CHINA, LIFESTYLE, BOOKS: The Age of Innocence...or Not?
By Linda Lin
It is a sad love story in New York City, 1870.
Newland Archer was a restrained young attorney who was engaged to the lovely but conventional aristocrat, May. Then May's scandalous cousin, Ellen, who was just back from France, came into his life.
Ellen had such a reputation because she couldn't stand her brutal husband and left him, running off with his secretary. In New York society of the time, such behavior was not acceptable.
At first, Newland resented her as everyone else did, but soon he fell in love with Ellen because of her unconventionality and vitality. However, even though they loved each other, Newland persuaded Ellen to give up the idea of divorce for the sake of her reputation.
Meanwhile, despite his fear of a dull marriage with May, persuaded by his sense of honor (or rather vanity) as well as family and societal pressures, Newland proposed to May and they got married ahead of schedule.
After the marriage, having not seen each other for a year and-a-half, Newland and Ellen met again. Rumors came, and May secretly lied to Ellen that she was pregnant so as to force her to leave Newland alone. In time, Ellen went back to her husband and Newland remained faithful to May throughout their marriage.
Years later May died and left him two children. The story ended some twenty-six years later, when Newland's son was going to Paris and was to visit Ellen; he asked his father to go with him. Sitting on a bench downstairs of her house, Newland gazed at Ellen's room for a long time, and at last, silently went away.
This novel won its author, Edith Wharton, the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, and it is regarded as her most memorable work. However, what really attracted me and drove me to buy this book was its beautiful title -- The Age of Innocence. I fell in love with it at the very first sight and bought it without hesitation. (Though I have to say the original books are unreasonably expensive.)
However, after reading it, I found that the meaning of the title was not at all what I assumed it to be. What is "innocence"? Throughout the novel, May was described as innocent, always dressed in white and looking goddess-like. But when the truth was finally revealed, I am surprised that the naive and innocent angel pretended to be pregnant so as to get Ellen away from her husband. Perhaps she knew of Newland's love for Ellen before their marriage, but pretended to neglect it for her own reputation and didn't make an issue of it.
Ellen's arrival initiated Newland's deep and critical thinking about society and his bride-to-be. He felt that May's "innocence" was a plot of society, too fabricated to be real -- it was a scheme, a sham. Perhaps as an aristocrat she had been trained to be "innocent" as a part of good manners.
Not only May, many other upper-class women in the novel have the same "innocence" -- seemingly innocent but actually controlling others behind their backs. If I am to understand that the New York society of the 1870s was an age of innocence, maybe the best interpretation of the "innocence" here is phony or hypocrisy.
Changing perspective, I found that the title may also be understood in another way -- it is Newland's 'age of innocence'. Newland was a man who only questioned formality and challenged conventions in private but appeared traditional in public. He loved Ellen, but he dared not publicly love her. Instead, he chose to marry May at once in order to get away from Ellen more efficiently.
During his later chat with Ellen, Newland claimed that his relationship with May was just romantic when it was clear that they were together simply because they were the "perfect match" in terms of family backgrounds and not because they had fallen in love on their own.
May, apart from her good form and wealthy family, had nothing but an empty mind, and Newland constantly felt that they never had any real communication. But still, he stayed with May, mostly because this marriage could shelter, protect and empower him through the upper class.
Right after his marriage, Newland found May's unbearable innocence and emptiness. She was described as "alive but dead" -- emotionless and as cold and immortal as a goddess. In my eyes, it had little difference with marrying a beautiful statue.
Ellen was obviously much more insightful than May, and more importantly, she was unconventional -- always dressed in red, she was indifferent to conventions, desperate for freedom and passionate for life. But unlike the goddess-like May, she looked pale, and even Newland admitted that one could see she was aging in her face.
Ellen was no longer "innocent," she was now not a naïve girl but an aging woman trapped in an unfortunate marriage. Newland told Ellen that it was she who gave him a real look at life; because of her, Newland began to have doubts about his marriage for the first time.
