Book Report-The Age of Innocence

1 Book Report

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

The Age of Innocence was written in 1920 by Edith Wharton; the copy I read was

a Mass Market paperback print, published in Shanghai in 2012.

Edith Wharton（1862-1937），American novelist, short-short story writer and

designer, who was born into a wealthy, upper-class family of New York. She was an

very intelligent, well-read and formidable new woman in old New York. In her

lifetime, she published about 55 books including novels, novellas, short stories, poetry

autobiography and other works.

In addition, Edith Wharton was regarded as one of the most famous social

customs novelist at the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th century. Most of

her novels were based on upper-class society of New York. And she told us something

about social customs, etiquette and traditional concept, which shackled human nature

in New York. So most of the novels she wrote were a tragedy.

This Brilliant novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921--the first Pulitzer awarded to

a woman. In 1913, it was adapted for a movie by Martin Scorsese. Also, The Age of

Innocence was considered as the most mature works of her novels by the critics. The

story is set in upper-class New York City in the 1870s. The society called Old New

York City tried its best to shackle women with obsoleting conventions and

observances and limiting women’s development.

When I finished reading this book, I wanted to know what the Innocence meant

in this story. Innocence has many different meaning in the dictionary such as pure,

harmless, native and sinless. Neither did the writer sing of the pure and kind women

represented by May of the era in New York, nor show the hero and the heroine of pure

love. Therefore, in order to satirize the fake innocence of Old New York City and the

effect it brought to people, Edith Wharton used this title, ”The Age of Innocence” .

The plot of The Age of Innocence is not complicated. After reading this novel, I

knew that the novel was about a man made a love choice between two women. The

leading man Newland Archer was going to marry his beautiful, generous and pure 2 fiancée, May Welland, who had equal status to him. But, at the same time, Ellen

Olenska came back from Europe. The young woman was May Welland’s cousin, who

was married and escaped from his dissolute and violent husband. Compared to the

good-natured and easy-going May, Ellen was more matured beautiful, passionate and

freedom. Newland was deeply attractive by the beautiful woman and fell in love with

her. However, their love story became sad and tragic. They didn’t get together all

along because they had to face the social pressure of the manners of the old family.

In the novel, we can see the Wharton’s The Age of Innocence is not pure. She

named the novel this title to suggest the readers that in upper-class Old New York

City many people had false pure appearance just liked they worn a mask. Behind that,

the people’s human nature tended to distorted, even the pure love, as long as the love

didn’t conform to its moral customs, then it would be nipped in the bud.

As far as I’m concerned, in The Age of Innocence, Wharton used the bright

background, irony, humor, sharp pen as well as the profound meaning to truly show

the encounters of men and women in 19th century in old New York society so that she

could convince the reader with her irony and criticism. All in all, I think no matter

how the society changes, the basic social morals can never be breached. The

responsibility for family is more important than anything else. （620 words）