Debutante May Welland Analysis
New York City, the 1870’s.
Newland Archer, passing through the deep crimson drawing room where the much-criticised nude by Bouguereau was hung, entered the ballroom at the Beaufort House, solemnly. He was determined to announce during the ball his engagement to the beautiful, artless debutante May Welland, with the hope that the news would help her towards diverting gossip away from her cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, whose returning from the Continent to escape from her marriage was sensational to the New York high society.
Their engagement was a reunion of the two great clans of New York: the Archers, who simply hated unorthodoxy, and the Mingotts, who valued the convention while tolerated unconventionality, which Newland, though being an …show more content…
Newland was much impressed by the style of her house, with all the decorations, portraits and artworks representing her unique taste; he began to admire her unconventional views and way, believing that she, different from any of the men and women in the New York high society where there was nothing but void behind all the glamour, lived a life of her own, solitary, independent, and …show more content…
On their wedding day, the ceremony was gorgeous: food was served by well-dressed servants and in well-chosen plates from the East India Company and the Dagonet Crown Derby, with even greater delicacy than those Trevenna George II plates in the van der Luyden’s cupboard; all renowned guests in the New York City were invited, as well as Ellen, who had left the room before Newland and May had a chance to speak to her. Newland was suddenly caught by an irresistible sense of sorrow, which the wise old Mrs Manson Mingott could tell from his words and tone; she then found an excuse, sending Newland to see if he could still find her and ask her to come back. Ellen was standing by the seashore, with her image silhouetted by the last glow of the sunset. Newland was unable to utter a single word; he abandoned himself in the serene scene of the sunset, the sea, and Ellen’s figure at a distance. A ship was gliding through the surface of the sea, approaching the beacon near the shore. “If she looks back before the ship passed the beacon”, Newland said to himself, “I will leave everything behind and leave with her”. But she did not. The evening shadow fell, and Newland came back to the ceremony hall in
Newland Archer, passing through the deep crimson drawing room where the much-criticised nude by Bouguereau was hung, entered the ballroom at the Beaufort House, solemnly. He was determined to announce during the ball his engagement to the beautiful, artless debutante May Welland, with the hope that the news would help her towards diverting gossip away from her cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, whose returning from the Continent to escape from her marriage was sensational to the New York high society.
Their engagement was a reunion of the two great clans of New York: the Archers, who simply hated unorthodoxy, and the Mingotts, who valued the convention while tolerated unconventionality, which Newland, though being an …show more content…
Newland was much impressed by the style of her house, with all the decorations, portraits and artworks representing her unique taste; he began to admire her unconventional views and way, believing that she, different from any of the men and women in the New York high society where there was nothing but void behind all the glamour, lived a life of her own, solitary, independent, and …show more content…
On their wedding day, the ceremony was gorgeous: food was served by well-dressed servants and in well-chosen plates from the East India Company and the Dagonet Crown Derby, with even greater delicacy than those Trevenna George II plates in the van der Luyden’s cupboard; all renowned guests in the New York City were invited, as well as Ellen, who had left the room before Newland and May had a chance to speak to her. Newland was suddenly caught by an irresistible sense of sorrow, which the wise old Mrs Manson Mingott could tell from his words and tone; she then found an excuse, sending Newland to see if he could still find her and ask her to come back. Ellen was standing by the seashore, with her image silhouetted by the last glow of the sunset. Newland was unable to utter a single word; he abandoned himself in the serene scene of the sunset, the sea, and Ellen’s figure at a distance. A ship was gliding through the surface of the sea, approaching the beacon near the shore. “If she looks back before the ship passed the beacon”, Newland said to himself, “I will leave everything behind and leave with her”. But she did not. The evening shadow fell, and Newland came back to the ceremony hall in