#like may welland and newland archer

[tweedfrog]

I think as a fan of romance and also a real life human sometimes you need to understand that the girl isn't going to go for the better guy she's going to go for the guy she wants and sometimes the guy she wants is her sewer rat of a bf she's been in love with since 14 and you have to figure out a way to live with that

[letmereadinpeace4]

I just finished "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. It belongs to the (large) category of books that have been in my bookshelf for years because I never got around to read them out of some misgiving about their entertainment value. Like many of the books belonging to this category, it turns out it is a masterpiece! I enjoyed it much more that I thought I would.

I really enjoyed the depiction of this period and of the social politics that dominated and ruled the New York of that time. It creates such a brutal, cold and superficial world that everyone both submits to and maintain. However, the highlight for me were the three central characters:

Newland Archer is a character that I didn't like as a person, but that I found utterly fascinating as a character. He sees the failings and the superficially of the world he is part of and wants to rebel, but at the same time he does not have the resolution and strength to actually do any meaningful rebellion. While his love for Ellen was somewhat touching, I am really convinced that he saw her more as an ideal of the romance and escapism he wishes he had than as an actual person. The conclusion of his character was tragic, but perfectly in line with how he has been depicted so far. What really caught my attention however was his arrogance, especially when directed towards people he sees as inferior. From the very first time he is introduced he speaks of "freeing" his future wife, May, from the ideals she has been taught. He never considers whether she might actually been interested in arts or literature, or interests himself in what she actually likes. He just assumes she is a product of the society that raised her and even when she proves she is much more than an innocent ingenue, he never quite makes the effort to see her as a real person.

Ellen Olenska was a brilliant character. Running from an abusive marriage, she hopes to find a stable life in New York society, and slowly realizes the cruelty and rigidity of that world. Her story was tragic, and the way she is completely misunderstood and criticized by society and her own family really shows the cruelty women of that time faced when they tried to rebel against convention. However, what Archer Newland couldn't accomplish (even though he had more ressources than her), she actually accomplishes, and finds some semblance of freedom in Paris. I really hope that once she left New York, she had a great and fulfilling life and (hopefully) some romantic affairs with men (or women) that had more character and resolution than Archer.

And finally, my dearest and my favorite character of the novel, May Welland! I didn't expect to like her character as much as I did. She really shows how women of that time, however conventional or "boring" they might seem, managed to get what they wanted through manipulation and the usage of social politics. May gave one chance to Archer Newland to get what he really wanted, and when he blew it, she was like "Well I gave you one shot and you didn't take it, now you are going to face your responsibilities!". She had such a pragmatic attitude towards her husband and his affair, and I can admire that. I really wish she had the chance to find who she truly was beyond the conventions and values she had been taught, but I am glad that she managed to get some form of happiness or at least contentment in her life.

[annebrontesrequiem]

Can you do more takes about May Welland?

I would love to! Though I should warn you I don't have my copy of the Age of Innocence on me right now, so I'll probably missing one or two things I thought of while reading it.

I guess the first take is that I think Newland is an incredibly unreliable narrator. I realize that Wharton was certainly criticizing the life of American high society, and that May Welland is not meant to be a perfect character. I daresay she's not supposed to be that particularly likeable either (though she is my favorite character amongst the lot of them). But I think Wharton also turns her critique against Newland, and the way that May is treated is a pretty good indicator of it.

Newland thinks that May is innocent, so much so that he becomes annoyed with her by the end of it. He constantly uses May's conventionality as a way of justifying his infatuation with Ellen. But he never actually tries to make May smarter, though he claims to want to improve her at the beginning of the book. He never communicates his wants to her, never really asks what she might want out of the marriage. He blames her for things that he saw in her when they were courting and still dragged her to the aisle.

I believe May's character indicates that she would not be unhappy in a different marriage. She is after all a product of New York Society. She fights for Newland after it the question of their courtship has been cemented, and then of course after their married. But by then any breaking would be incredibly scandalous - something May realizes while Newland does not, cause he's an idiot. I don't think May needs Newland, regardless of the way Newland may think himself so superior to her. And I think in this Newland's egotism and weakness is revealed. He pretends to be above New York Society, when he is as much a part of it as May, even if he's playing a different part. Something that he realizes at the very end. So yeah, May is critical to understanding that Newland Archer is not your friend, and is not in fact as smart as he think she is.