However, though who he truly and deeply loved was Ellen, he passed her by and went on with his wrong marriage and remained a faithful husband. It is Newland's age of innocence, because at that time he did not understand that true love is much more important than rules and conventions.
All conventions will be gone sooner or later, but true love lasts forever. He made a life of regret for himself by missing out on his true love.
In this sense, it is even more appropriate to interpret the "innocence" into Newland's ignorance of the frailness of social conventions as well as the preciousness of a piece of true love.
Besides the title, what impressed me most was the last scene: Years later, when May was dead, conventional society had changed, Newland's son encouraged him to see the one he really loved, but he dared not go up to see her at last. Instead, he sat for a long time on the bench gazing at her balcony. When a servant closed the balcony window, Newland, "At that, as if it had been the signal he waited for," got up slowly and walked away.
Why didn't Newland go upstairs? Because of his cowardice -- his cowardice left their love such a tragic ending, even more tragic than their separation.
Throughout their love story, Newland had countless convincing excuses for their tragic separation -- family dues, social conventions, rumors, May's lie, etc. But when all these obstacles did not exist any more, he still couldn’' collect his courage to face Ellen. If there must be something to blame for their tragic love, it is definitely Newland's cowardice.
There may also be another reason. People all tend to beautify their past. In Newland's memory, Ellen was forever his sacred symbol of true love, like an imaginary loved one in a book or picture.
He wanted to keep this feeling undisturbed and seal it in his blue but young and beautiful memory forever. Thus he chose to live with memories of Ellen instead of living with her.
From an aesthetic point of view, perhaps this ending is perfect.
Though it is an American novel published in 1920, I find Edith Wharton's style is somewhat similar with Jane Austin. She described the decoration of houses, clothing and luxuries at great length, presenting us a vivid picture of upper class New Yorkers as well as the whole upper-class society.
The Age of innocence has no complicated plot, but it is still regarded as a great literary work because it truthfully reflects its setting and initiates our thinking on not only love, but social conventions and values. It is a good sad love story, but more importantly, it is an excellent portrait of the last New York aristocracy.
It is a sad love story in New York City, 1870.
Newland Archer was a restrained young attorney who was engaged to the lovely but conventional aristocrat, May. Then May's scandalous cousin, Ellen, who was just back from France, came into his life.
Ellen had such a reputation because she couldn't stand her brutal husband and left him, running off with his secretary. In New York society of the time, such behavior was not acceptable.
At first, Newland resented her as everyone else did, but soon he fell in love with Ellen because of her unconventionality and vitality. However, even though they loved each other, Newland persuaded Ellen to give up the idea of divorce for the sake of her reputation.
Meanwhile, despite his fear of a dull marriage with May, persuaded by his sense of honor (or rather vanity) as well as family and societal pressures, Newland proposed to May and they got married ahead of schedule.
After the marriage, having not seen each other for a year and-a-half, Newland and Ellen met again. Rumors came, and May secretly lied to Ellen that she was pregnant so as to force her to leave Newland alone. In time, Ellen went back to her husband and Newland remained faithful to May throughout their marriage.
Years later May died and left him two children. The story ended some twenty-six years later, when Newland's son was going to Paris and was to visit Ellen; he asked his father to go with him. Sitting on a bench downstairs of her house, Newland gazed at Ellen's room for a long time, and at last, silently went away.
This novel won its author, Edith Wharton, the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, and it is regarded as her most memorable work. However, what really attracted me and drove me to buy this book was its beautiful title -- The Age of Innocence. I fell in love with it at the very first sight and bought it without hesitation. (Though I have to say the original books are unreasonably expensive.)
However, after reading it, I found that the meaning of the title was not at all what I assumed it to be. What is "innocence"? Throughout the novel, May was described as innocent, always dressed in white and looking goddess-like. But when the truth was finally revealed, I am surprised that the naive and innocent angel pretended to be pregnant so as to get Ellen away from her husband. Perhaps she knew of Newland's love for Ellen before their marriage, but pretended to neglect it for her own reputation and didn't make an issue of it.
