Characters
This man is engaged to May Welland at the start of the novel.
Who is Newland Archer?
Newland and May go on this type of trip after their wedding.
What is a honeymoon?
The book critiques this group in 1870s New York.
What is high society/the elite?
The novel is set in this century.
What is the 19th century?
Wharton’s marriage ended in this outcome, unusual for her social class at the time.
What is divorce?
She is considered unconventional and scandalous by New York society.
Who is Countess Ellen Olenska?
Ellen seeks this legal action that scandalizes her family.
What is a divorce?
The theme of this tension is central to Newland’s journey.
What is individual freedom vs. societal expectation?
Wharton won this prestigious award for The Age of Innocence.
What is the Pulitzer Prize?
Though American, Wharton spent much of her later life in this country.
What is France?
This character represents the ideal Gilded Age woman—innocent, obedient, and socially proper.
Who is May Welland?
Newland receives this type of unexpected message at the end of the novel.
What is an invitation (to visit Ellen)?
The Mingott family mansion symbolizes this about the family’s values.
What is tradition or resistance to change?
During the Gilded Age, strict social codes especially restricted this group’s behavior and freedom.
Who are women?
During World War I, Wharton contributed to the war by doing these for refugees.
What is building hospitals and hostels (or shelters)?
This character is a powerful matriarch who defies expectations by supporting Ellen’s independence.
Who is Mrs. Manson Mingott?
This city is where Newland and Ellen almost begin a romantic affair.
This city is where Newland and Ellen almost begin a romantic affair.
Flowers, like lilies of the valley, symbolize this character's purity.
Who is May Welland?
The Gilded Age was known for extreme wealth on the surface and this underneath.
What is moral or social decay?
Wharton studied this subject informally and even published books on it.
What is architecture and interior design?
This French secretary tries to warn Newland and help Ellen avoid returning to her husband.
Who is Monsieur Rivière?
In the final chapter, Newland makes this decision when visiting Paris.
What is to not see Ellen?
This play watched by Newland twice in the story mirrors the character's internal conflict.
What is Faustus?
The novel reflects changes in gender roles and this rising movement.
What is early feminism or women's independence?
Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize in this year for the novel.
What is 1921?