I also think that May is smarter than Ellen, and I think in some ways she's more interesting, more compelling. Not that Ellen doesn't have her dramatic plots points, her husband, her affair, her strangeness. Ellen is beyond the pale, and that makes her interesting. But is May Welland not interesting in her own right?

Moreever, is she not much more complicated, more morally grey even. May Welland is unafraid to manipulate the situation when it benefits her. We see this plainly when she tells Ellen she's pregnant before she's really sure. And like, I love that for her but that's also a little evil. It's easy to see May in her sereneness as a victim of the situation and an angel. But she is an active player in this drama, albeit more behind the scenes. She knows Society and its norms are on her side. She exploits that. Ellen pretends, to me, to be really upset about May. Ellen may indeed feel guilty over the whole thing. But her motives are painfully obvious. And she follows through on her desires in a very open, straightforward way. It is because of this that she, for all purposes, loses. And May wins. And May does not win through goodness. May wins through an act of extreme cynicism. And is there no better reflection of New York high society than this?

I'm sure there's more but this post is already so long. I always love talking about May Welland, and I hope you enjoyed my thoughts!!

[pemberlaey]

I want to hear more of your takes about May Welland from the age of innocence. Archer does her so dirty with his unreliable narration, justice for May

truly be careful what you wish for because i have so many thoughts on this. so many, in fact, that i legit presented a paper on this topic at a graduate seminar on modernism last may. i essentially argued that wharton created may to critique high society’s obsession with infantilizing young women. i'm copy and pasting a little piece of my essay that hits on some of my key points!:

In her reflections on her life, essays, and other works of fiction, Wharton was particularly outspoken about America’s preference for child-women. In Wharton’s New Year's Day, she refers to young women as simply being “passed from the nursery to marriage as if lifted from one rose-lined cradle into another”. Her argument continues in her book French Ways and Their Meaning where she claims that compared with the women of France the average American woman is “still in the kindergarten”. She justifies such a bold claim by elaborating that the function of kindergarten is to let children develop in a regulated bubble. Like a kindergartener, American women develop within the confines of a strict social sphere that monitors their every move. She writes that the average American woman never fully develops intellectually because she is “developing…in the void” without the “checks, the stimulus, and the discipline” of the dominant masculine world because the society that she belongs to does not place an equal intellectual value on men and women

Such a sentiment is supported in The Age of Innocence when Newland transitions from reading poetry to history in the evenings to thwart May’s attempts to offer her own opinions on the poems, something he finds “destructive” to the reading experience. Newland rejects May’s attempt to converse with him about poetry because he does not believe her to be his intellectual equal. Scholar Gwendolyn Morgan argues that Newland is unable to see May’s latent intelligence because he keeps May in a “doll house” which is where society has taught him she belongs. It is here that Wharton solidifies May Welland’s status as a tragic heroine. The poetry incident is just one example of Newland underestimating May because of the way she was raised; the moment when May catches Newland in his lie about developments in a patent case so that he can visit Ellen comes to mind. May is more aware than other characters, especially Newland, give her credit for. However she is too enmeshed in the Old New York society that created her for her to reach her full intellectual potential. To me, the real tragic character in The Age of Innocence is not one of the star-crossed lovers but the young woman who was set up to fail by her own family and her own society before the events of the book even began.

i am so happy to meet another may supporter!! legit dm me any time i have so many thoughts about her!!

[dannyreviews]

The Age of Innocence (1993)

1993 was the second coming of 1939 when it came to the number of American films that were released. Martin Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence" remains one of that year's absolute gems, a departure (no pun intended) from the famed director's usual gritty nature. Replacing gunfire with passing glances and mafia dealings with upper class gossip, "The Age of Innocence" is classic Scorsese and in my opinion, among his best films ever.

Based on the novel by Edith Wharton, "The Age of Innocence" , focuses on the impending union of the two most important families in New York society. Lawyer Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is engaged to be married to the sweet and quiet May Welland (Winona Ryder) and their marriage is the talk of the town. At the same time, May's cousin Ellen (Michelle Pfeiffer) has returned to New York to non-stop gossip pertaining to her impending divorce. Steeped in a world of customs and tradition, Newland is drawn to Ellen's unconventional lifestyle and while handling the matters of her divorce, the two begin an affair. Newland must decide which moral route to take, one that will maintain his place in the hierarchy of the upper crust, or the other sizzling in passion, yet tainted in scandal.

