This paper analyzes Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence through close examination of its three central characters: Newland Archer, May Welland, and Countess Ellen Olenska. Set among New York's social elite in the late nineteenth century, the novel dramatizes the tension between individual desire and societal obligation. The paper explores how May embodies old-world tradition and concealed calculation, how Ellen represents bohemian freedom and European influence, and how Archer is caught between both worlds. Drawing on several critical sources, the paper argues that Wharton's central theme is the sacrifice of personal happiness for the collective good — and asks whether such a sacrifice is truly heroic or merely a failure of will.
The Age of Innocence is an enchanting novel set in the Victorian era that eloquently illustrates the price of belonging to New York's high society in the late nineteenth century. The novel's main characters are Newland Archer, a high-society attorney; his fiancée May Welland; and her cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska.
Archer is captivated by May's girl-like innocence and her firm grasp on their society's traditions. Their families are among New York City's social elite, and their marriage is a profitable arrangement for both sides. The arrival of May's bohemian cousin, Countess Olenska, shakes their social world and threatens to embroil their engagement in controversy.
Archer, on behalf of his in-laws, announces his engagement to May in order to draw attention away from Countess Olenska and prevent scandal. It is here that Archer sets himself up as Olenska's defender — a role he fulfills both reluctantly and dutifully throughout most of the novel.
In the beginning of the novel, when Archer's sister Janey begins gossiping about Countess Olenska's scandalous evening at a commoner's house, Archer replies: "Hang Countess Olenska… I'm not her keeper." (Wharton, 56)
When Countess Olenska decides to divorce her brutal husband, Archer is the attorney assigned to her case. He halfheartedly continues to take interest in the Countess, as he does not desire to mar his social standing by marrying into a family with a looming divorce. Divorce, in the upper echelons of New York society, is considered damning. After Archer advises Countess Olenska against divorce, the van der Luydens — New York's most influential family — attempt to bring her forward in their society.
The more Archer becomes involved with Olenska, the harder he finds it to escape her. Eventually, he realizes that he is drawn to Ellen not because of her need for guidance, but for her passion and her unconventional view of life.
Unfortunately, both Archer and Ellen know that they must never marry or be united in any manner. Ellen decides that the only way they can truly love one another is to give each other up. Persuaded by societal pressures and family honor, Archer marries May despite his love for Ellen. They continue to see one another after his marriage; however, his dreams of living a passionate life with Ellen gradually fade. They are deeply in love, but decide not to pursue their feelings out of respect for May and societal obligation. Even after May's death, Archer chooses not to see Ellen.
May Welland and Ellen Olenska are very different from one another. May is domesticated and sensible — the ideal wife for a proper man in New York at this time. She embodies old-world sensibilities. Archer has the upper hand in his relationship with May; she is controllable and respectful.
Archer does not consider May to be his equal in any conscious sense. Although he fantasizes about intellectually liberating her while they are engaged, after their marriage he sees no potential for her intellectual growth: "It was less trouble to conform with the tradition and treat May exactly as all of his friends treated their wives… There was no use in trying to emancipate a wife who had not the dimmest notion that she was not free." (Wharton, 125)
May is depicted as naïve and highly devoted — the epitome of New York's old traditions. From Archer's point of view, she is unwaveringly and unusually childlike. She does not want to know the reality around her, and prefers to be protected from it. Yet in many ways, her character can also be construed as both manipulative and calculating.
Archer occasionally senses that May might be more aware of the world around her than he had anticipated. After their marriage, her thoughts and actions become more transparent. A year and a half into the marriage, Archer again has contact with Ellen.
May becomes a fervent opponent of her cousin Ellen, disregarding her prior loyalties. Before Archer and Ellen can consummate their love affair, May strategically reveals to Ellen — prior to medically confirming it — that she is pregnant with Archer's first child. This revelation leads to the final separation of Archer and Ellen, and is one of the many instances in which May exercises her power over Archer. She is, in essence, the typical high-society woman who feigns weakness in order to gain control. Although there is little direct textual support for this claim, it is strongly insinuated by what is left unsaid.
Countess Ellen Olenska is almost the exact opposite of May Welland. She is not traditional, nor is she intentionally manipulative. She is a symbolic reference to the future of New York society. Married to a philandering European count, Ellen is initially driven toward divorce — an act that, in early New York society, is the equivalent of ultimate social ruin. Even so, Ellen decides that divorce is best. She cares little for societal rules or family aristocracies, unlike May. While it is May's primary goal to be popular and traditional, it is Ellen's goal to be different and out of the public eye.
When Ellen first returns to New York, it is almost as if she is entirely unfamiliar with its social customs. Characters throughout the novel spend time reminding her of society's rules — particularly those surrounding divorce — which she is bent on breaking. Meanwhile, May would never dream of doing anything that could be construed as a movement against her family, husband, or tradition. Ellen is bohemian, while May is the ideal young woman of her time.
Ellen is a daring, intellectually awakened woman whose capacity for self-realization enabled her both to understand the old customs of society and, ultimately, to break free from her former bondage. She is not held down by society's prescribed definition of what a proper woman should or should not do.
It is through the character of Ellen that Wharton chooses to reveal the effects of one society upon another. As one critical study notes, Wharton "explores the international world of the 'wretched exotic,' the American affected by contact with Europe… the 'safe, shallow, shadowless' world of Old New York society is threatened by the interloper Ellen Olenska, whose European upbringing has brought her into contact with a bohemian world of real writers and artists." (Joslin and Price, 11)
Like a "wretched exotic," Ellen claims that she does not know how to fulfill New York society's customary duties, and in the beginning implies that she does not care to anyway. She simply carries on as she wishes and with whom she wishes, until her relatives insist that she adhere to some of their rules. She seems to want to make her family happy in addition to herself — as opposed to Archer, who lives only to make others happy. In the end, they both choose to sacrifice themselves for the happiness of others: Ellen for Archer, and Archer for May.
Ellen introduces a unique window into New York society. Their world does not tolerate deviation from its authoritarian etiquette. Ellen comes back into this society from the outside, genuinely unaware of its unyielding boundaries. She is both a heroine and a victim of society. Having come from a difficult period in her life, she initially finds the safety of this world charming. Later, she realizes how cruel and ridiculous the society truly is.
Ellen emerges from the criticism of her peers and evolves from it. As Jessup observes, "In a society which raises every barrier against a woman living apart from her husband, the Countess faces the censure of two continents, sustained only by her own good conscience." (Jessup, 18)
Her life, until this point, has been vastly different from Archer's. In Europe, everyone solely pursued their own happiness in spite of the consequences. Ellen's life there was free-spirited and bohemian. Her husband, an astoundingly affluent Polish count, led an extravagant lifestyle but also cruelly abused her to suit his own needs.
"Archer torn between social duty and personal desire"
"Unfulfilled love constrained by obligation and honor"
"Wharton's critique of aristocratic conformity and tribal ethics"
Archer's passage is the focal point for Wharton's main theme — the sacrifice of the good of the one for the good of the many. Newland Archer is forced to forfeit true love in order to uphold his society's ethical code. He does the right thing and contently survives. Though some may see this as heroic, others see it as a failure of nerve.
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