The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Barnes and Noble, 1920
293 pages
Classic
4.5/5 stars
FITG Challenge

Source: Own

Thoughts: I put this on my list because I wanted to read the first Pulitzer winning-novel by a woman; after enjoying Old New York, a collection of four short stories, I had high hopes for this.  And they were mostly fulfilled.

I loved the pictures painted by Wharton; every detail seemed carefully chosen to convey the taste and wealth of the characters although I'm sure I didn't fully appreciate those details, given my 21st century sensibilities and understanding.  I loved being enmeshed in that world and slowly journeying through it toward completion.

The part I didn't like was the character Newland Archer.  He is torn between duty to his fiancee May Welland and passion for her cousin, the scandalous Countess Ellen Olenska who left her husband.  I was caught up in that and I supported his choice.  But I hated his musings on the innocence and conventionality of May-how was she to be different? I think that he is a stand-in for Wharton who was raised in that kind of environment but obviously had a sharp intellect of her own.  Over the course of the novel though, I grew annoyed with him.  I did not want to spend as much time with him as I did; I think I would have preferred this novel from a female point of view because Archer grated on me.

I would also like to see the movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer (j'adore her), and Winona Ryder.

Overall: Beautifully written; I definitely consider myself a fan of Wharton now.

Cover: Pretty gallery-I'm a big fan of the Barnes and Noble editions.

The Old Maid (Film)

The Old Maid, 1939

Starring Bette Davis as the titular old maid Charlotte, Miriam Davis as her cousin Delia, and George Brent as the man they both love Clem.

2.5/5, which is mostly for the awesomeness that is Bette Davis

Spoilers

Summary: Based on Edith Wharton's short story (which I've read) and a Pulitzer Prize winning play by Zoë Akins. Charlotte secretly has a child who she cannot raise due to the strict moral codes of the 1860s so Delia takes them both in and adopts the child. Over the years, the child calls Delia "Mummy," basically driving a stake in to Charlotte's heart.

Thoughts: Miriam Hopkins's character is a *word that I do not want on my blog* and I very much wanted to slap her, which my friends on facebook got to read multiple times while I watched the film. She loved Clem but couldn't handle marrying a poor man. So Charlotte got to be with him. Then Charlotte was going to marry a man who would accept her loving of the ward Tina (short for Clementina), who was actually her daughter but no one knew. Once Delia knew it was Clem's, she ruins the chances for marriage. After Delia is widowed, she gets Charlotte and Tina to move in with her and gets Tina to call her mother. When Tina is an adult, Delia officially adopts her and thus gets Clem's child all to herself. After Charlotte confronts her, Delia realizes somewhat that she was a *word that I do not want on my blog* and has Tina give Charlotte her last kiss before leaving with her new husband.

I don't know if that explanation makes sense but this plot made me so angry. It was a little different in the short story (Delia doesn't ruin Charlotte's chance at marriage) but it provoked similar feelings. It is not helped by the fact that I LOVE Bette Davis and wanted her to claw out Miriam Hopkins's eyes but was sadly disappointed.

Overall: NOT RECOMMENDED!

Old New York

Old New York by Edith Wharton

I was browsing in the library and came across Old New York by Edith Wharton, a collection of four novellas. I've read Ethan Frome, which is very different from other Wharton works as it's set in a rural area in New England while most of the others are in New York society like this one.

Summary from back cover: "These tales are vintage Wharton, dealing boldly with such themes as infidelity, illegitimacy, jealousy, the class system, and the condition of women in society."

False Dawn: A young man is sent on a tour of Europe to collect art to bolster his family's reputation; when he returns his father disowns him for choosing poorly. However many years later it turns out to be a very valuable collection. I liked that the man's wife stood by him even through their years of poverty-I only wish his judgment could have been redeemed in his lifetime.

The Old Maid: This is also a Bette Davis movie; although I have not seen it, I enjoyed trying to picture her in this role. Possibly my favorite due to that. It's an especially heartbreaking story as a mother watches her daughter scorn her in favor of the adoptive mother, her cousin. I can't imagine having to watch your child everyday call someone else Mother and treat you as a poor spinster relative.

The Spark: This was my other favorite as the main character Hayley Delane is an interesting man. He ran away from school to enlist in the Civil War despite being underage and wealthy enough to buy his way out. Later he takes in his scandalous father-in-law as there is no one else to care for him. And it turns out that he is inspired by his meeting Walt Whitman during the war although he doesn't care for his poetry at all. I shared in the narrator's fascination with Delane and looked forward to finding out more about him as the story progressed.

New Year's Day: I really liked the twist in this one. A woman engages in an adulterous affair in order to scrounge up enough money to provide for her dying husband-everyone thought she was just a cheater but she didn't care because she kept her husband comfortable. She spends the rest of her life alone and comfortable in the knowledge that she did her best for her husband. It was a sweet love story although since the husband died in the beginning also tragic.

Overall: 4 out of 5. Actually all of these stories were to varying degrees depressing showing limitations placed on women and families by society. Despite that, they were enjoyable and readable. I was already planning on reading The Age of Innocence but now I am even more interested. The backcover also described the last story as O. Henryesque which makes me want to read some of his work now too.

I realize this wasn't so much a review as a description of the parts I liked but it is really good. I would recommend it as a nice bedtime reading or to someone who really likes Edith Wharton and has read her major works already.