"The Age of Innocence" may be gentile in its appearance, but it's every bit the nail biter as "Raging Bull" or "Goodfellas". The adaptation by Scorsese and Jay Cocks shows dynasties pitted up against one another like mob families, favors that are made to keep up appearances and a family matriarch and high end couple with all the power in the world like mafia dons. At the same time, the art direction by Dante Ferrets and costume design by Gabrielle Pessucci, doesn't merely recreate late 19th century New York, but embraces every facet it possesses, from vast estates filled with art collections, fine china and chandeliers to ornate opera houses where their audience and actors don the most glamorous haute couture. When it comes to matching the authenticity of its period, there is not one false note. Having culminated from decades of prior period pieces, "The Age of Innocence" takes the genre to a whole new level of appearance that has rarely ever been repeated.

Scorsese assembled one of the most diverse casts of recent years. In addition to the 3 main actors, there are Golden Age of Hollywood stars (Norman Lloyd, Alexis Smith), veteran British actors (Michael Gough, Alec McCowen) and the new crop (Richard E. Grant, Robert Sean Leonard) and each brings their own craft to this unique film. Robert De Niro or Joe Pesci would have seemed out of place if they were included in the cast, so it was wise to delve further in the variety of acting styles and backgrounds and have each of them adapt to the lingo of Edith Wharton's New York. Also, to have the calming voice of Joanne Woodward narrate the story transitions the film into Merchant-Ivory territory, which I'm sure Scorsese studied up on prior to filming.

As for the main cast, Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely terrific in playing the emotionally repressed Newland Archer, who must balance his double life amidst its open secrecy. Winona Ryder also shines in an Oscar nominated turn as May in all of its Golden Age of Hollywood charm. And then there's Michelle Pfeiffer, who is absolutely mesmerizing in portraying Ellen's liberal personality, in a performance that the Academy should have considered. The supporting cast standouts include Stuart Wilson as Ellen's "other man" Julius Beaufort, a lecherous scoundrel, Miriam Margoyles' BAFTA winning performance as Mrs. Mingott, May's grandmother, and Sian Phillips as Newland's mother.

"The Age of Innocence", along with Jane Campion's "The Piano", Jim Sheridan's "In The Name of the Father" (also with Daniel Day-Lewis) and James Ivory's "The Remains of the Day", represent in my opinion, the best of cinema in 1993. Out of those films, "The Age of Innocence" isn't the top one (that honor belongs to "The Piano"), but it represents the most expertly made. The acting, direction, novel adaptation and authentically honored period are all building blocks to the neatly tied packaged result.

9/10

[royal-confessions]

“The C/C/D love triangle is so much like that of The Age Of Innocence. Camilla is Ellen Olenska, Charles is Newland Archer, and Diana is May Welland.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[sarah-aliterarylife]

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Have you ever been on a holiday that was so good you didn’t want to come home? A trip that was so exciting, so filled with fun and new experiences, that you didn’t want it to end? Have you ever visited a place that was so wonderful, that you would be happy to live out the rest of your days there?

In February 2014, we travelled to New York to celebrate my husband’s 30th birthday. We were newly married in June of the previous year, and had recently bought our first home together. New York was bitterly cold, made even more so by the vicious winds that swept through the skyscraper filled streets. There was snow on the ground when we landed at Newark on a cold Friday morning. But we didn’t care one bit. For one week, we lived like New Yorkers (albeit with the perma-smiling faces of two tourists on their first trip to the Big Apple). We took long walks in Central Park. We visited Bloomingdales, Grand Central Station and the Rockefeller Centre. We walked along the High Line and watched a fashion shoot taking place inside one of the nearby buildings. We wandered the winding streets of Greenwich Village and drank hot tea in glasses in a tiny hipster café. We had lunch at a restaurant near Washington Square, surrounded by academics from NYU and Woody Allen types. We got lost looking for the Flatiron Building and ended up in Chelsea. On one particularly chilly afternoon, we took refuge in a church on the Upper East Side and drank hot chocolate, enjoying the stillness, a sanctuary from the bustling streets outside.

I love America. I would visit a different state every year, if the exchange rate didn’t make it so expensive for us Brits. I love its brashness, the boldness and confidence of its people. America to me is like a patchwork quilt of many colours and embroidered images. On every occasion I have visited, no two days are ever the same. No two streets are the same. You can be completely anonymous one moment and told that you are beautiful by a stranger the next. I love American people, American culture, American food, American television. But most of all I love American literature.

