The age of innocence, by Edith Wharton

 

I really enjoyed this novel about Newland Archer, an attorney, and his struggle to decide whether to stay with his conventional fiancé or leave her to run away with her scandalous cousin, the married Ellen Olenska, who is estranged from her abusive husband. The novel paints a vivid picture of 1870s high society (the 1% of its time) and all of its strict and stifling social conventions. Whether realistic or not, the characters in the book never say out loud what they really think; instead, they voice platitudes and whatever they think is expected of them. When Newland does express emotion regarding the prejudice society has against Ellen, he is subtly but unknowingly ostracized from future discussions or decisions made regarding her. It's only towards the end of the book that he realizes that he has been masterfully outsmarted by his fiancé, and later, wife, and that he had very little agency in his own future. The book takes place over the course of about a year, then ends with a short chapter that takes place 26 years later. Without giving anything away, I have to say that I was unhappy with the ending, but I understand the author's desire to end it that way.