Everand Logo

¡Te damos la bienvenida a Everand!

  • Descubre millones de libros electrónicos, audiolibros y mucho más con una prueba gratuita

    Desde $11.99 al mes después de la prueba. Puedes cancelar en cualquier momento.

    La Edad de la Inocencia
    La Edad de la Inocencia
    La Edad de la Inocencia
    Audiolibro5 horas

    La Edad de la Inocencia

    Escrito por Edith Wharton

    Narrado por Judith Castillo

    4/5

    ()

    Cambiar a libro electrónico

    Información de este audiolibro

    FonoLibro se enorgullece en presentar el audiolibro La Edad de la Inocencia de Edith Wharton, que narra la historia de Newland Archer quien es un joven abogado en la ciudad de New York a finales del año 1870 y tantos.
    De vida “perfecta”, Archer tiene una carrera en ascenso, millonario y comprometido con May Welland, considerada como una de las doncellas más hermosas de la ciudad.
    Newland se ha regido durante toda su vida por las estrictas normas de la metrópolis neoyorkina, entre lo que es “bien” o “mal” visto y lo considerado honorable o indigno por la alta sociedad.
    Sin embargo la vida “perfecta” de Newland da un giro cuando conoce a la prima de su novia, la Condesa Ellen Olenska, quien le hará cambiar su forma de ser, sus principios e, incluso, su amor por su futura esposa.
    “La Edad de la Inocencia” es una novela romántica ambientada en el NuevaYork de finales del siglo XIX.
    Wharton presenta un drama en el que dos personas, luchan contra los principios, las lealtades, el honor, los juicios de una sociedad que no perdona cualquier acto considerado inmoral o deshonroso y en la que un amor prohibido puede considerarse el peor de los crímenes.
    ©(P) 2018 FonoLibro Inc. Todos los derechos reservados. Se prohíbe el reproducir, compartir, transmitir el contenido de este audiolibro por cualquier medio sin autorización expresa del editor y productor del audiolibro, FonoLibro Inc.
    IdiomaEspañol
    EditorialFonolibro Audiobooks
    Fecha de lanzamiento1 jun 2018
    ISBN9781611541670
    Autor

    Edith Wharton

    Edith Wharton (1862–1937) published more than forty books during her lifetime, including the classic Gilded Age society novels Ethan Frome, The House of Mirth, and The Age of Innocence, for which she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

    Autores relacionados

    Relacionado con La Edad de la Inocencia

    Audiolibros relacionados

    Romance para usted

    Ver más
    Ver más

    Episodios de podcast relacionados

    Artículos relacionados

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Relata La Oscuridad De Rita Macedo

      17 mar 2020

      Relata La Oscuridad De Rita Macedo
      3 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Santiago Posteguillo

      30 nov 2018

      Santiago Posteguillo
      5 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      El Destino De Una Reina

      15 abr 2021

      1 El convento de Nuestra Señora Sur de Francia Verano de 1789 Algo estaba muy mal. Pude darme cuenta esa mañana por sus rostros enjutos, por la manera en la que las monjas corrían por el pasillo, con los talones golpeteando furiosos contra las antigu

      8 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Las Leyes De La Atracción

      11 oct 2021

      1 Aún con el tacto cálido de la ciudad sobre su cuerpo, Rosalind se quita las medias y las mete en el lavabo junto con un puñado de carbonato sódico. Es una costumbre que adquirió durante los años de la guerra. Logró sobrevivir entre 1942 y 1944 con

      9 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      La Canción De Laila

      22 mar 2024

      Sin embargo, Laila los escuchaba como si estuvieran muy lejos. Los observaba y sonreía, se llevaba el vino a la boca y entrecerraba los ojos. En realidad, solamente fingía interés en los comentarios. Su pensamiento estaba fijo en el ramo de rosas que

      11 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Narrativa Extranjera

      2 mar 2022

      Hillary Rodham Clinton y Louise Penny SALAMANDRA, TRADUCCIÓN DE M, 528 PP., 21 € La conocida política sorprendió con este libro de, por supuesto, trasfondo político. Lo ha escrito acompañada, a cuatro manos, y sigue la trayectoria de una secretaria d

