The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Discussion questions

  1. In the first chapter of The Age of Innocence, the narrator describes Newland Archer as being “at heart a dilettante” and someone for whom “thinking over a pleasure to come often gave him a subtler satisfaction than its realization.” How does this brief character analysis foreshadow his future choices?
  1. Why does Archer neglect to tell Countess Ellen Olenska of his engagement to May Welland, despite the fact that May has instructed him to do so?
  1. In Book One, Archer compares marriage to a “voyage on uncharted seas,” noting that May's “frankness and innocence were only an artificial product.” How does the action of Book Two prove his early intuition correct? Why does Archer suddenly realize that marriage is “not the safe anchorage he had been taught to think”?
  1. How does Archer feel the first time he visits Ellen Olenska's home? What distinguishes it from other homes in fashionable New York? Why is the neighborhood where she resides a “queer quarter for such a beauty to settle in”?
  1. Reflecting on his peers, Archer thinks that “over many of them the green mould of the perfunctory was already perceptibly spreading.” What does he mean?
  1. When thinking about May, what does Archer mean when he thinks “it was wonderful that...such depths of feeling could coexist with such absence of imagination”? Why does Archer feel “oppressed” when contemplating the “factitious purity” of his betrothed?
  1. In contrast to her artistic European cousin, May Welland is an accomplished athlete. What does her skill in archery reveal about her character? How does Archer feel about May's talent with her bow and arrow? Why does he so often feel “cheated...into momentary well-being”?
  1. It may be easy to forget that Ellen Olenska is not especially beautiful. Why are both Newland Archer and Julius Beaufort so drawn to her? What else do these two men have in common?
  1. What is revealed about Ellen's life in Europe? What is concealed? What kind of cruelty did she endure as the wife of Count Olenski? What kind of cruelty does she experience in America? Why is she a threat to the social order that claims Archer as one of its kind?
  1. Archer’s relationship with Ellen leads him to see “how elementary his own principles had always been.” Which principles, in particular, does she challenge?
  1. When Archer, at the request of Mrs. Mingott, follows the path to the shore to fetch Countess Olenska, why does he say to himself, “If she doesn't turn before that sail crosses the Lime Rock light I'll go back”?
  1. How does Archer view himself compared to other men in his social set, especially Julius Beaufort?
  1. In Book Two, “the whole of New York was darkened by the tale of Beaufort's dishonor.” What is this failure, and why does it rupture all of society?
  1. What kind of "code" exists between Archer and May? How does it work? What is its origin?
  1. Why does May decide to host the farewell dinner for the Countess Olenska? Why does Archer think of the dinner guests as "a band of dumb conspirators"?
  1. Why does Archer walk away from a potential reunion with Countess Olenska?
  1. Must social and emotional security be purchased with the sacrifice of another individual or group? Is it moral and honorable to protect others at the expense of one's happiness? Is duty to one's community more important than duty to oneself?
  1. The novel is told entirely from Newland Archer's point of view by an unnamed omniscient narrator. How does this shape the reader's understanding of May Welland and Ellen Olenska?
  1. Is there an innocent character in the novel? Is there a villain? What might playwright David Ives mean when he says the novel is “an extraordinary portrait of the villainy of innocence”?
  1. Does Wharton condemn the society she portrays or does she merely describe the hypocrisies of New York in the 1870s? Is the tone sarcastic, ironic, or mocking?

About the author

Edith Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones on January 24, 1862, into such wealth and privilege that her family inspired the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." The youngest of three children, she enjoyed a privileged childhood touring Europe and living in New York and Newport, Rhode Island. By 18 she had written a novella and published poetry in the Atlantic Monthly.

The best-known of Wharton’s 23 novels are The House of Mirth (1905), Ethan Frome (1911), and The Age of Innocence (1921), for which she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. She also published many short story collections, three volumes of poetry, and several non-fiction works, on topics ranging from interior design to life in France. She was close friends with Henry James and mingled with some of the most famous writers and artists of the day, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, André Gide, Sinclair Lewis, Jean Cocteau, and Jack London. Many of her novels chronicle unhappy marriages, in which the demands of love and vocation often conflict with the expectations of society.

Her marriage to Edward Wharton, a marriage of convenience marked by infidelity by both partners, ended in divorce in 1913 (after 28 years). From that time until her death she lived mostly in France. During World War I she organized hostels for refugees, worked as a fund-raiser, and wrote for American publications from battlefield frontlines. She was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her courage and distinguished work. She died on August 11, 1937 and is buried in the American Cemetery in Versailles, France.