An Analysis Of The Age Of Innocence From The Perspective Of Androgyny

Since the influence of the Industrial Revolution coupled with the abolishment ofslave system, American economy developed speedily at the end of the19thcentury andthe beginning of the20thcentury; however, America was still a conservative country inmany aspects such as custom and culture. The social background of the “old NewYorkers” was a typical real reflection of America. Though the economy of the old NewYork developed in a quick way, the status of women was still in the second place. Thetraditional role of women extremely influenced the development of their body and heart.At the same time, traditional marriage morals also restrained women from seeking theirown freedom. What’s worse, the seem-to-be polite social communications put women inthe family jail in fact. Therefore, when facing the repressions which existed in thetraditional patriarchal consciousness, the progressive women began to think about theboundaries that limited women’s freedom and liberation. All these factors promoted theappearance of the new women.Edith Wharton is a typical social manner novelist, and she is a representative of newwomen as well. Since Wharton lives in a rich family when she is young, she isaccustomed to the social custom and behavior of the upper class, which also providesrich and real background and evidence for her works. Wharton is fond of using the upperclass society as her writing background, and she is quite good at describing heroes andheroines elaborately and vividly. She also expresses some point of views from the angleof new women. The Age of Innocence is one of Wharton’s celebrated works, and it is thisnovel that makes Wharton become the first woman novelist to obtain the Pulitzer Price.The Age of Innocence has already been widely discussed and analyzed by many readersand critics from many angles. The thought of androgyny is first put forward and appliedby the English writer Virginia Woolf on the level of literature, which analyzes theinterior femininity in males and the interior masculinity in females. From this perspective,this thesis analyzes the characters of the heroes and heroines, which is also an importantangle for novel analyzing.This thesis consists of three main parts, the introduction, the main body and theconclusion.The introduction discusses the study towards Edith Wharton’s works both at home and abroad. The body analyzes the androgynous characters in The Age of Innocence. Theconclusion summarizes the course and meaning of main characters’ self-realization inThe Age of Innocence. Through the analysis of the characters from the perspective ofandrogyny, a different point of view is presented for people to make a betterunderstanding of The Age of Innocence.There are three chapters in the second part. Chapter One is to explain androgynyfrom three aspects. First, it analyzes the connotation of androgyny. There are three smallparts to support this part—the original idea of androgyny, the concept of body, and theconcept of sex. In different fields, androgyny can be explained and used in various ways.When it comes to body, it is related with soul. When it comes to sex, it is related to body.Second, it analyzes the mythical thoughts of androgyny. There are many mythicallegends in the history. Through the description of androgyny of God of Fathers, Pandoramythology, and Sun-God and Dionysus-God, it indentifies the existence and mythicalmeaning of androgyny, which also lays basic foundation for the use of androgyny. Third,it analyzes the cultural connotation and the realistic significance of androgyny. This partalso discusses the relationship between androgyny and biology and psychology,pedagogy, and the modern society. It identifies the study value and existing significanceof androgyny. Androgyny is related to many aspects which are applied in people’s dailylife, and these turn out that androgyny is useful and meaningful to the world, and can berelated to many different aspects. Chapter One offers a basic theory and standpoint tosupport the next two chapters.Chapter Two analyzes the androgynous characters in The Age of Innocence. Thereare four small parts to support this chapter. The first part is to introduce the applicationand development of androgyny thought on the level of literature history. Androgyny is apoint of view which is expounded first by Virginia Woolf. Though Woolf’s A Room ofOne’s Own is published in1929while Wharton’s The Age of Innocence is published in1920, Wharton’s sub consciousness of androgyny in her novel arises and coincides withWoolf’s literature values. The second part discusses the androgyny character of MayWelland. The third part discusses the androgyny character of Ellen Olenska. The last partdiscusses the androgyny character of Newland Archer. On the one hand, it discussesfemales’ fate and the social status in the old New York society. May Welland and Ellen Olenska are two totally different examples. Through the comparison between theirdifferent behaviors and ways of thinking, it displays two kinds of typical women at thattime. May is a traditional woman, while Ellen is a new woman. On the other hand, thehero Newland Archer is an essential character in this novel. Through the analysis ofNewland’s “effeminacy”, his contradiction and hesitation are expressed naturally. He isso weak to make any decision because of his inner contradiction. Newland wants to obeythe old social rules of New York and obtain freedom, and he both wants to live a peacefullife and obtain his true love.Chapter Three analyzes the self-realization of the main characters May, Ellen andNewland. The characters in the novel all get what they dream of. May lives with herlover Newland all her life; Ellen goes to Paris and obtains her freedom forever; Newlandis accustomed to the peaceful life, and finally admits that the old social rules still havetheir goodness. They obtain what they want at last, and achieve their self-realization. Atthe same time, self-realization is also androgyny’s way to reaching reconciliation. Thesignificance of androgyny is to achieve reconciliation and keep balance of people’smentality. When people achieve their self-realization, they reach reconciliation.The Age of Innocence is considered to be Wharton’s most successful novel and manypeople think that the novel is written according to her own experience. Through theconcrete description of the upper New York society, Wharton expresses her love and hateof this society. The society gives her life and raises her, and she gets used to the socialrules and regulations of the upper class; at the same time, Wharton cannot accept thewomen’s low status and the subordinate status in the men-centered society. She tries tomake some change but also she is trapped by the social rules and regulations. She thinksthat feminist consciousness ought to be emphasized little by little, and even she has thefancy that someday the status of women will go up. Women are treated as equally as men.The Age of Innocence reflects the social background and the upper class of America, andit also expresses Wharton’s pursuit of freedom.