The Age of Innocence Ch. 10: Paper Dolls in

Summary

May has been let off church because her mother has just won her over to a long engagement, so Archer has her to himself for a walk in the Park under a lapis lazuli sky, the snow shining like splintered crystals. She thanks him for the lilies that come because he remembers each day, not by standing order. Feeling rich and secure, he mentions the yellow roses he sent Madame Olenska. May is delighted, but Ellen lunched with them that day and spoke of Beaufort's orchids and cousin Henry's carnations, not of any roses. Archer remembers he left no card, and he does not mention that he called on her.

He presses May to shorten the engagement, to travel, to strike out for themselves. She gives the answers her upbringing supplied: why aren't they very well off as they are? When she calls him original, he answers that they are all like paper dolls cut from the same fold. He thinks of the Kentucky cave-fish that stopped growing eyes because they had no use for them, and wonders whether May, once he takes off the bandage, will only look out "blankly at blankness". When he keeps asking why not, she calls eloping "rather vulgar", relieved to have found the word, and closes the subject by telling him Ellen admired her ring.

The next afternoon Janey brings news: Madame Olenska went to Mrs Lemuel Struthers's Sunday party with the Duke and Beaufort, and the van der Luydens are so upset they are going back to Skuytercliff. Archer says he does not care a brass farthing about Family and that the real culprit is the Duke under their own roof. His mother wants him to explain things to cousin Louisa. While they argue, Henry van der Luyden arrives in person, pleased with himself. He has called on Ellen, admired the way she scattered his carnations, and given her a friendly warning, which she received gratefully. Archer's angry afternoon changed nothing, and Henry's single quiet visit settled everything, so whose voice does New York actually hear?

In this chapter:Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Answering a Conversation-Stopper

Some arguments end not because anyone has won, but because one person finds a word that makes the other feel foolish for going on. When Archer asks May why they cannot strike out for themselves, she calls eloping "rather vulgar", and he stands silent, beating his stick against his boot.

This week, when someone ends a discussion with one loaded word, ask calmly what they mean by it and wait for the answer.

This chapter

Inside the Mind: May Welland

When Archer proposes they strike out for themselves, May reaches for 'vulgar', relieved to find a word that ends the subject. It is not stupidity. It is a tool, used with the skill her upbringing taught her. Archer hears a recorded answer. He misses that she is choosing, quickly and well, exactly what to shut down.

Continue this thoughtMay's Innocence Is a Method He Never Reads

Coming Up in Chapter 11

Two weeks later, old Mr Letterblair summons Archer to his mahogany desk, strokes his close-clipped white whiskers, and hands him a packet of papers. The Countess Olenska wishes to sue her husband for divorce, and Mrs Manson Mingott, Lovell Mingott and Mr Welland have all named Archer to look into it. He has not even opened the packet.

PreviousPrevious Chapter NextNext Chapter

Original text

3,017 wordscomplete

Chapter 10

Paper Dolls in Central Park

The next day he persuaded May to escape for a walk in the Park after luncheon. As was the custom in old-fashioned Episcopalian New York, she usually accompanied her parents to church on Sunday afternoons; but Mrs. Welland condoned her truancy, having that very morning won her over to the necessity of a long engagement, with time to prepare a hand-embroidered trousseau containing the proper number of dozens. The day was delectable. The bare vaulting of trees along the Mall was ceiled with lapis lazuli, and arched above snow that shone like splintered crystals. It was the weather to call…

Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.

Master this chapter. Complete your experience

Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature

Buy atAmazon.com

Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats

The House of Mirth

Edith Wharton

Also by Edith Wharton

Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy

Explores love & romance

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

Explores morality & ethics

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

Explores morality & ethics

Lessons from The Age of Innocence

Theme-by-theme analyses that connect this book to modern life skills.

Deep diving the literary elements.

Paper Dolls in Central Park

Summary

Why This Matters