#ellen olenska

[didanagy]

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993) dir. martin scorsese

[periodcostumefantasylover]

Ellen Olenska's red dress in The Age of Innocence

[lady-arryn]

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE costume appreciation: 15/16 (costume design by Gabriella Pescucci)

[lilasmarginatura]

the age of innocence (1993) dir. Martin Scorsese // love and pain (1895) by Edvard Munch

[pemberlaey]

🎵i’m having his baby. no i’m not but you should see your faces🎵 but it’s may talking to ellen at the end of the age of innocence

[letmereadinpeace4]

I just finished "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. It belongs to the (large) category of books that have been in my bookshelf for years because I never got around to read them out of some misgiving about their entertainment value. Like many of the books belonging to this category, it turns out it is a masterpiece! I enjoyed it much more that I thought I would.

I really enjoyed the depiction of this period and of the social politics that dominated and ruled the New York of that time. It creates such a brutal, cold and superficial world that everyone both submits to and maintain. However, the highlight for me were the three central characters:

Newland Archer is a character that I didn't like as a person, but that I found utterly fascinating as a character. He sees the failings and the superficially of the world he is part of and wants to rebel, but at the same time he does not have the resolution and strength to actually do any meaningful rebellion. While his love for Ellen was somewhat touching, I am really convinced that he saw her more as an ideal of the romance and escapism he wishes he had than as an actual person. The conclusion of his character was tragic, but perfectly in line with how he has been depicted so far. What really caught my attention however was his arrogance, especially when directed towards people he sees as inferior. From the very first time he is introduced he speaks of "freeing" his future wife, May, from the ideals she has been taught. He never considers whether she might actually been interested in arts or literature, or interests himself in what she actually likes. He just assumes she is a product of the society that raised her and even when she proves she is much more than an innocent ingenue, he never quite makes the effort to see her as a real person.

Ellen Olenska was a brilliant character. Running from an abusive marriage, she hopes to find a stable life in New York society, and slowly realizes the cruelty and rigidity of that world. Her story was tragic, and the way she is completely misunderstood and criticized by society and her own family really shows the cruelty women of that time faced when they tried to rebel against convention. However, what Archer Newland couldn't accomplish (even though he had more ressources than her), she actually accomplishes, and finds some semblance of freedom in Paris. I really hope that once she left New York, she had a great and fulfilling life and (hopefully) some romantic affairs with men (or women) that had more character and resolution than Archer.

And finally, my dearest and my favorite character of the novel, May Welland! I didn't expect to like her character as much as I did. She really shows how women of that time, however conventional or "boring" they might seem, managed to get what they wanted through manipulation and the usage of social politics. May gave one chance to Archer Newland to get what he really wanted, and when he blew it, she was like "Well I gave you one shot and you didn't take it, now you are going to face your responsibilities!". She had such a pragmatic attitude towards her husband and his affair, and I can admire that. I really wish she had the chance to find who she truly was beyond the conventions and values she had been taught, but I am glad that she managed to get some form of happiness or at least contentment in her life.

[melis-writes]

Countess Ellen Olenska & Newland Archer | THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993) dir. Martin Scorsese.

[screenshotingmonstercinema]