archer?

ellen olenska

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:24:51 PST

Can anyone give examples as to how she's a powerful individual?

In reply to #1:If May was conniving and manipulative, as you say, it was...

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:22:07 PST

In reply to #1:If May was conniving and manipulative, as you say, it was because she lived in a "hieroglyphic world" wherein it was necessary to say things other than what one means. In modern terms it is fair to say that May was conniving and manipulative because she said things other than she meant (and allowed lies to go unchecked -- such as Archer's lie about Letterblair sending him to Washington because he wanted to go to Boston to see...

Newland Archer, newly engaged to a beautiful debutante of New York...

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:11:22 PST

Newland Archer, newly engaged to a beautiful debutante of New York society, May Welland, comes to admire, then fall in love with her cousin, the Countess Ellen Olenska. Archer struggles throughout the novel with the notion of keeping up appearances, which is of paramount importance in the society in which he lives versus the possibility of beginning an affair with the Countess Olenska, whose free-spirited, independent personality he finds...

What is the rising action,climax,falling action and denoument of...

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:41:09 PST

What is the rising action,climax,falling action and denoument of "The Age of Innocence"?

We are not told Ellen's exact age in The Age of Innocence, but it is...

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 12:36:09 PST

We are not told Ellen's exact age in The Age of Innocence, but it is relatively easy to extrapolate an approximate age for her. Since women at this time and in this level of society usually married at the age of twenty-one (and perhaps a year or two before or after, less commonly), and Ellen has been away for less than ten years, she is probably in her late twenties or early thirties. She is about the same age as Newland Archer, who...

How old is Ellen Olenska at the beginning of The Age of Innocence?

Sun, 4 Jan 2009 17:39:26 PST

How old is Ellen Olenska at the beginning of The Age of Innocence?

Well at the end of the novel we find out she did know more of what was...

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:11:57 PST

Well at the end of the novel we find out she did know more of what was happening between Newland and Ellen. But May is the perfect example of New York society. SHe has the perfect and innocent appeareance.

How "INNOCENT" is May Welland?

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:35:45 PST

I know that Newland Archer sees May as very innocent and simple, but I wonder if anyone can post about the actuality of May's innocence. I get the sense that she knows more about what is going on than anyone truly understands. SHe almost seems at times to be conniving, and manipulative...

Can anyone else comment on this?

The Countess Olenska definitely portays a feminist heroine in the...

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:29:54 PST

The Countess Olenska definitely portays a feminist heroine in the novel. Wharton does an extraordinary job in how the reader will ultimately access both Ellen and Newland. Although both characters understand the societial powers they are up against, it is clear that Ellen has a much more realistic grip on their situation. For example, Newland's attempts at pleading "his case" to Ellen result only in making Ellen's resolve...

The novel is about how individuals tackle the status-quo of New York...

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:30:27 PST

The novel is about how individuals tackle the status-quo of New York society in the late ninetenth century. The reader is presented with a series of characters, which when placed against eachother create such a paradox it is impossible to miss. For a woman to question her "place" in society was unthinkable during the ninetenth century. This does not mean it did not happen. Wharton is brillant in her creation of Newland, May...

In the way she depicts New York society's treatment of Ellen Olenska,...

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:06:16 PST

In the way she depicts New York society's treatment of Ellen Olenska, Wharton makes a scathing rebuke of the sexual double standard during this time. The Countess Olenska has damaged her reputation by divorcing her scoundrel husband and will never be fully accepted by upper-class social circles again. When Ellen falls in love with Newland Archer, she decides against becoming his mistress not only out of loyalty to her cousin May, but also...