Mentor/s
Professor Amie Reilly
Participation Type
Paper Talk
Abstract
This paper examines an overlooked effect of gender roles in the US during the Victorian Era, through Edith Wharton’s main male character Newland Archer in her 1920 novel, The Age of Innocence. The paper focuses on the impact of gender roles in the 1870s and how they place restrictive expectations while limiting the value of man’s individuality. It first examines the purpose and placement of gender roles in society. Doing so creates a reference point to explore the Victorian Era and how it applied during this time. Lastly, the paper studies how those gender roles applied to the characters of the Age of Innocence, specifically the effect it has on the decisions Archer makes as it pertains to his relationship with two female protagonists in the novel, May Welland and Countess Ellen Olenska.
Keywords: individuality, gender roles, society, Age of Innocence, Victorian Era
College and Major available
Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences
Location
Session 5: Digital Commons & Martire Room 350
Start Day/Time
4-26-2023 3:30 PM
End Day/Time
4-26-2023 4:45 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Masculinity within the Age of Innocence
Session 5: Digital Commons & Martire Room 350
This paper examines an overlooked effect of gender roles in the US during the Victorian Era, through Edith Wharton’s main male character Newland Archer in her 1920 novel, The Age of Innocence. The paper focuses on the impact of gender roles in the 1870s and how they place restrictive expectations while limiting the value of man’s individuality. It first examines the purpose and placement of gender roles in society. Doing so creates a reference point to explore the Victorian Era and how it applied during this time. Lastly, the paper studies how those gender roles applied to the characters of the Age of Innocence, specifically the effect it has on the decisions Archer makes as it pertains to his relationship with two female protagonists in the novel, May Welland and Countess Ellen Olenska.
Keywords: individuality, gender roles, society, Age of Innocence, Victorian Era
Students' Information
Major: Political Science
Year of Graduation: 2025