Chapter 28
The Art of Social Deception
"Ol-ol—howjer spell it, anyhow?" asked the tart young lady to whom Archer had pushed his wife's telegram across the brass ledge of the Western Union office. "Olenska—O-len-ska," he repeated, drawing back the message in order to print out the foreign syllables above May's rambling script. "It's an unlikely name for a New York telegraph office; at least in this quarter," an unexpected voice observed; and turning around Archer saw Lawrence Lefferts at his elbow, pulling an imperturbable moustache and affecting not to glance at the message. "Hallo, Newland: thought I'd catch you here. I've just heard of old Mrs. Mingott's…
Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Justification Stories
Think of a recent time when you wanted something but felt you needed to justify it with elaborate explanations—to others or to yourself. Write down your 'official story' versus what you actually wanted. Notice how complex your justification became compared to the simple underlying desire.
Consider:
- •The more complicated your explanation, the more likely you're hiding something from yourself
- •Noble-sounding reasons often mask simple personal wants
- •When justifications require multiple steps of logic, examine the first step more closely
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you caught yourself building elaborate justifications for something you wanted. What was the simple truth underneath all the explanations? How might you handle similar situations more honestly in the future?
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
You Might Also Like
Lessons from The Age of Innocence
Theme-by-theme analyses that connect this book to modern life skills.
Seeing Clearly What You Cannot Change
Stay with Ellen's apartment, Winsett on the street, and the English observers who see the anxiety from outside.
7 chapters·Explore AnalysisDuty Versus Desire
Watch Archer name the corridor with no exits, then walk down it and call the walk virtue.
7 chapters·Explore AnalysisRecognizing the Cage You've Chosen
See the opera box, May's photograph, and the Paris bench as one cage Archer walks into and then refuses to leave.
7 chapters·Explore AnalysisHow the Group Controls the Individual
Track van der Luyden inclusion, Beaufort's fall, and a table that already knows what Archer thought was secret.
7 chapters·Explore AnalysisHonoring a Life You Chose
Follow Archer from Grace Church to the Paris bench, when keeping faith includes the cost of not going up.
6 chapters·Explore AnalysisDecoding Social Performance
Read seating, yellow roses, and a farewell dinner as the language Old New York uses when it will not speak.
7 chapters·Explore Analysis
Deep diving the literary elements.