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I’ve had an enduring fascination with Countess Ellen Olenska from Edith Wharton’s "The Age of Innocence." At first blush, why would I ever want to step into the Gilded Age era of corsets, ironclad social conventions and seen-and-not-heard roles for all but the richest of women? And the countess certainly isn’t rich. She married a Polish count and discovered him to be cruel and unfaithful. Stranded on the continent with little money of her own, Ellen makes a most scandalous choice for women in the 1870s. She leaves her count, returns to London and submits to the generosity and societal protection of her wealthy grandmother. People openly snub her and she has to play it meek and mild. In the eyes of her peers, she’s damaged goods. But here’s what I admire about Ellen: She’s smart, fiercely curious and intellectual. Her enlightened thinking challenges, shocks and inspires the people around her. In a scene between Ellen and Newland Archer, a wealthy young man engaged to an 18-year-old ingenue named May but already entranced with the countess, she asks of the nature of his engagement. “Are you very much in love with her?" Ellen asks. “As much as a man can be," he responds. You can hear the flare of Ellen’s curiosity. “Do you think there’s a limit?" she asks. “If there is, I haven’t found it,” Newland replies. Once Newland, in a haze of anguished indecision, admits his love for Ellen, she challenges him. “May and I had a frank talk in Florida,” he tells her. “She wants a long engagement to give me time.” “Time to give her up for another woman,” the Countess interrupts. “If I want to,” he says. I won’t spoil the end of "The Age of Innocence" for you but let’s just say that the wise and independent Ellen Olenska chooses the more noble and much more difficult path. So, into which literary character’s life would you find it most interesting to step? Are you drawn by adventure, complexity, super powers or courage? Tweet me @KerriMPR.and I’ll report back next week.
— Kerri Miller | MPR News | 