I couldn’t visit New York without perusing its many bookshops. I spent at least an hour wandering around Barnes and Noble on Fifth Avenue, until my new husband asked me if we could do something else. I couldn’t leave without making a purchase, so I left with two American classics – The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, and A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway.

And then I left them on the plane.

It was possibly the joy of some young academic’s life when they boarded the next Virgin Atlantic flight to New York, only to discover some free reading material for their trip, courtesy of me, underneath their seat. Either that, or the cabin crew threw them away. Regardless, I was devastated to discover on arriving home that I had left my double bill of classic American novels on the plane. The first thing I did was repurchase them both. I saved Hemingway for later that year, and read it during a trip to Paris to celebrate my own milestone birthday. But I got stuck into Edith Wharton right away.

Published in 1920, The Age of Innocence was Edith Wharton’s eighth novel, and is widely regarded as her finest work. The first Pulitzer Prize winning book to be written by a woman, it is billed as a slightly satirical novel, a comedy of manners.

The Age of Innocence is centred around Newland Archer, a young New York lawyer who has recently become engaged to May Welland, a young debutante from a prominent New York family. However, his world is thrown into disarray with the arrival of May’s cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. The Countess has returned to America after separating from her husband, a Polish count, and her arrival causes a sensation. She shocks polite New York society with her glamorous and revealing outfits, unconventional manners, and rumours of adultery. It may not come as a surprise (especially if you have seen Martin Scorsese’s film version, starring Daniel Day Lewis as Newland Archer) to learn that Newland soon becomes attracted to the captivating Ellen. She returns his feelings, but decency and the fear of society’s judgement soon prove too much for Newland, and he moves forward with his wedding to May.

Time and May’s eventual pregnancy conspire to keep the lovers apart, until 25 years later, May dies from pneumonia. Now a father of three children, Newland travels to France with his son, where he arranges to visit the Countess at her Paris apartment. However, at the last moment, he changes his mind, choosing to send his son alone instead. He ultimately decides that he is content to live with his memories of the past.

It would be easy to dismiss The Age of Innocence as a kind of 19th century chick lit (I hate that term). It is also easy to call it a novel about two lovers and very little else. Instead, it is a novel about the struggle between society’s expectations and individual desires – essentially, between the individual and the group. May Welland is characterised as a product of the system, an ideal example of the social code. She is beautiful, innocent, and not intellectual. She appears perfectly subservient, and is the perfect wife for a man in Newland Archer’s position. And yet she is unafraid to manipulate Newland when it is needed, and there is no doubt that she uses her eventual pregnancy as a ruse to be rid of Ellen Olenska forever.

Edith Wharton wrote about a period of American history that took place around 50 years before she was born. She was writing about a time when moral codes and manners strongly dictated how the individual would act. Any deviation from these codes would lead to disgrace and even removal from polite society. Hence Newland ultimately refuses to sacrifice his desires and opinions in order not to upset the established codes of New York society.

The ending of this book initially irritated me. (That is not the first time it has happened – Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and One Day by David Nichols both made me want to throw the book at the wall) Why bother with a significant time jump and the creation of circumstances that would allow true love to prevail, only to have your leading man conduct a complete about-turn right at the last moment? I imagine that Edith Wharton did this to demonstrate that in real life, because in real life, love between two old lovers rarely prevails. We rarely end up with someone we have loved and lost. Many of us have at one time or another loved someone we could not be with (or someone who was not ours to love) and when those relationships end, it is often final. Very few of us will eventually find a way to be with “the one who got away”. Newland Archer realises, with a depressing finality, that his memories of Ellen Olenska are ultimately more satisfying than any relationship between them could be, and that a renewal of their relationship in mid-life could never be the same. They may discover that they have nothing in common. They may discover that, 25 years on, they are very different people and no longer suited. Their romance may not last, and their memories will be tainted. So he chooses to leave their love in the past.

“It’s more real to me here than if I went up” he says.

The Age of Innocence is an intriguing insight into the New York of the 19th century – The Gilded Age, or Old New York as it is known. Since reading the novel, I have harboured a mild curiosity about that world, and its modern equivalent. I would be interested to learn whether some of those codes and conventions depicted in the book still exist, amongst a certain small proportion of New York’s high society. Watching the cliques of New York housewives at lunch together on Madison Avenue during our trip, and overhearing their conversations, I am sure that it does. Does that segment of society still marry (at least in part) for advantageous purposes, as opposed to simply marrying for love? Does who you know count more than what you know? Are women still expected to a certain extent to be a beautiful, innocent ingenue, as opposed to a free thinking, carefree woman like Ellen Olenska?