      8 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      + 10 Años

      7 feb 2023

      Mairena Ruiz LA ESFERA AZUL, ILUSTRACIONES DE LARA PICKLE, 160 PP., 16,90 € Es hora de brillar Alice, Sun-hee, Tara y River han sido elegidas para formar STARS, una nueva girl band que va a arrasar. Para ello se mudarán a Londres, donde están sus ami

      3 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      El Vampiro Espectral De Londres

      22 dic 2020

      El Vampiro Espectral De Londres
      6 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Cuerda Floja

      18 abr 2022

      Lo primero que llamó su atención al entrar a la casa fue la escultura en bronce de un gran caballo, imponente, con las patas delanteras al aire, mirando impetuoso hacia el horizonte. Atrás, el mar se extendía en toda su majestuosidad. La vista la dej

      9 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Su Lado Desconocido

      30 may 2022

      Su Lado Desconocido
      8 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      El Asesinato De Stanford White

      19 oct 2022

      El Asesinato De Stanford White
      5 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Una de Las Grandes

      21 may 2020

      Una de Las Grandes
      2 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Narrativa Extranjera

      2 sept 2024

      Claire Fuller IMPEDIMENTA, TRADUCCIÓN DE EVA COSCUELLA, 320 PP., 23,95 € Una pandemia arrasa un mundo desprevenido. Neffy, una joven bióloga torturada por los errores que han hundido su carrera, decide participar en los ensayos remunerados de una vac

      10 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Memorias De Una Actriz En El Gulag

      7 nov 2023

      Memorias De Una Actriz En El Gulag
      12 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      El Rastro De La Duquesa

      19 abr 2023

      El Rastro De La Duquesa
      5 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Blonde

      23 ago 2021

      E l beso He estado viendo esta película durante toda mi vida, aunque nunca hasta el final. Casi habría podido decir ¡Esta película es mi vida! Su madre la llevó por primera vez al cine cuando ella tenía tres o cuatro años. Era su recuerdo más tempran

      9 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Hay Tantas Nueva York.

      13 jun 2019

      Hay Tantas Nueva York.
      4 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Hombres

      2 feb 2018

      Hombres
      9 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Liberación

      17 nov 2020

      PARTE I Marsella, enero de 1943 Había sido una mala idea. Muy mala. Maldita sea. Nancy cerró los ojos unos instantes, agachada tras los restos de un muro derribado, y respiró hondo. El olor de los edificios en llamas se le estaba instalando en la gar

      8 min de lectura

    • SIN LÍMITES

      Narrativa Fantástica Y De Terror

      1 nov 2024

      A. Y. Chao MINOTAURO, TRADUCCIÓN DE ISABEL MURILLO, 416 PP., 19,95 € A.Y. CHAO es una autora china-canadiense de fantasía. Fascinada por la interacción entre la identidad autopercibida y la identidad impuesta, así como su intersección con el sentido

      2 min de lectura

    Comentarios para La Edad de la Inocencia

    4/5

    3,113 clasificaciones162 comentarios

    ¿Qué te pareció?

    Toca para calificar

    Los comentarios deben tener al menos 10 palabras

    • 5/5
      Book Club selection. Great book and discussion. I had heard so much about this book and thought I might not like it, but it surprised me.
    • 3/5
      Si bien, el trabajo de la narradora del audiolibro es destacable, la historia en sí se me hizo bastante aburrida. Los personajes no tenían una buena construcción, en mi opinión, y el final fue bastante predecible.
    • 5/5
      I first read this over 20 years ago — it's one of the few books I remember reading for pleasure while I was in college. And I loved it then, though at the time it was the climax of the first book that struck deepest at my heart. And it's still a fantastic act break, but this time through, the second book resonated more. As it should, because I'm older and more familiar with the way the world works.

      Oddly enough, the two things that the book most reminded me of are Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, and The Wire. The former because, like Morpheus, Newland Archer resists change so long that it does him serious damage. The latter because, like The Wire, it's ultimately a tale of people who are completely at the mercy of the system that they think they can defeat, or at least play to their advantage.

