When you initially try to criticize “The Age of Innocence” novel which is the 12th novel of Edith Wharton, it seems like typical love story. However, it had made Edith Wharton the first woman who had ever won the Pulitzer Price and it is counted one of the best novels written in English. What makes it different than the other love stories?
Let's start with a plot summary of this love story. As usual there is a man and woman love each other. And again as usual there are obstacles in front of their engagement. First of all, when they met man is at the edge of engagement with her cousin – May Welland. Moreover, woman – Ellen Olenska- is married with a Count of Olenska however she ran away from him to America, but she is still married woman. So, it seems impossible to get together for them. As I said this is usual love story; however Edith Wharton studies on it differently.
The biggest factor what makes this story different is, Edith Wharton had studied on anthropology and reader can easily see effect of this profession on comments. She often use the term “tribal” while try to narrate people's behaviours. At last we are prisoners of our own body and biology and if you accept this suggestion, then you should exclude spiritual behaviours and this is what Edith Wharton had done.
On the other hand, Edith Wharton gives us great dilemma which had existed before and will exist at the future, dilemma between individual and community or social group. We are social living things however we have consciousness and objective mind, and our choices, behaviours, enjoyments etc. are under the effects of these. While we are trying to find a couple who is similar to our parents, we are recognizing the world and its fruits with developing consciousness. Or we can say like that, while we are trying to be the one who is compatible to society, we are recognizing several enjoyments which threat this compatibility. As Freud said, civilization needs sacrifices from our beings which have been formed through billions of years. It is important to remember this novel is prior to Freud, and his theorem about Ego – Superego – Id.
Under these circumstances, May Welland who is the wife of our main character Newland Archer, is a perfect wife with her beauty and social abilities like compatibility, understanding and predictability. However, she is innocence and her desires are simple and tribal while her husband Newland Archer's desires are cultural and more individual. This is the point which attracts Newland Archer on Madame Olenska who has her own ideas. However as it is mentioned above, we are prisoners of our own biology and that biology decides Newland Archer's choice at last. Child.
Later, Edith Wharton gives us a dialogue between Newland Archer and his elder boy;
Dallas Archer: "Yes: the day before she died. It was when she sent for me alone—you remember? She said she knew we were safe with you, and always would be, because once, when she asked you to, you'd given up the thing you most wanted."
Newland Archer: "She never asked me."
Dallas Archer: "No. I forgot. You never did ask each other anything, did you? And you never told each other anything. You just sat and watched each other, and guessed at what was going on underneath. A deaf-and-dumb asylum, in fact! Well, I back your generation for knowing more about each other's private thoughts than we ever have time to find out about our own.—I say, Dad,"
Spoiler - Basically our love story is keep going like that, in addition to this you can find several critics on America's culture through the novel, and reader normally waits happy ending though it would come lately. But Edith Wharton gives us little surprise. According to her there is not absolute happiness in reality because of this dilemma; while you are happy with your children you may have strong desires to fruits of truth and world or we can count it reverse.
At the end, while you are sitting in front of the door of your impossible and immortal love you could say
“It's more real to me here than if I went up”
Note: The Pulitzer committee who decided to praise The Age of Innocence as the best novel of 1921, declared that The Age of Innocence "best present[ed] the wholesome atmosphere of American life and the highest standard of American manners and manhood.”
At these times May Welland was seem as a model wife however Ellen Olenska have become role model of modern woman day by day.
