The Age of Innocence…Revisited

Airplane reading...buckle up for safety!

My thoughts: I first got the desire to reread The Age of Innocence a few months ago, when I was writing a short story in which I mentioned the novel. I think everyone needs a little Edith Wharton in their lives from time to time. Here are some things I noticed upon reading this little masterpiece again:

Granny Mingott’s mulatto maid—She’s only mentioned a handful of times, but I am once again intrigued by the mulatto maid of Catherine Mingott, the venerable and very wealthy grandmother of Ellen Olenska and May Welland. How did she end up working for Granny Mingott? What is her background? And what does she think of these sometimes eccentric characters? It’s interesting to see a minority character in this very WASPy world.

Tribe talk—Upon rereading The Age of Innocence, I noticed how often Edith Wharton referred to the rich families of old New York as “tribes.” The word pops up all throughout the novel. The world she writes about is fiercely insular, like any good tribe. But there are people who seem to force their way in, much like high school girls sometimes find ways to infiltrate the popular cliques…

Julius Beaufort—Julius Beaufort is one of those characters who tries to find a way to force his way into society—into the tribe. He is a bit like Simon Rosedale from The House of Mirth. Both sort of exist on the fringe of New York society—not quite part of the tribe. I never wrote about Beaufort in my previous entry about The Age of Innocence. But rereading the book, I noticed that Edith Wharton continuously mentions Beaufort, his wife, and his somewhat shady business deals. His story is almost a secondary one in The Age of Innocence. It reminded me of how Shakespeare, in several of his plays, had a secondary storyline.

I’ve been listening to the Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran song “Everything Has Changed” a lot lately. The song actually reminds me of the romantic moments between Newland and Ellen. I wonder if Swifty is an Edith Wharton fan…New York magazine once had an article about how The Age of Innocence was the quintessential New York novel. I very much agree. The novel depicts the moment when things begin to change, and “old New York” is shaken to its core. And speaking of New York, one of my favorite moments is when Newland and Ellen are having a private conversation in the brand new Metropolitan Museum of Art. Newland says, “Ah, well—Some day, I suppose, it will be a great Museum.” I think he’s right…

Great passage: Archer felt that at any cost he must keep her beside him, must make her give him the rest of her evening. Ignoring her question, he continued to lean against the chimney-piece, his eyes fixed on the hand in which she held her gloves and fan, as if watching to see if he had the power to make her drop them.

“May guessed the truth,” he said. “There is another woman—but not the one she thinks.”

Ellen Olenska made no answer, and did not move. After a moment he sat down beside her, and, taking her hand, softly unclasped it, so that the gloves and fan fell on the sofa between them.

Up next: Coming of Age in Mississippi