The Theme of Death in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton depicts in her novel the 19th century life of the New York elite through the eyes of Newland Archer. The society is seen as suffocating its members by strict rules on behaviour and only the arrival of Countess Ellen Olenska begins to open Archer's eyes to the narrow-mindedness of the society and its estrangement from reality.
There are many references to suffocation and death in the novel. Most striking is the scene where, after their marriage, Archer and May are spending the evening reading in the drawing room when Archer, suddenly feeling the need to open a window, says "The room is stifling: I want a little air." When May warns him that h
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