Turković 1

Darija Turković

dr. sc. Lovorka Gruić Grmuša

The Interpretation of the Novel

January 14th 2016

Portrayal of late 19th century American society

Both Henry James and Edith Wharton have in their novels depicted American society

at the end of very influential, but somewhat traditional 19 th century. Not only did they choose

to tackle with the same topic, but also approached it from quite similar point of view. After

reading The Europeans and The Age of Innocence, it becomes perfectly clear that both

authors criticised quite harshly and openly all those rough conventions and norms which

dominated during that period and which people had to obey so as not to jeopardise their

reputation. Reputation was what mattered the most then and losing it, or in any way

damaging it, was considered worse than death. This can be seen in Europeans where James

introduced the theme of snobbery, or to be more precise, hypocrisy when it comes to social

rules and rituals such as arranged marriages, and mocked it in a very subtle way. Wharton

embraced the given template, but dealt with it more stridently. Certain similarities between

two of them can be found in portraying modern and independent woman just as well as

describing the differences between two cultures – European and American. In this essay I

will try to elaborate the above listed notions in greater details and thus prove the

comparability of these two prominent authors.

Conventions and rituals of late 19th century American society can perhaps best be seen

through the motif of (arranged) marriage which takes place in both novels. James, when

depicting Gertrude (Mr Wentworth’s younger daughter), clearly demonstrates that back in

that time nobody was allowed to question the tradition. Gertrude, despise being much
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younger than Mr Brand, never said anything to prevent that marriage. Not until she met Felix,

her European cousin and future husband, is she capable of looking at the world from a

different point of view. It’s interesting to analyze the social reaction after change in

Gertrude’s perspective. All of the sudden people think of her as frivolous and inconsiderate

person. Her thinking out of the box and neglecting social codes resulted in people calling her

an outsider. That was the way the society functioned back then. You had to follow the rules

blindly without re-examining it or be prepared for an exile. Wharton approached this notion

from another point of view and dealt with it more roughly, showing in that way all the

hypocrisy of American snobbery. This can especially be seen at the very beginning of her

novel or in return of countess Olenska to New York and Newland’s decision to sit next to her

in the Opera house. The whole society looks at her with reprimand and disapproves her

decision to abandon her husband. Throughout the entire novel, each of her motion will be

scrutinized and inspected thoroughly: It was the old New York way of taking life without

effusion of blood, the way of people who dreaded scandal more than disease, who placed

decency above courage and who considered that nothing was more ill-bred than scenes,

except the behaviour of those who gave rise to them. 1 The fact that she has left Europe and

separated from her husband is enough for people making constant prejudice about her, not at

any moment wondering whether that marriage was stable or made her happy. In the eyes of

those people, her future is reduced to the fact that she’ll become someone’s mistress.

Interestingly, adultery was a common trait of the late 19th century American society. Having a

mistress wasn’t considered to be a serious sin, but knowing that the mistress is already

involved in a failed marriage and has her reputation ruined is a completely different story.

May and Newland’s relationship is another issue in this novel. Their marriage is fixed and

Newland, despite the fact he found the love of his life in countess Olenska, isn’t prone to give

up the marriage because he is aware of the destroying effect that would have on his reputation
1
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. Penguin books, 1996. Page 338.
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and future. It’s obvious that these rigid conventions made people lead unhappy lives and

never experiencing a true passion or fulfilment. All that counted was staying within the

boundaries of decency; and once you accomplished that, there was nothing more to worry

about.

Portrayal of a woman from a different and, in terms of 19th century society, somewhat

unusual perspective is another significant characteristic of James’ and Wharton’s style of

writing. James described Eugenia as confident and courageous person who doesn’t comply

with social norms and therefore, definitely represents a woman ahead of her age. She is the

European baroness who, after having been separated from her husband, comes to America in

the pursuit of a better life. Although she could have accepted Mr. Acton’s proposal and

eventually settle down, she knows that leading that kind of life wouldn’t satisfy her

capricious spirit. Almost the same situation can be seen in Wharton’s novel. Ellen Olenska

comes to America hoping to find comfort and support in her family and people she was raised

among, but contrary, all she receives is extreme hostility. She is, just like baroness Eugenia,

very sophisticated, intelligent and passionate hence, by no means, adapted to American old-

fashioned way of living. As expected, both of these heroines, after realizing that it is

impossible for them to fit into stiff social conventions they encountered in American society,

return to Europe and try to reassemble their lives there. By portraying the female characters

in such a dominant mode and representing male figures as neglected, passive and mostly

inferior to women, James and Wharton can definitely be considered as the forerunners of

feminism. Their leading heroines can, in the terms of the 19 th century, even be viewed as

femme fatale (especially Madame Olenska) and introducing this sort of figure into the

literature of that period is definitely an innovation worthy of admiration.

What is obvious in the above paragraph is the fact that female roles are presented as the

Europeans who can’t seem to be at ease among the Americans. The new issue emerging thus
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are the cross-cultural differences between those two mentalities. It’s interesting to analyze the

manners and adjectives authors use when depicting American style of living. James, for

instance, talks about them as reserved and conservative nation which doesn’t know how to

enjoy the beauty of life and takes things way too seriously. The Europeans, on the other hand,

are portrayed as open-minded people who tend to deal with things as they come. In the novel,

that was nicely summed up by Felix (Eugenia’s brother) saying: I have never entertained an

idea. Ideas entertain me; but I am afraid I have never seriously made a plan (...) this is very

frivolous and loose-minded on my part. So it is, but I am like that. 2 Wharton, just like James,

doesn’t hesitate to criticize Americans for their conventionalism. On many occasions she

even goes so far as to mock their way of living (Ellen’s remark of America being a mere copy

of Europe). She is not even afraid to claim that the American girls (like May) are nothing

more than a creation of factitious purity, manufactured by a conspiracy of mothers, aunts

and grandmothers.3 This clearly proves that, when describing cross-cultural varieties, both

James and Wharton, though being American authors, seem to be more inclined to the

European frame of mind.

After seeing all of the similarities between James and Wharton, one can’t help noticing that

Wharton was under a huge impact of James’ work. That doesn’t, however, mean that her

work is not as valuable as his. I would say that she embraced his style of writing and took it

to the next, more complex level. By analysing the current situation in the society, position of

a woman within it and cross-cultural differences, both authors have certainly introduced

notable innovations in the literary texts of that time. Undoubtedly, they made a significant

contribution to the American literature and for that reason they are forever to be laudable.

Works cited:

2
James, Henry. The Europeans. Oxford University Press, 1988. Page 77.
3
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. Penguin books, 1996. Page 43.
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1) James, Henry. The Europeans. Oxford University Press, 1988.

2) Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. Penguin books, 1996.