      And I cried at the end, because what else can you do? Gorgeous.
    • 1/5
      El libro es muy bueno pero al audiolibro le faltan muchas partes de libro.
    • 5/5
      This amazing novel makes me want to read more of the Pulitzer fiction winners. At the beginning, I actually thought about dumping it, but quickly caught on after I read the character description and synopsis by Cliff's Notes.
    • 5/5
      I was astonished to find that a book published in 1920 which focuses on the wealthy of New York "Society" in the 1870s is still so relevant in this time and in society as a whole.While the needless, arbitrary, and sometimes harmful rules of "proper" decorum have changed a great deal, current ideas of propriety are still enforced with ostracism and judgement. Individuals still struggle to find genuine happiness in a society where media and culture rigidly define what one should want and need to be happy.Ms. Wharton puts forward the notion that a woman has the same right to sexual experience without judgement as a man does. I find it mildly depressing that we still aren't there yet.
    • 5/5
      This story stayed in my head for months afterwards- I was completely haunted by it. The unnatural and sterile way of life in the Victorian Age crushes a man and woman's only real shot at happiness. The beautiful writing, the detailied descriptions of Victorian rituals, the mad passion of the protagonist, it is all...perfect! There's a reason Wharton won a Pulitzer for this masterpiece.
    • 5/5
      The Age of Innocence is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I read it in college and, because of that and for the sake of time, I have chosen not to re-read the Pulitzer winners that I have already read. But, I couldn't resist writing a short note on this one.Wharton wrote The Age of Innocence after World War I. She reflected back to a time when things really did seem innocent - especially in high society. But, things are not always as they appear and Wharton seeks to make that point. High society in the Victoria era was full of rules and regulations about how one was to act regardless of how one really felt. This is a book that I believe is required reading for all. It is very important to be able to step back, examine society, and see it for what it really is. It is easy to condemn those in the past for their social quirks. It is much harder, if not impossible, to step back from our own society and look at it objectively - to see it for what it really is.
    • 2/5
      Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence" is very much akin to Jane Austen's books, only in that the setting is America. In a word: boring and predictable. I could find not discernible plot. This book is being donated!
    • 5/5
      The Age of Innocence is a richly drawn portrait of the elegant lifestyles, luxurious brownstones, and fascinating culture of bygone New York society. It shows the atmosphere of desire and emotion and the social order that disturbs the foundation of one's identify. Newland Archer soon will wed May Welland but is attracted to May's cousin, Countess Ellen OLenska. He finds his world comfortable one moment but oppressive the next. Wharton's characters are so true to life that we feel we have certainly met them and know their hearts, souls and yearnings. The ending pacts a powerful punch and is not to be missed. Wharton was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1921. I would highly recommend it to those who love classical fiction.
    • 5/5
      Loved, loved, loved this book. Wharton's tale of grustrated love and longing, of being claustrophibically penned in and controlled in every way by one's milieu, is a masterpiece. Poor Newland...it's his innocnece, his lack of awareness of society's insidious, pervasive web, that is the theme of the novel. The apparent ingenue, May, is no such thing; instead she's a shrewd, asware you woman not above manipulating both her cousin and her fiance/spouse. What is amazing is the distance between the characters and their real lives. Astoundingly well done. A nice extra touch is the use of Faust, the opera, as a recurring image, pairing Helen/Elena Olenska.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book, but when I finished it I threw it from me as violently as I could.
    • 3/5
      There is more blushing in this novel than I have encountered elsewhere. The blush seems to be the main mode of expression, since the characters cannot say anything clearly to each other. Newland Archer often "starts" and then says 1/3 to 1/2 of a sentence in anger that quickly evaporates. I'll have to see the movie now to see if Daniel Day Lewis says anything. I also found Newland's attraction to the Countess to be quite mysterious. It is the central undiscussed mystery of the story. I know that life often works that way, but if you are writing a novel you could say something about the crush besides that she doesn't mind living in the same city block as artists do, and that she can decorate a room with only a single feather and blown flowers.