In 2023, we can find much to ponder about Old New York and its parallels to modern society in Edith Wharton’s novel.

Like this? Take a look at my website:

A Literary Life – A journey through the books of my life. (whatsarahread7.co.uk)

[leer-reading-lire]

Last read:

Title: The Age of Innocence

Author: Edith Wharton

Number of Pages: 309

Rating: ★★★★☆

First published: 1920

Read: February 19, 2022 - March 28, 2022

Thoughts

This is my first Edith Wharton's novel and I didn't know what to expect.

For me, Newland Archer is definitely an unreliable narrator.

At the beginning I liked May Welland, but later the fact that she was set upon doing everything like her mother frustrated me.

I liked Ellen Olenska and I wish there was a neutral character through which I could've seen a more objective description of her personality. The way Newland portrayed her was a combination between the Femme Fatale and the Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

The general "feeling" of the novel reminded me of The Lady with the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas fils, although it's been years since I read it.

I have mixed feelings regarding the end. On one hand, I understand why Newland just walked away and decided not to greet Ellen; on the other, I wish Wharton had showed Ellen through Dallas' eyes, perhaps proving that the love affair was somewhat romanticized by Welland.

[the-portrait-of-seraph]

This Month's Review...

The Iliad: Homer

It's a great book, but I feel like I'll have to read it one more time because I was very busy this month and couldn't fully absorb its beauty?

The Iliad is a gripping war story involving both man and deity, which is already a great character list to begin with. I loved watching everyone die in great, gorey detail and I also enjoyed the drama atop Mount Olympus. Fuck Apollo though, all my homies hate Apollo. Patroclus and Achilles!!! Besties AND lovers, literally the best combination for ripping up my heart into a million pieces.

It's poetic (obviously since it's written in dactylic heptameter), but also violent, like most epic poetry, and I live for that.

Jude the Obscure: Hardy, Thomas

This book was so fucking good! I'm impressed with Hardy's work!!!

The human relationships in the story are imperfectly perfect for allowing the plot to advance? Like this is total genius? I cannot do this book justice, I'm so sorry :(

I went through all five stages of grief (and so did Sue and Jude) after the death of Little Time (Jude j.r.). Man really killed his siblings and left a little note saying that they were a burden. And this is the begining of the story's turning point. Sue returns to Philiston, Jude to Arabella, and everything seems okay again. Until Jude freezes to death while trying to get to Sue and Arabella doesn't give a shit.

Jude's life is a golden road, until it's not. He dreams of going to Chirstminster, but his myopia off-sets him to destruction and failure

The Age of Innocence: Wharton, Edith

Newland Archer, what the fuck. WHy is everyone in this book also miserable? At least they're rich, I don't even have money.

Archer is engaged to May Welland and all seems well until her cousin, Ellen, comes to New York out of her abusive marriage with Count Olenski. Bam, shenanigans ensue. Archer catches feelings for Ellen and plans to leave May, but May is pregnant???? And so Ellen leaves America???? And then like twenty years down the line Archer and his son visit Paris and learn that Ellen lives there and Archer's kid goes to visit her but Archer does not?????

Archer tests the world and norms he knows through Ellen, bringing a close to his "age of innocence". I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of New York high-society life and the happenings/turmoils of the Archers and all those that know them.

Notes from a Dead House: Dostoevsky, Fyodor

One of my top ten fr!!! I've already made a review for this book back in October, so you can take a look at it here.

I think it's nice to reread books, I personally read a book three times: one for writing style, once for plot, once for both writing style and plot haha

Greek Tragedy: Various

I love myself a good tragedy. I really liked Oedipus Rex, but Medea is absolute gold!!! I passed my exam with ease because i was super into this unit on tragedy/drama haha

I'm in awe at the genius of the tragedians, like fucking superb you funky little greek man!!!! I want what they have and I wish more tragedies were preserved so I can fangirl over them haha

Plays: Chekhov, Anton

I love Russian literature!!! I love Russian drama!!! I cannot stress the greatness of Chekhov and I feel guilty for not being able to do him justice like Hardy :(

There is something about the work of Chekhov that just draws one into the more simple aspects of Russian life. I love Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, but sometimes I don't feel like reading about the Napoleonic Era or whacking someone with the blunt side of an axe, I crave simplicity and humanity.

