RC OCT 26

Edith Wharton demonstrates in The Age of Innocence, as she does in her
other texts, how life has influenced her. Her ability to see the
ugliness within the beautiful sounds morbid, but her realistic views
allowed her to see what she believed was wrong with society. In the
most basic analysis, Wharton wrote The Age of Innocence from her
perspective of old New York society. Rather than focusing on the
familiar argument of male dominance over women, she believed the
problems women faced in America had more to do with society in general
than with men specifically. Most people in society believed they had a
duty to follow society's rules or conventions. The origin of these
rules is uncertain and unclear, but that is not the issue. What made
these rules problematic was how they afforded both men and women
little freedom from society's conventions. Both sexes expected certain
behaviors from men while women were to behave in an "appropriate"
manner as well. Men were to have only certain professions such as
banking or law, not politics, because these professions were seen as
more distinguished and thus, acceptable. Men were additionally
expected not to fail in their expected duties. Women acting according
to society's conventions portrayed innocent wives, mothers and
daughters. As a result, people had unrealistic expectations of each
other, and the treatment people received tended to be unfair
regardless of gender.

Along with unfair and unrealistic treatment, the unspoken words of
communication were this society's language. Men had extramarital love
affairs in secret to avoid disgracing their wives and the rest of
their family, but having these affairs was acceptable as long as it
remained unspoken and unmentioned in society. Unlike men, a woman
having a love affair was scandalous because such behavior from a woman
was not considered innocent or virginal. As a result, it would always
turn into a public matter regardless of the circumstances. Sometimes
the mere rumor of a supposed affair was enough to ruin a woman's
reputation for the rest of her life.

Where does this leave women? According to Wharton, men are not solely
to blame, but how do women find power and freedom in a society that
does not recognize their right to be free? How does a woman acquire
the freedom to define her own identity when only one ideal woman
figure, the innocent virgin, is allowed? Is it even possible? Wharton
doesn't seem to think so, or at least she does not believe a woman is
able to exercise the freedom she deserves by America's standards at
the turn of the 19th-century.

In an attempt to overcome these restrictive American morals, Wharton
searched outside America and the 19th century to empower The Age of
Innocence's two main female figures, May Welland and Ellen Olenska,
with the characteristics of freedom and self identification. While
Wharton believed European society, particularly French society, had a
better understanding of the individual spirit, she probed further to
create her female characters' identities by turning to her interests
in Greek and Roman mythology.


Q.51
Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?
a Men in America were granted more power and freedom by both men and
women because of their gender.
b Women who wanted to overcome their entrapment had to struggle much
harder than men to become powerful.
c Women struggled for power in a society which resisted change and
the empowerment of women.
d All of the above


Q.52
Which of the following is true of the 19th century American society?
a Women in the 19th century America were equal to men and did not
naturally desire subordination.
b Due to the traditional expectations set for women prior to the 19th
century, very few women had the same opportunities as men.
c Women's acceptance of the traditional roles began to dissipate in
the beginning of the 19th century.
d The 19th century American society was much to be blamed for the
subordinate stature of women.


Q.53
How were people, regardless of their gender, unfairly treated by the society?
A. Men were also restricted by their expected role in the society.
B. Both men and women had unrealistic expectations of each other.
C. People, in their misguided belief that they had to follow the rules
of society, neglected what they really wanted to do.
a A and B
b A, B and C
c Only B
d B and C





Q.54
The Age of Innocence attempts to
a expose the chauvinistic outlook of the 19th century men.
b describe the idiosyncrasies of the 19th century New York society.
c give a realistic view of the 19th century New York society.
d expound the cause of feminism in the 19th century New York society.