Reading Report
The Age of Innocence is a novel written by Edith Wharton,who was the first womanwon the Pulitzer Prize.The novel is about a triangle love story happened in the New York City’s upper class in 1870s.That is a time people attach much importance to social custom,conservation,manners.After reading the novel,I am so fond of it that I watch the movie adapted based on the novel.
As the hero of the novel,Newland Archer is a young,handsome and popular lawyer.Growing up in a family of upper class,Archer reads a lot and have a good taste of art.At first,he was charmd with May,a beautiful and innocent lady who smiles all the time.Later,they got engaged.Archer considered May as the best choice to be his wife until he met Countess Olenska.Ellen is May' cousin,and she came back to New York City because of her unhappy marrriage.She thought that people around her would be friendly and her family would support her.However,people all maintain that she should not divorce her husband.Not only because her husband can support her on economic,but also divorce could ruin a woman‘s reputation at that time.When Newland is asked to persuade Ellen to give up the idea of dissolving the marriage bond with her husband,he is gradually attracted by her.
May,like all the other traditional women,is obedient,passive,innocent and pure.She is trained by the conventional society to be a qualified wife.She has a big heart when she suspects that there may be another woman between she and Newland,and I am deeply touched when she asked Newland to pursue his true love before marriage.However,Ellen is different from most of the women in that upper-class soiety.In some extent,she is kind of rebel.She is brave and independent enough to express her true feeling.In contrast,May is good at consealing her feelings and always bear things by herself.Ellen is beyod tradition,and she has her carefree manner,unique personality and characterristic.
From where I stand,all the three person are innocent.The man,Newland Archer.At the first time when he finds that Ellen appears in the opera box he is embarrassed.As Archer comes to know better about Ellen,the more he appreciate her unconventional views on New York society.I believe that Archer once want to leave May and elope with Ellen.But the fact is that he surpress his passion for Ellen and perform his duty as husband and father responsibly.After all,he can not get out of the control of social convention and custom.Archer is attrated by May's beauty at the beginninng and he think he can change her after marriage,bacause he ia afraid that May will like the other married women living a life of invincible innocence.But it is hard to change as May is a creation of her society.Though Archer realize he fall in love with Ellen,he choose to stay with May after her anouncement of pregnancy.He do not like the old-fashion,but he has no courage to break it and he has to adhere social custom.
As for May,there is no doubt that she is innocent.She is a typical symbol of women at that time and a representative of many of Old New York' values.She is kind to everyonr,pure,sympathetic and behave herself.She observe the rules of the societyy so perfectly that she do not heve her own intellectual ideas.Lacking imagination and free spirits which are Archer valued much.Some people hold the view that May is not that innocent,while I still apprecite some of her qualities.She is a loyal wife and a qualified mother.
Being different from May,Ellen is beyond tradition.When she finds her husband betrays her,she do not stand it and keep silent.Instead,she fights against it.In the novel,we also can tell her unique personality from her dressing style and decorations for her house.She has some common hobby with Archer,such as art and literature.I think it is these unique characterristic thae makes Newland totally obsessed and fall in love with her.Newland finds that they have some similar points about some things and Ellen let him knows some new ideas that he has never learned before.She is somehow like his spiritual guide.Brave Ellen response to Newland's love cordially but she is afriad of hurting May's feelings and the repitation of the family.Finally,she gives up her own love and leave New York.As she once told Newland:“I can't love you unless I give you up."She is innocent and kind too,she never want to pursue her hapiness regardess of others' feelings.Besides,I also appreciated her guadain of her dignity.She would leave Archer and endure loneliness by herself rather than to be his mistress.
At the end of the story,Archer stands on the street below Ellen's arpartment in Paris.There is nothing stopping Archer from runiting with Ellen,however,he gives up the chance.Maybe he just want to keep the beautiful memory in mind and does not want to break the peaceful life.Some people may consider it as a sad ending,but I think it is this imperfect makes the ending and the novel perfect .
Archer and May get married but there is no real love between the couple,while Archer and Ellen can not be together even though they are like soul mate.But who are we to blame?None of the three are responsible for this，because they can not be bound by social rules at that time.They are all innocent individuals at the age of innocence.
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