My favorite used to be The Seagull, but then I met Ivanov and my life changed FOREVER. For real that ending where Ivanov kills himself on his wedding day? Traumatizing. Also, I found it funny when Lyubov says "you big booby", childish I know-

Ah, I'm definitely going to be reading this again soon.

I know I haven't been reading a lot this month, but in my defense I was busy helping my last brain cell slay exams sooooo

I want to get more reading and re-reading done in May, so i'm always open to recommendations :)

Stay safe and I love you guys, thanks for all the love and support lately <3

[mariacallous]

Newland Archer is always like “yeah let me introduce you to this poet called Robert Browning? Oh hey, I’m not sure if you knew that this opera we’re watching, Faust? It’s based on this story actually...yeah I guess you can say I’m a reader and an appreciator of art and music...” and Countess Olenska is like “...I am aware of all of these, yes. I’ve actually been to other places. In Europe. And met artists and poets.” And May Welland is like “omg babe thank you for introducing me to Browning! I just have all these frivolous women things to do because I’m a society woman in Gilded Age New York and women aren’t supposed to buck the trend tell me more about this Tennyson 😍😍😍”

[samcheree]

Pedagogical Plan: Literary Theory - Feminist Criticism and The Age of innocence

Learning Objectives.

Define Feminist Criticism and     the terminology associated with it.

Demonstrate how and when     Feminist Criticism is appropriate for analyzing literature.

Apply Feminist Criticism to     “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton.

Assess why this is relevant to     you as students.

Thesis statement: We need to understand applying Feminist Criticism to The Age of Innocence can reveal that men are more valued in the New York Society to gain awareness of how historically women have been marginalized.

Terminology *Critical theory is a a field of study has been around since the time of Aristotle (~360 BC). A set of interdisciplinary tools known as Critical Approaches. *Critical Approaches are used to read literature critically in order to gain a greater understanding of the piece, and to provide structure for Literary Criticism. *Literary Theory is the broadest Critical Approach or version of Critical Theory and can address any or all facets of a piece without a narrowed focus. *Feminist Criticism is a Critical Approach used to examine the role of gender in texts, but the focus has changed over time to include different aspects of gender.  *Sex is the biological state of being. *Gender is Sex in reference to social and cultural differences. *Stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. *Gender Roles are stereotypes based on gender. *Queer is a versatile evolving word representing the LGBT+ community. *Queer theorists are a subset of Feminist Theorist. *“Queering” is examining a text’s homosexual or homo-social elements. *Homosexual is sexual attraction to people of one's own sex *Homo-social is social interaction between members of the same sex.

Content Introduction

          Being aware of the historical treatment of women can help you to have context for women’s issues of today. “Communication is embedded in culture, which serves as its context and is based on the prior experience of a community.” (1, Tatiana) So participating in community activities requires communication skills. Communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication is known as intercultural communication. In order to interact interculturally or cross-culturally in an appropriate way one must understand the culture they are interacting with.  Interaction with a person from another culture is sure to take place in your day to day lives. In an Internet-based study with 2,201 participants, the new Epstein Love Competencies Inventory (ELCI) has shown “After communication, knowledge of partner and life skills were the competencies that best predicted self-reported positive outcomes in relationships.”(Introduction, Epstein) So being a good communicator makes you more likely to have a good romantic relationship. Being able to fully understand the way a text addresses gender opens up a deeper understanding to the cultures presented within it.

          When we apply Feminist Criticism to Feminist Criticism to The Age of Innocence it is revealed that men were more valued in New York Society than women, who had more strict expectations of them. The focus on gender and the different expectations of men and women is highlighted through the novel. And this is vital to understanding the varied perspective of people in the world today. Some will side with more traditional views on gender and gender role, while others will completely obliterate the concept all together.  The way that Count Olenska and Countess Olenska are perceived by others throughout the piece shows Men are allowed and expected to be unfaithful and sexually promiscuous where women are not. Many members of this society expect that Ellen should return to her husband regardless of his infidelity.  In Chapter 5 the family was discussing Ellen Olenska at the dinner table. Archer Newland the protagonist says “She’s ‘poor Ellen’ certainly, because she had the bad luck to make a wretched marriage; but I don’t see that that’s a reason for hiding her head as if she were the culprit.” (Chapter 5). The reaction of Mr. Jackson shows that he disagrees with Archer. Saying that “is the line the Mingotts mean to take.”(Chapter 5).

