The Age of Innocence centers on an upper-class couple's impending marriage, and the introduction of the bride's cousin, plagued by scandal, whose presence threatens their happiness. Though the novel questions the assumptions and morals of 1870s New York society, it never develops into an outright condemnation of the institution. The novel is noted for Wharton's attention to detail and its accurate portrayal of how the 19th-century East Coast American upper class lived, as well as for the social tragedy of its plot. Wharton was 58 years old at publication; she had lived in that world and had seen it change dramatically by the end of World War I. The book won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the prize.
Source: Wikipedia
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American literature during the Gilded Age gained some of its most incisive social commentary through realistic portrayals of upper-class New York society, exemplified by the novel The Age of Innocence (1920). Edith Wharton drew directly from her insider knowledge of elite social circles to examine the rigid moral codes and social strictures imposed upon individuals during this era. Her novel won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for literature, making her the first woman to win the award for fiction.
Born Edith Newbold Jones in New York City in 1862, Wharton was raised in a tightly controlled society where women were discouraged from achieving beyond a proper marriage. Encouraged in her childhood literary endeavors, she wrote her first novel as a teenager under the pen name David Oliveri. She married Edward Wharton in 1885 and lived in Newport, Rhode Island, before settling in Europe in 1907. Fluent in French as well as several other languages, Wharton was a prolific novelist, short story writer, and designer who saw many of her books published in both French and English. During World War I, she helped organize the American Hostel for Refugees and the Children of Flanders Rescue Committee, receiving the French Legion of Honor in 1916 and Belgium's Order of Leopold in 1919. Over a career spanning four decades, she published over forty books, earned an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Yale University in 1923, and became a full member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Wharton's fiction is recognized for its careful narrative form, sharp social satire, and deep concern with ethical dilemmas. Drawing on her expertise as a designer and co-author of non-fiction works on architecture, interior design, and travel, she created realistic settings that reflected the social stratifications of her subjects. Her recurring themes explore the struggle between personal inclination and social duty, the systemic constraints placed on women, and the rigid expectations of high society. She applied these stylistic strengths across multiple forms, from tragic short novels such as Ethan Frome and Summer to broad social studies like The House of Mirth and complex short stories including Roman Fever.
