Wharton, Edith. The age of innocence. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Library, 1996. Print.
Reviewed by Jamie Narimatsu, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
The Age of Innocence is a novel that is set in the1870s in upper class New York City. The novel introduces us with the main character, Newland Archer. He is watching an opera and across where he is seated, he sees his fiance, May Welland. He is happy that he is engaged to her and he wants to let everyone know that they will be getting married. After a while he gets up from his seat and walks towards where May is seated. There, he approaches her and she introduces him to her cousin, Ellen Olenska, who Newland knew as a child. After Ellen's arrival, Newland's life is turned around as he begins to realize that May is a girl who acts how society wants her to be, while Ellen is a woman who he is in love with because she is different than society and fights for her freedom.
Wharton made her society seem realistic and created it to be similar to the society in the 1870s. She created certain characters such as the Mingott family to show how upper class society was at the time and she created an outcast like Ellen to show how the upper class judged the people that were different or were not a part of their class.
The Age of Innocence is a novel that was cleverly created. The setting and theme were interesting choices and the drama filled plot will make readers want to keep on reading the book until the end. This is a book that is worth reading and readers be yearning to find out how the relationship between Ellen and Newland will end up.
-Jamie N.
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