          The way that women look comes before their personalities for main characters like May Welland or Countess Ellen Olenska, and side characters like Mrs. Archer or Ellen’s Maid. As they are introduced the Narrator describes their breasts, or how revealing their clothing is nearly every time. The female characters intellectual abilities are addressed last, if at all. Looking at the way we interact with people on a daily basis in comparison to the interactions of people in the novel provides the opportunity to either challenge our own culture. Using Feminist Criticism with any piece of literature provides this opportunity.

          Women in the novel are described as being less capable and less intellectual than men repeatedly. When Archer describes his ideal fiancé and wife in  Chapter one he says “He did not in the least wish the future Mrs. Newland Archer to be a simpleton. He meant her (thanks to his enlightening companionship) to develop a social tact and readiness of wit enabling her to hold her own with the most popular married women of the “younger set,” in which it was the recognised custom to attract masculine homage while playfully discouraging it.” Clearly describing the ideal woman of the New York Society in which he leaves. And later in Chapter 10 he laments over fears that May will not be able to open her eyes to the world because her family is well breed and women have been trained to behave in a certain way. Even the supporting characters of Newlands mother and sister are described as less intellectual in chapter 4 “liking literature focused on scenery rather than more substantial things.” This type of bias would be considered highly inappropriate in many professional settings and would require human resources intervention. Understanding the impact gender has on interaction is vital to preventing sexual harassment, cultural communication, and gaining understanding for the purpose of educating others.

Activity            The activity will meet the Lesson Objective to: Apply Feminist Criticism to “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton. The students will receive a handout. This will include a paragraph excerpt from chapter 8. The students will have 7 minutes to review this passage and answer two questions. A mock-up of the handout is attached as the last page of this plan. 

            After working independently with the passage, the students will get into groups of 4-5 to discuss their findings for 8 minutes. Evaluation of their written responses will be used to verify their participation and understanding of how to apply Feminist Criticism to The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

Follow up

After the end of the group discussion period will be 10 minutes of teacher lead review as a unified classroom. 5 follow up questions will be used to be sure the remaining lesson objectives are met. 

Students will be graded based on participation in the discussion and understanding of concepts. If no one answers or offers to answer a question then guided review will take place using the responses seen below:

Questions:

(1) What is a Critical Theory and why do we use it? (2) What is Feminist Criticism? Include relevant vocabulary! (3) How has Feminist Criticism changed over time? (4) When should you use Feminist Theory? (5) How can you use Feminist Theory in your daily lives?

Sample Answers:

(1) An interdisciplinary tool used to provide structure for literary criticism. (2) A Critical Approach to literature that focuses on gender, gender roles, queer people and sexuality including homosexual and homo-social behavior. (3)  Broadened to address men and their roles in 1970′s. Evolved to include the concept of gender as a performative in 1990′s.  (4) When ever gender or sexuality plays a part in the piece. (5) To be mindful during communication, prepare for intercultural communication, better understand a situation, or identify issues and provide education to others.

[tabs-notes]

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

[Originally published on my Medium page: link here]

Newland Archer is our guide through the high society of New York, a lawyer engaged to May Welland, contempt with the world around him, fully immersed in his position in life and in love with his fiance. Enter Countess Ellen Olenska, who, when compared to May, is the complete opposite; she doesn’t allow social constructs and obligations to dictate her life; she questions the regulations of society and who makes them. Fearing a family scandal, Archer convinces Olenska not to divorce her husband but ends up fearing for his own growing affections.

I found Archer annoying at first, all the talk of New York society, but he’s what I’d like to call the character development effect; turns a smidge attractive as the story progresses. Olenska is hands-down my favorite character, unapologetically herself in a world where it’s extensively criticized. Archer experiences the feeling of living, but can’t hold on to it; that is what love stories are made of. This story seems to be told before, in different time periods, characters, locations, etc. The Age of Innocence reads like many historical romance dramas and I love it. It’s always the raging war and discussion between love and obligation; the answer never is as simple as we make it out to be. Spoiling nothing, I’d like to say that if you’d like a happily ever after, please read one of the other many historical romance dramas (I always recommend Pride and Prejudice) and then come back to The Age of Innocence to fully bask in the angst. I have a love-hate relationship with the ending, but I wouldn't want to change it.

Read this book, if you’re interested in taking a trip to 1870s New York and mingling with society. Tell me if you broke a smile whenever Olenska spoke or pulled eyebrows from the love, and don't forget to count the mental eye rolls dedicated towards society!

