We can see another example of this closed society in Brian Friel's Translations' The people in the village of Ballebeog are opposed to the English and their new place names. Hugh explains at the end that they must accept this change or they will not survive. The society of 1870s New York did not understand this. In my opinion, Ellen Olenska returns to New York society at the worst possible time. Society was up in arms, setting up its own guard against change. From the moment Ellen makes her entrance, she is seen as different, she does not understand the social rules and, therefore, she is seen as a threat. This may be because, if people taste the freedom that they could have from her, they may want to break free from the restrictions of society. We can use Archer as a representative of this society:.
"but the way her dress (which had no tucker) sloped away from her thin shoulders shocked and troubled him. He hated to think of May Welland being exposed to the influence of a young woman so careless to the dictates of Taste".
I think that this quotation not only shows us how Archer first looked at Ellen but indeed, how she was looked upon by the whole of society, with indignation and disgust. The members of society were spoon-fed their thoughts and ideals by society itself and they obeyed as they wanted so badly to belong:.
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"The disappointment was not occasioned by the sentiment ordinarily defined as snobbishness, but by Old New York's sense of what was due to it when it risked its dignity in foreign lands".
This quotation shows how May is disgusted with Archer's suggestion of having dinner with a parson and a schoolmaster. May refers to the men as common. I think we can see here how May has been brought up. She has been taught this by her parents and by society; she falls into their conventions because to be UN conventional would mean she would not fit in v/s a fate worse than death?.