Age of Innocence Themes Essay

A diatribe on the vicious yet serene orderliness of her childhood, Edith Whartons get on with of ingenuousness proffers an attack against the boa constrictor sorts of late 1800s mod York City0. mays ability to keep things as they are 1, unsandedlands hope to hop out2, and Ellens escape3 exhibit three different cause of this patronizing beau monde and three different interpretations of the role of meet in their society, a tooth root that can alike be entern within Shakespeares crossroads and Greenes The Power and the Glory4.Whartons Age of Innocence is set in what is cognise as the gilded age, an era where perpetuallyything is shiny and gold on the distant exactly wrought with f honors and problems on the inside. For example, the top authority on bask and values, Larry Lefferts, has multiple personalized matters. I say, old chap do you mind sightly letting it be understood that Im dining with you at the club tomorrow night? Thanks so much, you old brick (Age of Innocence, rapscallion 277) Lefferts is the prime model of how hypocritical this society is. Everyone knows that he has numerous affairs and yet they still look to him for rulings on taste and morals. His character as well as al pocket-sizes this societys obsession with remaining pleasant and not face whateverthing nigh anything to be understood because no one talks about his affairs openly, they remain silently known by all.The hypocrisy of New York is also seen in the peoples feelings toward the Beauforts. The Beauforts are known as common provided are accepted in high society solely because they have a ballroom in their home and soldiers a grand party once a year. Age of Innocence also characterizes a society that Wharton refers to as tribal, prehistoric, and unwavering multiple times. New York is so firm in its ancient, in-stone ways that an insane hierarchy of powerfulness has emerged, where the completely unsocial van der Luyden family reigns. They are looked to for th e final decision on all things simply because they have always been looked to for the final decision on all things.The society depicted is also rigidly strict regarding schedules and grooming and is also obsessed with minute details- no one likes surprises here. whitethorns parents are consumed with trivial affairs for instance, Mays father gets physically ill when things do not go as planned and Mays overprotect demands that days be planned at least 24 hours in advance. They both showcase how un genuinety and any get of action causes such distress within New York. Newland and Ellen are judge to not act on their desires in order to keep any unpleasantness out-of-door from society. All in all, this society is a net that allows no one to change or do anything. None can escape the grip of this tight-knit society.Having no ambition to leave such a pleasant place, May Welland is the picturesque woman attractive, well-dressed, polite, family oriented, and innocent. She is considered to be the character that embodies the personal effects and values of New York society. Avoiding conflict and offensiveness at all costs, ingenious May has learned to indirectly direct Newland into doing what she knows he must(prenominal). While she neer openly addresses Newland and Ellens love, the reader recognizes that she is smarter than Newland, the primary narrator of the novel, makes her out to be and we see that she covertly requires Newland to make a choice between her. breed state once, when she asked you to, youd given up the thing you most exigencyed, said Dallas to his father. At length he said in a low voice She never asked me. (Age of Innocence, page 288).On her terminal bed, May told Dallas that he and the other children would have a good life with their father because he made the right choice by staying with her instead of running away with Ellen. Newland says that she never asked him because she never directly did, she never directly said or asked anything bec ause that was how society had made her. She was able to manipulate Newland into being exactly as she wants him to be while remaining perfect and innocent. genus Sagittarius enlightens that May is a product of societys will, rules, and demands, becoming a clone of her mother and therefore trying to turn him into her father. May appears to be a modify character but deeper analysis unearths that there is more to her than meets the eye.She seems to be substance with societys workings while it is evident that Newland Archer is detain in a society he no longer wants to be a part of. Throughout the novel, Archer tries to break free but continually realizes that he is scared to break away from the unaccompanied way he knows how to live. He longs to live like Ellen, an unorthodox and free spirit, but finds himself ensnared by societys mold for him.His whole future seemed dead to be unrolled before him and passing down its completionless emptiness he saw the dwindling figure of a man to whom nothing was ever to happen. (Age of Innocence, page 185) Through Archer, Wharton exemplifies her hatred for the society she grew up in and her personal longing to leave such a dull military man fill with people who dreaded scandal more than disease (Age of Innocence, page 272). Archer was never able to have a full relationship with Ellen because the world would end, time would stop, and Mr. Welland would surely die. Archer is a terrific example of the effects the trap of Society can have. He yearns to leave and live on base Ellen but is never able to because of the deep roots Society has planted within him.Archer never escapes the confines of New York but Ellen, having left hand New York with her aunt when she was young, does not have the same roots implant in her and is able to successfully leave to reside in genus Paris after her return to America. Newland longs to be like her and not be level(p) down by rules and expectations. Ellen also is a slight foil to May, repr esenting a new, modern woman set primarily by her own desires and not those of the family.She is eccentric, dresses controversially, and disregards the strenuous demands of Society as much as possible. Succumbing to the dictates of Society, she did not attend her affair with Newland however, instead of being afeard(predicate) of rebelling against Society, as Newland was, she did not want to hurt her family because they had been so kind to her after her return from her disastrous labor union to the Count. Ellen is a kind and caring woman that also pioneers the forward trend of New York whose results are seen in the generation of Archers children- Dallas, Mary, and Bill. Dallas calls his dadaism prehistoric, showing that society is transforming with this coming age. A strong spirit, Ellen Olenska is not afraid to do as she pleases, not as Society pleases.The theme of action and its role within Age of Innocence can also be seen within Shakespeares Hamlet and Greenes The Power and the Glory. Newland Archer and Hamlet are both conflicted on how they should act. Hamlet is plagued with the obsession of being certain before acting. Constantly struggling with the idea of revenge, Hamlet never reaches a sound decision on how to avenge his fathers death and instead killing Claudius out of rage after his mothers death. While Hamlet is known as exceedingly thoughtful and contemplative, the scarcely times he acts are swift and unplanned, as seen with the killing of Polonius and also his uncle. Archer also tries to figure out how to act but never knows how to move forward with his relationship with Ellen because of the thick barriers that Society, and not to mention his wife, presents.The non-Christian priest is conflicted because he never acts and always just runs away from the clutches of the police lieutenant and also reality. Newland also tries to escape reality by seeing Ellen in secret but is continually forced to return from his fantasy. Both realize that ther e is no escaping what is and accept their fate. While the Priest tries to escape the law and the lieutenant, Newland tries to escape Society. Sadly, both fail. The Priest is put to death and Newland loses his memory of Ellen as he becomes wrapped up in the daily happenings of the city.The Priest is taken up(p) by his sinful past and qualms with himself regarding how to move forward with life however, he remains in a rut until the novels end where he decides to hear one last confession and go to see the gringo, knowing he is giving himself up to the lieutenant. The lieutenant is one of the solo characters within these three works that fully acts on his convictions. He is driven by a strong hatred for the Catholic Church and knows that the only way he can eradicate it is to do it himself. What actions role shall be is a pivotal question that all must answer for themselves or as a society. The effects of these answers are seen through with(predicate) the characters within Age of Inn ocence, Hamlet, and The Power and the Glory.