      Here is my favorite quote, a description of Boston:

      "The streets near the station were full of the smell of beer and coffee and decaying fruit and a shirt-sleeved populace moved through them with the intimate abandon of boarders going down the passage to the bathroom."
    • 4/5
      Wharton's unsparing portrait of late 1800s upper class New York shows a society crumbling under the weight of its own pretense and conservatism. The senseless and hypocritical rituals of the upper classes and their tribal persecution of outsiders and nonconformists is portrayed here humorously but also as making many of the most privileged members bear the misery of its burden.
      I find it hard to sympathize with Newland Archer, the novel's protagonist, because he seems so much in denial of his feelings throughout the first part of the novel that when he finally admits that he is in love with the Countess Olenska, he is far too enmeshed in the demands of his role as son and fiance to do anything about it.
    • 5/5
      Wharton's most well-known book invokes the typical Wharton theme of the strictures of society that the wealthy live under: Does one really have any free choice to live one's life as one pleases? Newland Archer thinks he can escape, to ignore the rules of the New York wealthy society in which he lives. He is engaged to be married to May, a girl deeply embedded in New York society, with the correct and proper breeding and education to fit the requirements for a wife. But then Archer meets Countess Ellen Olenska, a woman who has recently returned from Europe after leaving her husband under scandalous circumstances. He believes he has fallen in love with Ellen, and wants to give everything up, his place in New York society, his fiancée May, and run away with Ellen.

      In Archer's mind, May is an innocent, unaware of how bound up in society's rules she is. But who is the real innocent here--is it Archer who thinks he is brave enough and strong enough to give up everything he has ever known? He can't even recognize that behind the scenes May is manipulating people and events so that her life goes exactly the way she wants it to. In the end, innocent May, may have been the most successful at living life exactly as she chose to.

      This is a book everyone should read.

      5 stars

      First line: "On a January evening of the early seventies Christine Nilsson was singing in Faust at the Academy of Music in New York."

      Last line: "Newland Archer got up and walked back alone to the hotel."
    • 4/5
      A few days ago I finished The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and though I liked it I didn't love it. It was a well written book with a nice story. I didn't understand the really high rating. I didn't think it was psychologically deep. The Age of Innocence went deep. It was about the role of women in society. It was about how much of yourself do you lose if you try and fit it. I gave both books the same rating because even though Innocence went deep it liked itself too much.
    • 5/5
      Newland Archer... OK, when I was working at IBM, I took my modified guitar in to a music shop. The proprietor asked me if I would like a job there. I could have become a guitar tech, instead of sticking with my corporate software career! It's not as heart throbbing as running off with an exotic beguiling woman, but... conventional security versus taking the leap into adventure and some kind of deeper meaning....

      This deserves its status as a classic. There is this relentless tension... a masterwork!
    • 5/5
      I actually enjoyed this book. I loved the fact that she really made New York part of this novel. I originally got this because it's a well-known book, but I really like New York City literature for some reason. In my option this is one of the best New York fiction books. Another plus for this book is the historic value. Keep in mind this is the 3rd book to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Edith Wharton is also the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize too (I don't think she won though). Wharton is one smart lady and her writing shows that I think. I'm not so much a fan of her writing though, but I do find her as a person very interesting. No complaints for this book except from the size I thought it would be a light read, for a short novel it was a little difficult.
    • 3/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed The House of Mirth, but boy oh boy this was a drear fest by comparison. The characters were so dully portrayed I couldn't have cared less what romantic choice the protagonist did or didn't make. The whole thing just seemed to go on and on yet never really get anywhere.

      This novel might have been scintillating when it was written 100 years ago, but for me it paled in comparison with so many other classics from that time.

      3 stars - an almost DNF, but I'd given it so many hours of my time I felt compelled to finish it.
    • 5/5
      Classic American novel charting the courses of upper-class New York families in 1870's. Love triangles, longing, black sheep, social maneuvering, and scandals are woven together here to create a never-tiring tale that brings to times to life. The characters are excellently realised, as are the situations which they rotate through with often more spatial volume and apparent cogitation than the colleagues we see every day.


