The End of the Age of Innocence

I am excited for the discussion next week about Age of Innocence. I now the ending will strike different cords with everyone. In my reading of the text, I primarily focused on the effects that strict social conventions have on the members of the society. The way in which Wharton criticizes superficial codes of society is through the character Newland Archer. He very much struggles between a recognition of his love for Ellen Olenska (which is quite taboo) and an obligation to marry May Welland. in this way, Archer is one of the only characters in the novel I feel that is not truly innocent. He doe snot purposefully blind himself to his feelings or position in society like women do. He hates how so many of the women in this upper echelon group of New Yorkers denounce recognition of their knowledge and potential for the sake of becoming some man's wife. They strive to become objectified which is almost inhumane. Every man solely desires to have the most desirable or beautiful woman on his arm and the women concede to the desires of men. Ellen Olenska is a sharp tangent to these women which is very much why Archer is intrigued by her. I have not yet gathered or determined for myself whether he truly loves her or just is enticed by her difference. In the last section of the novel, the book flash forward s to Archer in his fifties and it is quite sad that he never was able to pursue his dream. Throughout the novel, he dreams and fantasizes of what could be with he woman so much so that in out lit circle we were confident that his lust for her would result in a sexual affair. However, this is not what happens at all. He has grown old, had children, and May Welland has died. His current state portrays such rigid stagnation that it draws significant sympathy for the man on my part. To live life for so many years and dream of a life in which you are happy and to not achieve this happiness is the greatest failure in my opinion. However, this draws upon my central question for the end of the text: Who, if anyone, becomes free in the end? Honestly, I would have to argue that no one truly escapes from the judgement and influence of these people. When Archer goes to Europe with his son on business, he is too much a coward, too afraid of how he may be rejected by society to approach the woman himself and sends his son to the woman's door. Even though Countess Olenska moves to Paris, I still do not think she was free from the grips of society. I think she was running away from he true feelings as well towards Archer because she did not  want to disrupt the :social machine" To visualize my ideas about Archer and Ellen''s relationship, imagine two people running in opposite directions, one east and one west. In between them is the society which tries to literally destroy anything or anyone that interferes with its traditions.