The Crossover

Paper Summary:

The paper uses textual evidence from Edith Wharton's 'Age of Innocence' in order to contrast the two mindsets that tease character Newland Archer on a daily basis. The paper also incorporates several characters which fuel either one of the two mindsets, living a life with a sincere freedom of thought, or living the uptight and rigid lifestyle of New York's high society.

From the Paper:

"The protagonist in The Age of Innocence, Newland Archer, is destined to live a life of quiet desperation. For him, desire and reality exist on two separate planes. Newland was born and lives in a world of high society where meaning is assigned to every action and where money, power and cultural knowledge are everything. At the same time he dabbles in a world of free thought where social norms, when appropriate, can be shed. The former is the world from which Newland desperately wants to escape and the latter is the world into which he would like, via Ellen Olenska, to enter. Yet, Newland is unable to crossover. It seems that he is fated to stay within the stifled New York society of his upbringing. Putting aside Newland's sensual attraction to Ellen Olenska, this paper will instead explore his fascination with a world of free thought and propose a reason for why he is unable to crossover into such a world. In so doing, this paper will focus on Newland's relationship with two minor, male characters: Ned Winsett and the tutor M. Riviere."

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