      As the introduction, let alone the writing suggests, much of this tableau vivant was based on the experiences of the author and those who she knew. Not all the characters are likeable, but this only adds to the interest.
    • 4/5
      For more than 20 years Henry James suggested to Edith Wharton to write about the social circles she grew up in. DO NEW YORK, he told her. When finally she did, she produced The age of innocence, about, in American upper-class parlance "Old New York", the upper crust oldest and wealthiest families or the "Old Money" families in New York, the Rockefellers of the 19th century.

      The age of innocence is about the moral values of these Old Families. The moral dilemma in this novel is the same as that in James's The portrait of a lady, published 30 years earlier, but Wharton's style is much lighter, and the treatment of this theme much more frivolous.

      Countess Olenska is a still young American woman, who left the US to get married to a Polish Count. Unhappy in her marriage she shows up in New York, in an attempt to return her family in America. There she meets Newland Archer, who is engaged to get married with her cousin May Welland.

      Written from the point of view of Newland, Countess Olenska is the young, exotic new belle on the block, making his newly-wed wife May look dull. It isn't until the very last part of the book that the conservative, conventional morals of Old New York, the family and all their friends become clear. A married woman should stay with her husband, no matter what.

      The age of innocence is much drawn out and rather unfocussed, with its main theme not becoming fully clear until the end. It would probably have been much more forceful if it was a novella, of less than half its number of pages.
    • 5/5
      Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton – a 1920 novel that won the Pulitzer prize for fiction – Ms. Wharton was the first woman to win the prize.

      I always keep in mind that reading is both subjective and situational. In my current “situation” (older, busy, having just read Don Quixote! Ahhhh!), I may have DNF’d this one, had it not been for an Instagram challenge.

      The beginning was too tedious and a mental struggle . Too many names dropped all at once and no immediate connection to any of the characters or the society they lived in.

      However, the longer I read, the more I became invested in understanding the character’s behavior within the restrictive societal convections and expectations of the 1870’s New York society that “dreaded scandal more than disease.”

      They “all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs…” – this “society” was comprised of upper class white people with their own intrinsic set of acceptable behavioral rules that have in many ways trickled down to modern society. By page 14 (in my quirky edition), I had come across my second reference to “white” being preferable to anything else or more valuable: “Her hand is large (re: engagement ring) – but the skin is white.” In other words, her paleness was valued and trumped the size of her hand.

      One of the things that I found interesting was how these society “rules” were in a way restrictive for both men and women of the time. Of course it has always fallen harder on women, but Newland felt just as trapped by them.

      SPOILERS ahead

      Newland feared marriage and believed women “should be free,” yet conformed and paid the price of happiness. From the beginning he saw what marriage to May would be like: “becoming what other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together by ignorance on the one side and hypocrisy on the other.” He was not married yet, and was already mourning his freedom and feeling he “were being buried alive under his future.”

      Women were seen as entrappers and how they can derail a man because of course young men cannot be at fault because they are “foolish and incalculable.” Some women “are so ensnaring and unscrupulous – that it was nothing short of a miracle to see one’s only son safe past the Siren Isle and in the haven of a blameless domesticity.” Therefore the fear of Countess Olenska and her unwillingness or inability to completely conform to their world.

      In my view, May, was not very well fleshed out as a character because she was a representation of that society and how it forced both Newland and Countess Olenska to conform. Just when there might have been a chance for those two, May pulled the pregnancy card and that was that! (not quite as innocent our little May…she knew how to play the game of her society)

      For a great section of the book I had my doubts about Countess Olenska and her motives. I saw her as a woman that simulated learned helplessness type behaviors and exuded vulnerability to invoke stereotypical hero complexes in men that fell over themselves to “help” her. But then I hit the part where it was obvious she was not aware they (meaning society) was sneering at her and her “foreign” behavior, the fact that she had left her husband, and the suspicions she was having affairs. She did not betray May, who did not think much of her. She did not want to destroy their lives. She left.

