The social sophistication of women who can quietly take the measure of a situation, especially one that includes a threat, and dispose of it neatly and discreetly always interests me. I haven't read the Age of Innocence for decades - and it was largely lost on me when I read it as a teenager, sadly - so I don't remember it well. However, your description of May efficiently exiting Ellen from her and Newland's life reminds me of the Baroness Schraeder in the Sound of Music. She knew what time it was when she beheld Maria awakening a genuine and long-dormant capacity for love and joy in Captain von Trapp, and being a smart and canny society woman, knew precisely which buttons to push to send Maria fleeing back to the abbey. She thought she had won, and it looked like she had, until the captain asserted what he actually wanted, which was a rich and genuine life with Maria and his children, not "in Vienna, in all your glittering salons, gossiping gaily with bores I detest, soaking myself in champagne, stumbling about to waltzes by Strausses" Love triangles and the life directions they represent are always interesting!
"They all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world,” as Wharton famously describes New York society, “where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs."
One could also say the same about Wharton's own writings. Her fiction implies more than it shows, and she leaves it to the reader to find and consider the implications.
Agreed. In the Orthodox tradition, marriage is sometimes called “white monasticism,” in that it calls for the extreme asceticism of exchanging our desires for another’s, seeking their good instead of our own first of all. What’s amazing, of course, is how salvific and joyful that ends up being.
Loved this excellent review. I read the book as a teen and while I thought I “got it” (Oh the hubris of youth), I sure missed a lot. I put it my Re-read As A Grownup List!
Excellent analysis! I loved my recent reread of the Age of Innocence, and found the whole question of pursuing desire against “unfair” societal and moral constraints fascinating. I reread Jane Eyre close to rereading Wharton’s book, and ended up finding the two books talking to each other in really interesting ways! https://open.substack.com/pub/commonplacecatholic/p/jane-eyre-talks-back?r=1fiwok&utm_medium=ios
Wow, thanks for digging deep into this subject. Your articles are very meaty! I was drawn to the absurd title of the article because of course i want what i want, how in the world could I do anything else? But you do prove very skillfully that humans can want what they don't actually want. More often not being able to understand what they truly want.
The social sophistication of women who can quietly take the measure of a situation, especially one that includes a threat, and dispose of it neatly and discreetly always interests me. I haven't read the Age of Innocence for decades - and it was largely lost on me when I read it as a teenager, sadly - so I don't remember it well. However, your description of May efficiently exiting Ellen from her and Newland's life reminds me of the Baroness Schraeder in the Sound of Music. She knew what time it was when she beheld Maria awakening a genuine and long-dormant capacity for love and joy in Captain von Trapp, and being a smart and canny society woman, knew precisely which buttons to push to send Maria fleeing back to the abbey. She thought she had won, and it looked like she had, until the captain asserted what he actually wanted, which was a rich and genuine life with Maria and his children, not "in Vienna, in all your glittering salons, gossiping gaily with bores I detest, soaking myself in champagne, stumbling about to waltzes by Strausses" Love triangles and the life directions they represent are always interesting!
Yes! And a great comparison. Hearts are complicated organs.
"They all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world,” as Wharton famously describes New York society, “where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs."
One could also say the same about Wharton's own writings. Her fiction implies more than it shows, and she leaves it to the reader to find and consider the implications.
Yes, definitely true. She’s much like her friend Henry James that way—though, thankfully, far less oblique.
sometimes the less said the better....actually in almost all cases
Thank you. I have always loved this book and think the Scorsese movie adaptation is exquisite, acting, scenery, and musical score.
Societal rules have almost disappeared in these chaotic times, but looking back they provided much needed safeguards for family and civilization.
There’s definitely a balance. Individuals need freedom, but that freedom is usually most fruitfully exercised within some constraints.
So many of us can find whispers and strands of our own angst-ridden yet wise life choices within this narrative. Thanks for the review.
Agreed. In the Orthodox tradition, marriage is sometimes called “white monasticism,” in that it calls for the extreme asceticism of exchanging our desires for another’s, seeking their good instead of our own first of all. What’s amazing, of course, is how salvific and joyful that ends up being.
This wouldn’t be where the term *white-knuckling it* originated, perchance? ☺️
Very likely :)
Loved this excellent review. I read the book as a teen and while I thought I “got it” (Oh the hubris of youth), I sure missed a lot. I put it my Re-read As A Grownup List!
I’m just done with James though… 😒
Excellent analysis! I loved my recent reread of the Age of Innocence, and found the whole question of pursuing desire against “unfair” societal and moral constraints fascinating. I reread Jane Eyre close to rereading Wharton’s book, and ended up finding the two books talking to each other in really interesting ways! https://open.substack.com/pub/commonplacecatholic/p/jane-eyre-talks-back?r=1fiwok&utm_medium=ios
Wow, thanks for digging deep into this subject. Your articles are very meaty! I was drawn to the absurd title of the article because of course i want what i want, how in the world could I do anything else? But you do prove very skillfully that humans can want what they don't actually want. More often not being able to understand what they truly want.
This is such beautiful writing. Thank you
Many thanks!