BAWDESWELL BOOK CLUB

For our meeting in March we had read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

The novel is set in 1870s New York but was written in 1919 just after the First World War.  Edith Wharton was in France all through the war and concentrated her energies on war work.  When she took up her pen again she reverted to the country of her birth and this previous age (post the American Civil War), but was it an age of innocence?

At one level the book is a romance that is tested/questioned by the arrival of an exotic third party, quite a basic story line.  Newland Archer and his finance May are from New York establishment families and are very much constrained by the mores of that society.  When May’s cousin the Countess Olenska arrives from Europe after leaving her husband, she and Newland develop deep feelings for each other.  Newland is a reader and a thinker and her circumstances lead him to question his society and particularly the position of women.  He questions the double standards existing - the freedoms that married men enjoy and the constraints placed on women.

Both he and May have strong moral characters and for all her innocence May is aware of the attraction, although this knowledge is never spoken.  There were rare moments when May’s depth of understanding was shown and these heartened Newland.  On one of these occasions she offered him his freedom but once they were engaged she fought for her man, Newland Archer.  May wins an archery competition – she aims and achieves the bull’s eye – so there is no doubt that she will also win her “Archer” fiancé.  They are married and Madam Olenska returns to Europe. 

The book fast forwards 25 years or so after that by which time May is dead and Newland and his son travel to Paris together.  Newland is given the chance to see Elena Olenska but both he and she chose not to re-meet.

At a certain time in their lives they had been at a cross roads but had taken the honourable path, they had chosen to be hurt themselves rather than to hurt May.  However, 25 years on perhaps they realised that as strongly as they had been drawn to each other, actually living a life together would not have worked.

Most members really enjoyed reading this novel, it was agreed that there are some wonderful descriptive passages.  Some found it a little slow, there is not much action but there is plenty going on in the hearts, minds and souls of the 3 main characters.  It was a reading experience to be savoured.

The Book Club meets in the Workhouse on the first Thursday of every month and welcomes new members.  We mostly obtain books from the library so there is not the expense of buying new books each month.  During March we are reading Amsterdam by Ian McEwan.  This will be discussed at our next meeting on 5^th April.  During April we will be reading Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.