      By the way….that part where Newland felt so asphyxiated by his marriage that he considered the notion of May being dead…and that she could “die soon” to “leave him free” while he was standing by the window had me at the end of my seat!! I for sure thought he was going to throw her out the window!! (page 136 in my book)

      And the ending…well… “It’s more real to me here than if I went up” encapsulates the regret but also the acceptance of the life he lived. The longing for what was that would never match the reality of the passage of time and the different lives they lived. I will never forget this ending.

      Other:

      On feeling the need to be alone and in one’s own space: “I like the lithe house…the blessedness of its being here, in my own country and my own town; and then, of being alone in it.” – Countess Olenska.

      On reading: The literary allusion to Middlemarch made me chuckle: Newland mentioned he “had declined three dinner invitations in favor of this feast” – we can all relate!lol
    • 5/5
      The Age of Innocence explores the mores of New York society in the 1870s through the lives of Newland Archer and May Welland, who become engaged at the beginning of the novel. Newland’s world is rocked by the arrival of May’s cousin Ellen, now Madame Olenska, who recently left an unhappy marriage to a European count. Society is simultaneously shocked and fascinated by Ellen’s behavior; most feel it is her duty to return to her husband. When Ellen approaches a law firm to begin divorce proceedings, Newland is asked to intervene and convince her not to take this step. Newland is sympathetic to Ellen’s situation, and becomes obsessed with her, seeking every possible opportunity to spend time together.

      Told from Newland’s point of view, it’s easy to miss the developing game of chess being played by May and her family, as they manipulate the lives of both Ellen and Newland to outcomes they consider more favorable. May and Newland’s relationship appears highly dysfunctional by modern standards, as the couple are completely unable to communicate directly with one another. But May turns out not to be as naive and oblivious as she first appears, and demonstrates surprising strength in her quiet, determined response to Newland’s behavior.

      This book was my introduction to Edith Wharton many years ago. Having now read most of her novels it was time for a re-read. This is a magnificent book, right up there with The House of Mirth and The Custom of the Country.
    • 4/5
      Another of those classics I probably waited too long to read, and spent mostly wanting to dope-slap many of the characters. But the "old New York" world-building is excellent.
    • 5/5
      A reread for me, I think the third time I've read this. Every time I find myself noticing something new. This time I was thinking the entire time of what the book would have been from May Welland's point of view. I would love to read a retelling of that - is there one??

      For those who haven't read this, [Age of Innocence] follows Newland Archer, a young man on the cusp of marriage to May Welland and into the stifling, closed off New York society of the 1870s. When worldly, exotic (well, to their small circle) Ellen Olenska returns home to escape a bad marriage, Archer becomes enthralled. This is a love triangle but also a study of what happens when people are caught in a shifting society and whether they'll stick with the old rules or forge a new path.

      The book is written from Newland Archer's perspective which wildly annoyed me the first time I've read this. Subsequent readings have made me so impressed with how Wharton manages to make this about the women, particularly about May, without giving them a direct voice.

      I love this book and highly recommend it.
    • 2/5
      "The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend."

      Newland Archer and May Welland seem to be the perfect couple. He is a wealthy gentleman lawyer and she a beautiful, sweet-natured girl. On the verge of announcing their engagement all seems set for success until May’s cousin returns from Europe to escape from an ill-fated marriage to a Polish Count. Countess Ellen Olenska was a playmate of Newland's as a child now as a young woman she raises eyebrows in polite society who seems either oblivious or uncaring of society's rules of civility in 1870s New York.

      Despite long periods of time apart, a romantic bond grows between Newland and Ellen Olenska.

      Alienated from most of her relatives and their circle of acquaintances who consider divorce distasteful Ellen is lonely and unhappy. Newland appears to be her only champion. In contrast Newland wants to escape from the limitations he feels have been placed on him by that very society. Ellen becomes an unattainable object of desire because he knows deep down that a future with her would be impossible. In fact it is the forbidden nature of his feelings for her that stokes his passion.

