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Commentary on the work
Author's Chronology

A story of love and regret set in the arrogant and elegant old New York.
The struggle to find one's true self in a society that filters out desires in the name of purity.

The Age of Innocence, a masterpiece by Edith Wharton, the first female author to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, was published in Minumsa World Literature Collection (183).
At a time when women's writing was considered a strange "indulgence," Wharton stood proudly at the center of American literary circles, earning the reputation of "a master on par with Henry James" for her delicate writing style, outstanding sense of balance, and dignified satire.
In The Age of Innocence, published after World War I, she meticulously recreated the prosperous high society of old New York, and through the love triangle between three men and women, she depicted the conflict and fusion between desire and morality, reason and emotion, and tradition and change.
This novel became a bestseller of its time, selling record numbers immediately after its publication, and has been made into a film three times, continuing to enjoy steady popularity over the past 80 years.


A world where you have to give up what you truly want
A woman banished from the 'darkness like a blessing' and a man who looked into her eyes

In 1870s New York, Newland Archer, a wealthy lawyer who has lived in the world he belongs to without questioning anything, becomes engaged to the pure and innocent May Welland.
The ideal peace of the lovers, like a painting, is shaken by the appearance of May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska.
Ellen, who runs away from home to escape her cruel husband and returns to New York, quickly becomes the subject of social scandal.
Newland reluctantly helps Ellen at May's request, but is gradually drawn to her unique charm.
Having grown up in America and married in Europe, experiencing both luxury and persecution, Ellen is a woman who sees the world with a truthful eye that Newland has never seen before.
Through Ellen, Newland realizes that the world he believed in was nothing more than a "blessed darkness," an empty castle that maintains its purity by excluding human emotions.
And he is disillusioned when he learns that May, whom he believed to be the ideal woman, is a mere product of society, a harmonious being without the ability to think for herself.


Newland and Ellen fall in love, but it is too late and he marries May.
But the marriage was never happy, and Newland longed for the true fulfillment and naturalness that Ellen represented.
He tries to run away from her, but Ellen urges him not to abandon his duties to his family and society.
Unlike the hypocrisy that New Yorkers wore on their bodies like decoration, Ellen's moral code was a firm one that came from deep within.
However, New York society, having noticed their relationship, unites around May and expels Ellen.
Newland, who was trying to follow her, also collapses into reality when he finds out that May is pregnant.


As they part ways and go about their separate lives, Ellen gradually blossoms in Newland's heart into the 'flower of life' he had longed for but never received.
Years later, Newland, now in his old age, has a chance to reunite with Ellen, but turns away after looking out the window of her house.
Newland, who was hiding in his past memories, had no strength left to break the illusion and start a new life.


An author who attempted to fuse two cultures and two eras.

Edith Wharton, like Ellen Olenska, the heroine of The Age of Innocence, was born and raised in the United States, but lived primarily in Europe and spent the rest of her life in France.
These experiences are similar to those of Henry James, Wharton's close friend and the most important writer of his time, and Wharton's work often features James's central theme of "international situations"—the encounter and clash of different cultures, values, social customs, and ethical norms between the New and Old Worlds.
But unlike James, who rejected the New World culture that promoted capitalist prosperity, Wharton acknowledged and accepted the differences between the two cultures, much like Ellen Olenska embraced both European freedom and American morality.
Furthermore, while the author meticulously reconstructs a bygone era with a nostalgic gaze, the final chapter of The Age of Innocence depicts Newland's son Dallas breaking free from social oppression and uniting with the person he truly desires, thereby expressing hope for the era to come.


The son was not delicate, but he had the composure and confidence that came from viewing fate as an equal, not as his master.
'That's it.
They think they can handle anything.
They know their way.' (Page 439)

In other words, by writing this novel at the end of World War I, Wharton brought an end to one of the most beautiful, splendid, and empty periods in New York history, and laid the foundation for a new era unbound by boundaries and prejudice.