1122 Wharton, Edith
This freeing of memory at the end of the novel
might seem oddly placed in a text where it appears
to be driving the plot. As the novel progresses
through its four parts, “memory” as a plot element
grows stronger. In the first part, the memory of
Laurel’s mother, Becky, hangs like a ghost over Judge
McKelva’s current illness. During Judge McKelva’s
funeral in part 2 of the novel, Laurel is disturbed by
the discrepancy between her own memories of her
father and those that other people insist on sharing.
Once Laurel is alone in her childhood home in part
3, her memories, presented in the form of flashbacks,
take over the narrative. This represents the climax
for Laurel’s grieving in the novel. When this night
has ended, she is ready to burn the objects associ-
ated with these memories because she knows she no
longer needs them.
When the people of Mount Salus gather for
Judge McKelva’s funeral, it is very important for
Laurel that their memories of him be true. She is
unable to see at this time that the memories will
only ever be true from her perspective. Within these
scenes of remembering, there is also an attempt by
everyone to lay claim to their knowledge of Judge
McKelva. As she listens to these stories, Laurel
begins to understand that “The mystery in how
little we know of other people is no greater than the
mystery of how much.” This section is full of ten-
sion between the Mount Salus citizens, the people
of Laurel’s parents’ life, and Fay, Judge McKelva’s
second wife. This is partly because she does not have
any memories to share.
When Laurel is alone in the house after Fay
leaves for Texas for a few days in part 3, memories
of her mother and father take over the narrative.
These memories consist not only of Laurel’s own
memories of her parents but also their memories as
they were told to her in story form. These are pain-
ful memories for Laurel: her grandmother’s death,
her mother’s long illness and death, and the way in
which this tested her mother and father’s relation-
ship. She remembers her mother’s guilt over not
being with Laurel’s grandmother when she died
and her father’s helplessness and cowardice when
her mother was dying. These memories help her
to mourn her father and deal with her own feel-
ings of guilt and helplessness regarding his death.
In this way, she comes closer to understanding her
parents than through the images she had previously
constructed. This, in turn, allows her to “free” her
memories.
In contrast to this, Fay needs the objects that
have been left to her as a result of Judge McKelva’s
death. She produces no memories of him, and her
only utterances in regard to his death deal with how
it affects her. Therefore, unlike Laurel, she does
not appear to complete the grieving process that
memory allows. When she returns from Texas, she
and Laurel confront one another over a breadboard
made by Laurel’s husband for her mother. Fay has
splintered this board by cracking walnuts on it and
allowing mice to chew on it. She does not want
Laurel to take it, though, because it belongs to her
as part of the house. At first, Laurel is going to take
it as a way to remember her mother because Fay has
mistreated it. She soon realizes, though, that the
memory of her mother is not in the breadboard, and
so she does not need to take it with her. In this way,
memory has freed her hands.
Sherah WellswHarToN, EDiTH The Age of
Innocence (1920)
The Age of Innocence, first published in 1920, is
Edith Wharton’s most famous novel. Although it
was written in the early 20th century, it is still read
widely today. In 1993, Martin Scorsese directed
a film version, which was nominated for several
Academy Awards. The novel’s title is significant
because it refers to late 19th-century New York,
when ritual and form was prioritized over individual
thoughts and desires. Throughout the novel, Whar-
ton explores the tensions that may develop in this
kind of setting.
The main characters of The Age of Innocence
are Newland Archer; his wife, May Welland; and
her cousin, Ellen Olenska. At the beginning of
the novel, Ellen returns to New York, an event
that prompts Newland and May to announce their
engagement. As the novel progresses, Newland and
Ellen fall in love, but their mutual love for May
keeps them from allowing their feelings to alter the
course of their lives. Through her representation of