      Newland experiences a romantic love for Ellen that feels untethered by the concepts of duty and tradition; whilst his feelings for May are dictated by propriety and decorum. Newland believes that May is sheltered, naive and inexperienced and he often makes unfavourable comparison between her and the Countess whom he regards as more worldly. However, her later actions suggest that May is more intuitive than he gives her credit for.

      The novel looks at how desire is influenced by social conventions and duty (what Newland wants for himself vs. what society wants for him). Yet, Newland appears to draw more pleasure from the yearning than the possibility of an actual union with Ellen meaning that it is difficult to dislike him as you soon realise that he will only ever be disloyal to May in thoughts rather than deeds. In contrast Ellen quickly realises that any possible union is doomed from the outset as Newland will never leave May.

      Alienated heroes and ill-fated lovers aren't exactly a rarity in literature, however Wharton’s elegant prose provides an modicum of irony that gives a certain poignancy to this particular tale and lends itself well to the serious nature of it. Yet despite all of this, the story ultimately failed to really grab me meaning that I found it an OK read rather than a particularly memorable one.
    • 4/5
      The Age of Innocence is a quick and piercing read. A heavyset and challenging critique of 1870s New York; its stifling social conventions and very traditional expectations on marriage, classes, and women themselves. Betrothal and betrayal are the chief troublemakers and, fascinatingly, also the peacemakers throughout this whole debacle of a repressed romantic pursuit complicated by familial relations and reputations. Heartbreaking and infuriating, the short breaths of rebellion dies out in place of a mundane yet secure life; a bittersweet sacrifice.

      This novel pulls you in: you join the dinners, listen to the town gossip, gets annoyed and terrified by Beaufort and his investments, judge the prejudiced yourself, and looks on with pity from afar as Newland Archer gets off the carriage, snow all over, the harsh wind upon his face as the tears fall whilst May Welland-Archer is at home playing with ignorance. Sometimes passionate love does not suffice. Each time you happen to me all over again. Sometimes late is too late.

      Edith Wharton was really on another level during her time. What a woman. (
    • 4/5
      I loved the story, but I didn't care for the narrator very much.

      I can't add to the reams that have already been written about this novel. I adore Edith Wharton, at least-what I've read so far, and I admire her powers of observation and her wit. I wouldn't have lasted five minutes in what passed for high society in New York City in the mid 1870's. There was so much gossip, so much repressed emotion and so much...phoniness. UGH.

      I enjoyed this book even though I saw the movie many years ago, because as usual, the book has more depth and in this case, more scathing commentary hidden between the lines. As compared to The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence at least has a happier ending, though I guess it depends on how you look at it. Society was definitely happier, but I'm not so sure that Newland Archer or Mrs. Olenska were.

      Recommended for fans of Edith Wharton's work, stories of the gilded age and high society, or just plain fans of a good story.
    • 5/5
      The worst of doing one's duty was that it apparently unfitted one for doing anything else. At least that was the view that the men of his generation had taken. The trenchant divisions between right and wrong, honest and dishonest, respectable and the reverse, had left so little scope for the unforeseen. There are moments when a man's imagination, so easily subdued to what it lives in, suddenly rises above its daily level, and surveys the long windings of destiny.

      Brutal gut punch. Everyone is constrained by social pressure. I found myself thinking of Emerson and his exhortations to resist conformity. If only Newland Archer had read Emerson!
    • 3/5
      THE AGE OF INNOCENCE is about the silly manners followed by the very rich New York society in the 1870s. While the book is romantic, the romance serves to show the absurdity of the “rules” they lived by.

      Newland Archer is a part of this society yet sees the absurdities. But he’s a young man in his 20s and just goes along with it. He becomes engaged to May, a girl from another wealthy New York family. May is an innocent who follows the rules and believes in them. She is not a snob; she knows no other way.

      Then Newland meets May’s cousin, Ellen. Ellen disregards many of the rules. And that attracts Newland. He falls in love with her.

      Although I’d like to see this movie, a book about romance and wealthy New York society can sometimes bore me nowadays. I found myself rereading paragraphs because I would forget what I read immediately after I read it. My mind wandered while I was reading, not a good sign.