Social codes are transmitted from generation to generation, and never questioned, which makes it extremely difficult for individuals to transcend these cultural constraints and learn to formulate their own opinions and act by their own moral and ethical codes rather than the ones which have been imposed on them by generations of established social behaviour
Throughout the novel, Wharton employs irony to show the differences between the characters' overt behaviour and their underlying motivations: the innocence of the title is, she demonstrates, a fazade which hides knowledgeable and deliberate manipulation. In some instances the hypocrisy of the characters, or their insistence on conforming to the dogmatic moral codes of their society, is fairly evident: in others, it is not immediately apparent that an individual who appears nave and lacking in cynicism has, in fact, as great a capacity for manipulation as any of the others. .
A salient example would be May's telling Ellen she is pregnant, when in fact she is not at all sure of the fact, in a deliberate ploy to dissuade Ellen from having an affair with Newland. The farewell dinner party which she then throws for Ellen is, in effect, rubbing salt into the wound. This view of May is an interesting contrast to the way in which she has been represented throughout the narrative: the lilies and the white dress, for instance, which are associated with her and which symbolise purity and innocence. In the first chapter she is described as holding lilies of the valley, and there are comparisons later in the novel with Diana, the Roman goddess of chastity and the hunt. .
In chapter two, we see the irony of Newland's opinion of New York society. He is somewhat discomfited by Ellen's view of the city as a dear old place', and feels that she is not treating his social environment with sufficient respect.
