Irony In The Age Of Innocence

Exploring the Irony of The Age of Innocence Title In the aftermath of the First World War, Edith Wharton wrote the timeless novel The Age of Innocence, serving as a flashback to the period in which Wharton herself was raised. The Age of Innocence story takes place in upper-class New York society during the 1870s and highlights the distinctive social codes of the aristocratic class. Choosing the title The Age of Innocence to represent Wharton’s story is highly ironic due to the sinister characters who are able to succeed in this environment and the major characters of the novel who ironically interact with the theme of innocence. To a certain extent, the upper-class New York society of the 19th century represents an “age of innocence”. Wharton’s
This episode reveals the effect of decades of marriage to May Wellington. May successfully instills in Newland the social conventions of Old New York society, conventions which prevent a formerly married, middle-aged man from beginning a new life with or even visiting a former lover. The manipulative reading of May fits correctly with every major plot points of the novel. Ironically, May, the character perceived by the Newland-led narration to be the personification of innocence, is able to influence every major decision of Newland’s life through manipulative means. Conversely, the irony of Newland Archer’s relationship to innocence is the fact that the character that largely controls the narrative and appears to be in command of his environment is revealed to be the most naïve character in the novel. This becomes especially evident during Ellen’s farewell dinner when Newland finally realizes that Ellen’s return to Europe is the family’s solution to their rumored
Ellen realizes early on that an affair cannot occur between Ellen and Newland without harming others, a sacrifice the compassionate Ellen is unable to make. Newland ironically is discovered to be the most innocent character of the novel: He is easily manipulated by May and her family and naively approaches his relationship to Ellen. Countess Ellen Olenska foolishly travels to New York in search of freedom only to realize that her freedom is singularly possible in Europe. Ellen’s desire to leave Europe and travel to New York stems from her need to escape her failed relationship with Count Olenski. Ironically, it is the upper-class New York society which is the least tolerant of her lifestyle choices. The society is critical of her decision to live as a single woman away from her husband and her inability to conform to traditional social etiquette. The narrator reflects on Ellen’s problem:
[Ellen] had grown tired of what people called ‘society’; New York was kind, it was almost oppressively hospitable; she should never forget the way in which it had welcomed her back; but after the first flush of novelty she had found herself, as she phrased it, too ‘different’ to care for the things it cared about (pg.