analysis

             In the critical analysis of The Age of Innocence, done by Constance Allen, the author depicts the novel as "subtle yet unmistakable indictment of stratified New York high society in 1920." She is reminded of Henry James by Wharton because she probes the emotions and motivations of the characters. Allen believes that The Age of .
             Innocence is one or Wharton's most successful books because it offers an inside look at a subject the author knew very well. Because the author was already familiar with New York society due to the fact that she grew up in old New York, it was not as difficult for Wharton to place the characters in the novel, and to develop the central theme.
             Wharton's most successful theme was the plight of the young and the innocent in a culture they were not prepared for. Their world is enveloped by social forces that seem to exist and even breathe independently of time and space governs the New York of the novel. People know what is expected of them and there are invisible boundaries of class and propriety that one must never cross.
             Wharton wrote with a comfortable, fixed and formal style, which at times can become dense and lose the reader in the convoluted details. The author maintains her presence throughout the novel. She establishes a narrative view that is established when the book commences. While the scope of the novel is limited and the direction is narrow, Wharton keeps the drama intense in the portrayal of such a small world with excitement found beneath the sophisticated and polished surface.
             The author portrays three figures against the historical background of New York's Elite: First is May Welland the young woman whom Newland Archer becomes engaged to. She is a product of the social setting, a young girl raised to be perfectly innocent in order for her husband to teach and train her to suit his wishes. Ellen Olenska has freed herself from the restraints of society.