Rate: 3/5

Time: 2 days

Book-shelf Worthy: deserves to be up there with the others of its genre

Quoteworthy

Women ought to be free — as free as we are.

What’s the use? You gave me my first glimpse of a real life, and at the same moment you asked me to go on with a sham one. It’s beyond human enduring — that’s all.

To have you here, you mean-in reach and yet out of reach? To meet you in this way, on the sly? It’s the very reverse of what I want.

The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!

Each time you happen to me all over again.

[bittersweetpangs]

By one metric, the fully realized novel is a tragic story of two people trying to surmount the obstacles to their love. But in another—and here I am going to diverge, perhaps perversely, from almost any reading of the novel I’ve ever encountered—the published novel does have a happy ending. The Age of Innocence is one of the only stories Wharton ever wrote where everyone does, indeed, “get what [they] want.” May gets to achieve the sentimental, sacrificial maternal and wifely status she desired. Newland gets to feel like an outsider while remaining an insider; he experiences no shortage of people to enlighten across the years. And Ellen? Well, Ellen gets to live a life that evades even our own prying eyes.

[s0022754a2film]

O.Creative Investigation Planning-Source Review Sheet 11

Name of magazine: 

The Scorsese Interview

Author: 

Ian Christie 

Publisher: 

Sight and Sound 

Date: 

February 1994

Title of article: 

The Scorsese Interview 

Page numbers used: 

10,15

Date accessed: 

26/10/2017

Your research topic/question:

How does Martin Scorsese approach style and theme, also, who does he collaborate with?

Brief overview of what the article is about:

This article is about what Scorsese feels about most of his well known films. 

Key quotes from the article:

1. “...working with collaborators who belong to traditions he admires (Freddie Francis, Micheal Ballhaus, Boris Leven, Saul Bass, Elmer Bernstein)...”

2. “Set in New York in the 1870s. The Age Of Innocence tells the story of Newland Archer, who is engaged to May Welland, of the powerful Mingott family.”

3. “I devised a kind of stop-action photography where we took just one frame at a time and panned. Then we realised that this was going to be too fast, so we decided to print each frame three times. However, this was still too choppy for me, so just when we were finishing negative cutting I finally decided to dissolve between each set of three frames. It took quite a lot of work, going back to the lab countless times-as Thelma can tell you.”

4. “Working with Bernstein, Bass and with Freddie Francis as a cinematographer on ‘Cape Fear’ isn’t only because you admire these great names from the past - it’s more like making a bridge between your own work and the period in which they gained their reputation.”

This source is useful to the sub-topic of collaboration and style.

[cfontham18]

The Age of “Innocence”

I chose to read The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton. I was drawn to this novel because it was described as a commentary on New York society in the 1870s. I have always been interested in novels with a focus similar to this because I am curious about people’s motivations and why certain customs and expectations arise in communities. Commentaries on society often point out the irony and hypocrisy that have been prevalent in human nature throughout time. I find this honesty and frankness amusing.

           Just based on my initial reading, I can already tell that the setting of the novel is truly “the age of innocence.” The narrator explains towards the beginning of the book that to Newland Archer, the main character, “nothing about his betrothed pleased him more than her resolute determination to carry to its utmost limit that ritual of ignoring the ‘unpleasant’ in which they had both been brought up” (12). The quality that attracts Newland the most to his fiancée, May Welland, is her willingness to ignore the ugly truth and her hesitance to discuss something that affects both of their lives somewhat negatively. While this may be “the age of innocence”, it is certainly a feigned innocence. Although the characters motivations as to why they are keeping up this pretense have not yet been revealed, I feel as though I can make the educated guess that it is kept up for appearances and because sometimes the truth is just too complicated.

           During this time period, the 1870s, such deliberate ignorance and “innocence” may be the societal norm. Members of high society, like Newland and May, spend most of their time carefully following social etiquette and considering how others perceive them. Acknowledging and discussing scandalous matters would be scandalous within itself. Everyone has to pretend like they live the ideal life where nothing contrary to normal ever occurs. However, from the lens of the modern reader, the dysfunctional quality of Newland and May’s relationship immediately jumps out. They are both entirely happy to never discuss any serious matters. They want to perpetually live in their perfect bubble and see the world with their rose-colored glasses. It is clear that this willing ignorance will prove troublesome down the road, since they have absolutely no communication skills, an aspect crucial to a healthy relationship.

           I look forward to continuing to read about Newland and May’s budding relationship, which I feel is off to a less than ideal start.