Western culture is usually associated with America. This therefore makes some people to be proud of being associated with the country while others shun away from it. There are certain characters that are associated with the American society that makes people react differently to it. The irony of the matter is that most of the people who want to be associated with the American environment and culture have not actually had a taste of it. On the other hand, those who have been in it feel fed up with the changing trends of people especially with technological developments that are affecting the morals of the young people. The book ‘The Age of Innocence’ highlights some of the varied views that the characters have towards the culture depending on the experience they have had. In this paper, we shall focus on the main character of the book Newland Arche who seems to be drawn away from the American culture due its rigid and un-accommodative nature.
Arche is engaged to an American woman called May whom he loves and ultimately marries. However, just when they are dating, May’s cousin Countess Ellen Olenska who was raised in Europe comes back to America due to an abusive relationship with her husband. The American culture looks down on women who run away from their matrimonial homes and condemns Ellen accusing her of all manner of evils (Wharton 93). Arche looks at her differently and believes that the decision she made to walk away from the abusive relationship is a sign of strength and freedom. The family of Ellen is held between accepting her back and encouraging her to go back to the husband. They do all they can despite the negative attitude from the society to accommodate and accept her back.
As all these are happening, Arche develops an attraction for Ellen and discovers that she is madly in love with her. This does not go well for may who feels that the attraction could destroy their marriage. However, as we realize from the story, it is not May who is worried about the growing attraction between May and her fiancé Arche. It pains Arche to realize that if his marriage to May is delayed, he will end up being confused and most probably making decicions that will hurt him. Realizing this, he request May to hasten their wedding arrangements. This works out well and they are ultimately married. However, this did not stop Arche from loving Ellen whom he had developed strong feelings. He had confessed to her that he loved her yet they could not go on with the affair because he was married to her cousin May.
Arche and May portray the behavior of Native Americans who are trying to overcome the challenges that come in between them. May appreciates the culture and does not nag Arche because of her engagement with her cousin. He acts innocent and blind to the challenge but manages to plot out with Ellen who ultimately decided to leave them. Arche is also a man who does not want to mix himself around. Just as the American culture encourages a man to remain faithful and true to one lover, he makes sacrifices just to ensure his relationship with May is not tampered (Wharton 132). He is afraid of the fact that he might change his mind because he feels attracted to May’s cousin who has been branded all the negative names by the society. He tries his best to overcome the love feeling he has towards Ellen by hastening his marriage with May.
The fact that Arche is attracted to a woman that the American society condemns reveals how unattached he wants to be from the society. He finds no issues with the decision that Ellen made to leave an abusive relationship and even divorced her husband. He in fact encouraged Ellen to divorce his husband considering that he did not value her. Arche seems to be uncomfortable with the fact that the American society can encourage abuse in relationships by not accommodating a woman who is from it. The society seems to look at a woman as the source of all marital problems ignoring the character of the man. Arche feels that each person needs to take responsibility in the relationship and sees no point of a woman continually being abused and not making the decision to move. Arche is attracted to the non-American upbringing of Ellen who cannot just keep up with a lifestyle that does not favor him.
While everyone else around him is looking at Ellen as an irresponsible woman who is unfaithful to her husband, Arche looks at her as a strong woman who can make decisions to be free. While nobody wants to be associated with Ellen because of her decisions, Arche wants to be close to her and even falls in love with her. He even encourages her to make a decision that everyone in America was against. Even though Arche and Ellen are brought up from two different societies, they seem to have similar thoughts towards life and relationships. This formed the basis through which their attraction grew. The decisions that Arche ultimately makes reveals the American in him. He is bound to a woman whom she cannot dare disappoint. This is most probably because he is tied to the cultural aspect of the people around. The pressure outside is more than the pressure within and he ultimately marries May.
It seems as if Arche admires the kind of freedom that Ellen has which allows her to make the decisions she made. The kind of freedom that Ellen has could only be as the result of the environment she was brought up in. she has grown to learn that if she is not satisfied with a particular lifestyle, she just moves on. This is more about a marriage relationship which she had the freedom to move out without facing any form of accusations from the society. Arche does not have such kind of freedom and is tied to loving and marrying May even when his heart feels otherwise. The society he has been brought up in requires him to stick to his word to the very end. The fact that he was engaged to May binds him from being romantically involved with another woman no matter what. The fear of the society and the repercussions thereof makes him hasten his wedding just to escape making a decision that will land him into trouble.
Ellen is dissatisfied with everything that happens around her. She is forced to incline to the morals of the society by staying away from Arche who has expressed his feelings towards her. She tries her best to suit into the society and just be an American. However, it comes too complicated for her, as nobody seems to understand her. The only person that sides with her is also not free to make decisions in her favor (Wharton 65). Even though she is physically in America, her thinking and decisions is European. She just does not understand why the society does not empathize with her situation especially realizing that she was abused and taken for granted by her husband. Ellen also receives another pressure from her cousin who feels uncomfortable with her presence around Archie. After learning that the environment is tough and will never accommodate her, she decided to move away.
Arche on the other hand realizes that even though his heart is not with May but with Ellen, he cannot just rebel against the society. His efforts to establish an affair with Ellen hit a snag when he realized that he was now married to May and had other family responsibilities. After Ellen decided to walk away from an environment she could no longer handle, Arche moved on with his life and was faithful to his wife May. It became clear that even though he loved Ellena and wished to spend some time around her, the society around could not allow it. He was an American and his actions had to display his loyalty to the culture. It might even have haunted them badly if he ever decided to leave May for Ellen. Apart from the accusations he would have received from the society, his conscience could not allow it.
The clash of the different views of the American and European culture hindered Ellen and Arche from following the deepest needs of the society. They were only left with one decision, to conform or to separate. Due to the deep cultural roots that were attached to their upbringing, Ellen decided to separate while Arche decided to conform. This must have been the toughest decision for them to make yet they did it not just do it for themselves but also for the people around them whom they also loved and appreciated. The story shows how much the environment can influence the personal decisions that are made by a person.
Work cited
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. New York: Bibliolis Books, 2010.
