On Edith Wharton’s Feminine Consciousness through the Images in The Age of Innocence

【Abstract】The Age of Innocence， published in 1920， is the most representative work of Edith Wharton. This masterpiece， setting in the upper class society of New York in the late 1870s and the early 1880s， mainly narrates the imaginary but truthful love story between the hero Newland Archer and two women May Welland and Ellen Olenska， and it has won for Edith Wharton the Pulitzer Prize. This thesis， based on the settings of The Age of Innocence and on the theory of Feminism， aims to reveal Edith Whartons preference to freedom， resistance to the traditional marital concepts， and her pursuit of equality through the images of the characters， Newland Archer， May Welland and Ellen Olenska， so as to arouse peoples sympathy for the modern females and their rethink of female status.

【Key words】Freedom; resistance; equality; feminine consciousness

【作者簡介】邓诗云，湖南女子学院国际经济与贸易2018 级。

1. Introduction

The late 1800s and the early 1900s was a time when American Realistic Literature witnessed its rise and flourish. Many prominent realistic novelists， such as Mark Twain， William Howells，and so on had sprung up during this period of time. And Edith Wharton was an important female writer among them.

Edith Wharton opposes such a female creative trend， and tends to concentrate on female consciousness to focus on a series of social problems， such as love， marriage， family and so on， in womens perspective. Female consciousness， which is well illustrated in The Age of Innocence and in her other literary works.

This thesis falls into three chapters. Chapter one focuses on the preference to freedom through Ellens disobedience towards her husband . Chapter two concentrates on the resistance to the traditional martial concepts . And chapter three elaborates on the pursuit of equality through Ellens pursuit of equality in social rights and Mays pursuit of equality in love.

2. Chapter One The Preference to Freedom

The decades between the late 1870s and the early 1880s ，America is undergoing a time of intense social changes. During the decades， the American social wealth has climbed up to an unprecedented level， Meanwhile，the females are just like the accessories for the males. They do not have independent thinking or independence at all.

In the book， Ellen and Archers preference to freedom can be obviously seen through Ellens disobedience towards her husband and Archers persuasion for supporting Ellens divorce.

3. Ellens Disobedience towards Her Husband

Ellen， is the true love of  Archer  yet she is also the wife of a gentle Count. Ellen grew up in a European country——France. She is well-educated and deeply influenced by European liberal thoughts. Thus， she has the independence of thoughts， acute insights， and the fragrance of liberty and resistance.

With Ellens good wealth of knowledge， ideas and the background of a romantic nationality， people may take it for granted that Ellen has a happy and harmonious marriage with her husband However， Ellen chooses to relocate in New York after leaving her husband. In the book， Ellen decides to divorce with her rich husband for her inner desire for freedom， self-independence.Thus， it is obvious that the pursuit of freedom has taken a dominant place in Ellens heart.

4. Chapter Two The Resistance to the Traditional Marital Concepts

Edith Wharton was born ，when the American Civil War was going on. In the age of Edith Wharton， women were merely the accessories of men.  Thus， they were excluded from the social participants. It is obvious that in The Age of Innocence， the marriage of Archer and May is wanting in passion and love， and it has a strong sense of social utilitarianism， as the tradition of the Southern America is family-centered and the entire benefit of the family is highly highlighted.

5. Ellens Disregard of Her Family Members Advice

Ellen，unlike several other women， such as May，  who is confined to  the social conventions，.Ellen is a typical type of unconventional woman. She has her own feelings， thoughts and judgments.  Thus， Ellen ignores all her family members advice on her divorce and releases her beauty and wisdom.  She is pursuing the life she likes， and making her own fashion， instead of living blindly according to tradition.

6. Chapter Three The Pursuit of Equality

In the age of Edith Wharton  ，  traditional and nice woman should be simple ， innocent and obedient .，which leads to the loss of the political speaking rights of women.

7. Ellens Pursuit of Equality in Social Rights

In this book， Edith Wharton creates a new woman image “Ellen Olenska” who is in keen pursuit of equality in social rights.

At the beginning of 20th century， some women， like Ellen， begin to require their own life. They generate a power of their own， bring freshness to the dull old New York City  At the same time，men should help to promote women. to set up the equal ideology in the whole society，thus women could be equal to men in every fields actually.

8. Conclusion

Edith Whartons feminine consciousness is not theorized but practical and unconscious. As for Edith Wharton as a female， it is her belief， experience， understanding and pursuit.

Through analyzing the images of the characters in The Age of Innocence， . we should realize that womens emancipation is a long and hard way to go and it requires the joint efforts of one generation after another to strive for it.  Besides， to reach the equality between women and men is not merely the womans duty， it is also the mans，the societys. Men should help to promote womens emancipation. And it is necessary to set up the equal ideology in the whole society，thus women could be equal to men in every fields actually.