The Age of Innocence (1920): Bildung and the Ethics of Desire

Abstract

Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence appeared just 2 years after the end of World War I, yet the novel seems to avoid the War. Wharton's progression still emphasizes psychological preferences—and the ethical choices of its three main characters—and that, in doing so, it not only foregrounds the mimetic components of their characters but significantly complicates the view of the Newland—Ellen relationship as a “seemingly ideal romance.” This chapter develops the consequences of this view by contrasting Wharton's three sketches of the main action with the published novel, and then by taking closer looks at (1) the novel's beginning; (2) key scenes in the voyage; and (3) the novel's two-stage resolution.