Bibliography
Course Hero. "The Age of Innocence Study Guide." Course Hero. 1 Sep. 2017. Web. 29 May 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Age-of-Innocence/>.
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(Course Hero)
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Course Hero. (2017, September 1). The Age of Innocence Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved May 29, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Age-of-Innocence/
In text
(Course Hero, 2017)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "The Age of Innocence Study Guide." September 1, 2017. Accessed May 29, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Age-of-Innocence/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "The Age of Innocence Study Guide," September 1, 2017, accessed May 29, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Age-of-Innocence/.
Newland Archer and May Welland become engaged. Ellen Olenska appears at the opera.
Book 1, Chapter 1Newland defends Ellen's right to divorce, claiming women should have the same freedoms as men.
Book 1, Chapter 5Society snubs Ellen Olenska by refusing to attend a dinner in her honor.
Book 1, Chapter 6Mrs. Archer and Newland appeal to the van der Luydens, who agree to back Ellen.
Book 1, Chapter 7Newland tells Ellen he will help her navigate society. She cries and confesses her loneliness.
Book 1, Chapter 9Newland convinces Ellen not to divorce, based on his unspoken assumption she is an adulteress.
Book 1, Chapter 12Newland visits Ellen at Skuytercliff. He goes to Florida to be with May and her family.
Book 1, Chapter 15May urges Newland to end their engagement if he loves another, which he denies.
Book 1, Chapter 16Newland and Ellen confess their love. News arrives that his wedding is in four weeks.
Book 1, Chapter 18Newland sleepwalks through his wedding to May, consumed with thoughts of Ellen.
Book 2, Chapter 19Newland watches Ellen but doesn't speak. May remarks Ellen might be happier with her husband.
Book 2, Chapter 21Newland sees Ellen in Boston. Ellen promises to remain as long as their relationship stays proper.
Book 2, Chapter 24M. Rivière, Count Olenski's envoy, asks Newland to convince Ellen's family she mustn't return to the count.
Book 2, Chapter 25The Beauforts are on the verge of bankruptcy. Mrs. Manson Mingott has a stroke and summons Ellen.
Book 2, Chapter 27After lying to May, Newland picks up Ellen. Newland is upset when Ellen refuses to be his mistress.
Book 2, Chapter 29Mrs. Manson Mingott gives Newland private orders to convince the family Ellen must live with her.
Book 2, Chapter 30Newland and Ellen plan to consummate their relationship. May has an important talk with Ellen.
Book 2, Chapter 31May stops Newland's confession by announcing Ellen has just decided to return to Europe.
Book 2, Chapter 32Newland realizes society thinks he is Ellen's lover. May reveals Ellen left because of May's lie.
Book 2, Chapter 33Newland's son arranges a visit with Ellen, but Newland's son enters alone and Newland walks away.
Book 2, Chapter 34| Chapter | Summary |
|---|---|
| Book 1, Chapter 1 | One January evening during the late 1870s, Newland Archer, a prominent young member of New York's high society, arrives ... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 2 | Newland Archer is embarrassed to realize the strange woman is May Welland's cousin, "poor Ellen Olenska." The gossips cl... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 3 | Each year, Regina Beaufort gives a ball. Her lavish ballroom partially "compensate[s] for whatever was regrettable in th... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 4 | Custom dictates that Newland Archer and May Welland now embark on a series of "betrothal visits." They first call on Mrs... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 5 | Newland Archer lives with his widowed mother and unmarried sister, who adore and respect him as the man of the house. Th... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 6 | The unsettling matter of Ellen Olenska causes Newland Archer to reflect on his own impending marriage with a newfound se... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 7 | Mrs. Archer and Newland Archer make an appeal on behalf of Ellen Olenska to Louisa van der Luyden, whom Newland Archer h... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 8 | Newland Archer had known Ellen Olenska when she was a precocious, artistic, and unconventional child. Born to "continent... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 9 | Newland Archer is intent on advancing his wedding date, but Mrs. Welland refuses, and after a day of customary betrothal... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 10 | Newland Archer tells May Welland about sending Ellen Olenska flowers, but not about visiting her. He proposes a number o... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 11 | As a junior partner at the prestigious law firm of Letterblair, Lamson and Low, Newland Archer is charged by his boss, M... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 12 | As Newland Archer walks through the "Bohemian" neighborhood to Ellen Olenska's house, he reflects on the cultural abyss ... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 13 | The onstage parting of two lovers in a play Newland Archer attends reminds him of Ellen Olenska, as it recalls her "myst... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 14 | Walking out of the theater, Newland Archer encounters his friend Ned Winsett, who is surprised to learn his kind and hel... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 15 | Newland Archer calls on Ellen Olenska at Skuytercliff, where he encounters her walking through the snowy woods. Sensing ... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 16 | Newland Archer surprises the Wellands with his unexpected arrival at their house in St. Augustine, Florida. He begs off ... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 17 | Newland returns to New York and learns Ellen Olenska visited his mother while he was in Florida. She makes it clear she ... Read More |
| Book 1, Chapter 18 | Upon seeing the roses, Ellen is incensed, asking, "Who is ridiculous enough to send me a bouquet?" She sends them to Ned... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 19 | Newland and May are married soon after Easter. Newland complies "resignedly" with all the predictable formalities of the... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 20 | May and Newland begin their married life together with the requisite three-month tour of Europe. She is uninterested in ... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 21 | Back in New York, Newland settles into a comfortably busy routine much like he had before the wedding. It all seems to b... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 22 | Professor Emerson Sillerton and his wife, Amy, are holding a party for the Blenkers, the unconventional family Ellen is ... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 23 | Energized by the prospect of seeing Ellen, Newland experiences only a brief prick of conscience when he lies to May abou... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 24 | Ellen explains that she moved to Washington because of its reputation as being home to "more varieties of people and of ... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 25 | After his meeting with Ellen, Newland Archer feels a "tranquility of spirit." He feels "tender awe" at the moral strengt... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 26 | As is her habit, at Thanksgiving dinner during the second year of Newland Archer's marriage, Mrs. Archer bemoans the deg... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 27 | The next day, Mr. Letterblair tells Newland Archer that Julius Beaufort is on the verge of bankruptcy because of his "bu... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 28 | At the telegraph office, Newland Archer encounters Lawrence Lefferts, who remarks that Mrs. Manson Mingott must be in gr... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 29 | Newland Archer is giddy and talkative when he picks up Ellen Olenska in May's carriage. She didn't expect to see him and... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 30 | Arriving at home on foot, Newland realizes that he forgot his promise to May to meet her at his grandmother's house. Her... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 31 | Newland is relieved that Ellen intends to live with her grandmother, because it is easier than his plan, which was to le... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 32 | Newland Archer attends the opera Faust, just as he did on the night two years previously when he first met Ellen Olenska... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 33 | Ellen Olenska leaves New York prior to her departure for Europe. While she is away, Newland is made to examine the legal... Read More |
| Book 2, Chapter 34 | The narrative resumes almost 26 years later, as Newland Archer sits at home reflecting on his life. His and May's three ... Read More |
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