Ellen's arrival initiated Newland's deep and critical thinking about society and his bride-to-be. He felt that May's "innocence" was a plot of society, too fabricated to be real -- it was a scheme, a sham. Perhaps as an aristocrat she had been trained to be "innocent" as a part of good manners.
Not only May, many other upper-class women in the novel have the same "innocence" -- seemingly innocent but actually controlling others behind their backs. If I am to understand that the New York society of the 1870s was an age of innocence, maybe the best interpretation of the "innocence" here is phony or hypocrisy.
Changing perspective, I found that the title may also be understood in another way -- it is Newland's 'age of innocence'. Newland was a man who only questioned formality and challenged conventions in private but appeared traditional in public. He loved Ellen, but he dared not publicly love her. Instead, he chose to marry May at once in order to get away from Ellen more efficiently.
During his later chat with Ellen, Newland claimed that his relationship with May was just romantic when it was clear that they were together simply because they were the "perfect match" in terms of family backgrounds and not because they had fallen in love on their own.
May, apart from her good form and wealthy family, had nothing but an empty mind, and Newland constantly felt that they never had any real communication. But still, he stayed with May, mostly because this marriage could shelter, protect and empower him through the upper class.
Right after his marriage, Newland found May's unbearable innocence and emptiness. She was described as "alive but dead" -- emotionless and as cold and immortal as a goddess. In my eyes, it had little difference with marrying a beautiful statue.
Ellen was obviously much more insightful than May, and more importantly, she was unconventional -- always dressed in red, she was indifferent to conventions, desperate for freedom and passionate for life. But unlike the goddess-like May, she looked pale, and even Newland admitted that one could see she was aging in her face.
Ellen was no longer "innocent," she was now not a naïve girl but an aging woman trapped in an unfortunate marriage. Newland told Ellen that it was she who gave him a real look at life; because of her, Newland began to have doubts about his marriage for the first time.
However, though who he truly and deeply loved was Ellen, he passed her by and went on with his wrong marriage and remained a faithful husband. It is Newland's age of innocence, because at that time he did not understand that true love is much more important than rules and conventions.
All conventions will be gone sooner or later, but true love lasts forever. He made a life of regret for himself by missing out on his true love.
In this sense, it is even more appropriate to interpret the "innocence" into Newland's ignorance of the frailness of social conventions as well as the preciousness of a piece of true love.
Besides the title, what impressed me most was the last scene: Years later, when May was dead, conventional society had changed, Newland's son encouraged him to see the one he really loved, but he dared not go up to see her at last. Instead, he sat for a long time on the bench gazing at her balcony. When a servant closed the balcony window, Newland, "At that, as if it had been the signal he waited for," got up slowly and walked away.
Why didn't Newland go upstairs? Because of his cowardice -- his cowardice left their love such a tragic ending, even more tragic than their separation.
Throughout their love story, Newland had countless convincing excuses for their tragic separation -- family dues, social conventions, rumors, May's lie, etc. But when all these obstacles did not exist any more, he still couldn’' collect his courage to face Ellen. If there must be something to blame for their tragic love, it is definitely Newland's cowardice.
There may also be another reason. People all tend to beautify their past. In Newland's memory, Ellen was forever his sacred symbol of true love, like an imaginary loved one in a book or picture.
He wanted to keep this feeling undisturbed and seal it in his blue but young and beautiful memory forever. Thus he chose to live with memories of Ellen instead of living with her.
From an aesthetic point of view, perhaps this ending is perfect.
Though it is an American novel published in 1920, I find Edith Wharton's style is somewhat similar with Jane Austin. She described the decoration of houses, clothing and luxuries at great length, presenting us a vivid picture of upper class New Yorkers as well as the whole upper-class society.
The Age of innocence has no complicated plot, but it is still regarded as a great literary work because it truthfully reflects its setting and initiates our thinking on not only love, but social conventions and values. It is a good sad love story, but more importantly, it is an excellent portrait of the last New York aristocracy.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home