The Age of Innocence: Lecture 8 Chapters 19-21 Wednesday, July 10, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Te Ag of Innocence: An Antropological Study

The Age of Innocence: Lecture 8 Chapters 19-21

Newland, an archaeologist, uncovers and records the social customs

• f ONY through his detailed observations and questions about it.

dressing Novel as an excavation of New York’s social customs behavior dressing customs

R e a d e r s e n t e r i n t

• t

h e a r c h a i c s

• c

i a l w

• r

l d

• f

O N Y

‘the prehistoric ritual’

• Marriage as a social construct
• Marriage as a rite of passage
• ‘nineteenth century New York wedding a

rite that seemed to belong to the dawn

• f history’

‘haven’ ‘ruling clans’

climbing the social ladder

‘haven’ ‘ruling clans’

climbing the social ladder Maintaing / Retaining your social position

‘haven’ ‘ruling clans’

‘eight bouquets of white lilac and lilies-of-the- valley’ ‘gold and sapphire sleeve-links’ ‘cat’s-eye scarf-pin’ ‘plum-coloured satin with blue side-panels, and blue ostrich plumes in a small satin bonnet, met with general approval’ Archer had sat up half the night trying to vary the wording of his thanks for the last batch of presents from men friends and ex-lady-loves…

‘eight bouquets of white lilac and lilies-of-the- valley’ ‘gold and sapphire sleeve-links’ ‘cat’s-eye scarf-pin’ ‘plum-coloured satin with blue side-panels, and blue ostrich plumes in a small satin bonnet, met with general approval’ Archer had sat up half the night trying to vary the wording of his thanks for the last batch of presents from men friends and ex-lady-loves…

Archer’s catalogue of details

Archer had gone through this formality as resignedly as through all the others which made of a nineteenth century New York wedding a rite that seemed to belong to the dawn

• f history. Everything was equally easy—or equally

painful, as one chose to put it—in the path he was committed to tread, and he had obeyed the flurried injunctions of his best man as piously as other bridegrooms had obeyed his own, in the days when he had guided them through the same labyrinth.

• bey obey obey obey
• bey obey obey obey
• bey obey obey obey
• bey obey obey obey
• bey obey obey obey
• bey obey obey obey
• bey obey obey obey

Archer had gone through this formality as resignedly as through all the others which made of a nineteenth century New York wedding a rite that seemed to belong to the dawn of history. Everything was equally easy—

• r equally painful, as one chose to put it—

in the path he was committed to tread, and he had

• beyed the flurried injunctions of his best man as

piously as other bridegrooms had obeyed his own, in the days when he had guided them through the same

labyrinth.

Newland Archer, at a signal from the sexton, had come out of the vestry and placed himself with his best man on the chancel step of Grace Church… During this unavoidable lapse of time the bridegroom, in proof of his eagerness, was expected to expose himself alone to the gaze of the assembled company.

Newland Archer, at a signal from the sexton, had come out of the vestry and placed himself with his best man on the chancel step of Grace Church… During this unavoidable lapse of time the bridegroom, in proof of his eagerness, was expected to expose himself alone to the gaze of the assembled company.

Newland Archer, at a signal from the sexton, had come out of the vestry and placed himself with his best man on the chancel step of Grace Church… During this unavoidable lapse of time the bridegroom, in proof of his eagerness, was expected to expose himself alone to the gaze of the assembled company. Marrag as cultural sectacle

Newland Archer, at a signal from the sexton, had come out of the vestry and placed himself with his best man on the chancel step of Grace Church… During this unavoidable lapse of time the bridegroom, in proof of his eagerness, was expected to expose himself alone to the gaze of the assembled company. Marrag as cultural sectacle

‘yor arm - I say, give her yor arm!’

SPRING

‘faded’, ‘yellowing’, ‘bitter smell of camphor’

ABYSS

ABYSS

ABYSS

‘Pompeiian vestjbule’

The Marchioness's foolish lisp had called up a vision

• f the little fire-lit drawing-room and the sound of the

carriage-wheels returning down the deserted street. He thought of a story he had read, of some peasant children in T uscany lighting a bunch of straw in a wayside cavern, and revealing old silent images in their painted tomb.

The Marchioness's foolish lisp had called up a vision

• f the little fire-lit drawing-room and the sound of the

carriage-wheels returning down the deserted street. He thought of a story he had read, of some peasant children in T uscany lighting a bunch of straw in a wayside cavern, and revealing old silent images in their painted tomb.

Death motif: Marriage to May is a ‘painted tomb’

The Marchioness's foolish lisp had called up a vision

• f the little fire-lit drawing-room and the sound of the

carriage-wheels returning down the deserted street. He thought of a story he had read, of some peasant children in T uscany lighting a bunch of straw in a wayside cavern, and revealing old silent images in their painted tomb.

Death motif: Marriage to May is a ‘painted tomb’

Thoughts of Ellen: rekindle passion ‘revealing old silent images’

DEATH BY MONOTONY

perpetually perpetually

perpetually

Archer’s surreal reality

DEATH BY MONOTONY

perpetually perpetually

perpetually

Archer’s surreal reality

‘it was one of the houses in which one always knew exactly what is happening at a given hour’

‘MUST’

OBLIGATION

‘BUT’ ‘ALWAYS’

TRADITION

SON-IN-LAW

FAMILIAL ‘DUT Y’

had tried

INDIVIDUAL DESIRE

the same script

‘Diana-like aloofness’ ‘handsomer’ ‘more Diana-like than ever’

Archer’s misreading

‘tranquil unawareness’ ‘the simple girl of yesterday’

Newland: THE Unenlightened Ethnographer

‘ Archer had reverted to all his old inherited ideas about marriage. It was less trouble to conform with the tradition and treat May exactly as all his friends treated their wives than to try to put into practice the theories with which his untrammelled bachelorhood had dallied. ‘

CONCLUSION

Consequently, the promise of maturation that marriage might bring in the opening

• f Book Two is evidently unrealised. For

Newland Archer, Old New York has become a “study gallery” of rituals. Archer is a failed ethnologist who simply observes but does not entirely understand, performing the very rituals that he criticizes.

Marriage is presented as a cultural performance of social obligation and

• bservance and is a platform through which

the rituals of a soon-to-be antiquated world are detailed and observed. Instead, Newland’ s visions will remain buried with him. His buried life thus foreshadows the disintegration of Old New York as seen in the room of ‘Cesnola antiquities’ in Ch 31 that functions as a metaphor for Old New York.