Moral Duty vs. Secret Love
In society, there are many cases
of conflicts that involve love, whether it is a situation where someone is not
loved back by the person they love, or a situation where someone falls in love
after making a commitment to someone else. In the novel, The Age of Innocence, Newland Archer is involved in a conflict of
love when he falls for another woman, even though he is already engaged and
about to be married to someone else. He faces a conflict between his responsibility
and moral duty to his fiancée, May Welland, and his passion for his secret
love, Ellen Olenska. The conflict of Newland’s moral duty and secret love comes
from Newland’s attraction to the way Ellen lives her life through freedom of
social restraints, it causes Newland to visit Ellen more often and rush his
marriage to May, and it’s significant to the novel in exhibiting how Newland
can’t be with Ellen because of his duty and the sacrifice of personal freedom, which
are recurring themes throughout the novel.
Whenever Newland Archer meets
Ellen Olenska, he becomes attracted to her because she lives a life of freedom
of social restraints. She is very different than his fiancée, May, who is
innocent and follows the rules of society. Newland admires how Ellen is very
different than everyone else, and even backs her up when she wants to get a
divorce, even though it’s not socially accepted and is against her family’s
values. If every woman showed the same resistance to traditional values and
lived freely, then Newland probably wouldn’t have fallen for Ellen, however,
she is different by not following the values of society and her difference from
other women is the nature of his conflict of love.
Newland’s conflict of love for Ellen
causes him to visit Ellen more often and spend as much time with her as he possibly
can. He sends her flowers and even goes as far as lying to May and saying that
he’s going to Washington on business, even though she knows he’s really just going
to see Ellen. His conflict causes him to try to convince May to marry him sooner,
to which May then fears he has found someone else. Newland also becomes bored
with his everyday routine and he predicts that May will always remain her
innocent self, always living by her family’s views. His love for Ellen changes
him from wanting a perfect traditional girl in his life to desiring a girl who
is rejected by society and has her own views.
The conflict that Newland faces
is significant to the novel because it exhibits how Newland can’t be with Ellen
because of his duty and the sacrifice of personal freedom, which are recurring
themes throughout the novel. Whenever Newland chose to propose to May, he took
on a duty to stay committed to her and he follows this duty of his, no matter how
bored he becomes with their marriage or how much he desires to be with Ellen
Olenska. The personal freedom of Newland and Ellen are sacrificed by Newland’s
duty to May, because Newland and Ellen can’t choose to be with each other like
they want to. Newland can’t call off the marriage or have an affair with Ellen
because society doesn’t condone such things, and therefore, his personal
freedom to go after his passion is sacrificed because of his duty.
Newland’s conflict between moral duty and secret love comes from his
attraction to how Ellen lives her life through freedom of social restraints, it
causes Newland to make more visits to see Ellen and rush his marriage to May,
and it’s significant to the novel by showing how Newland can’t be with Ellen
because of his duty and the sacrifice of personal freedom, which are themes that
occur throughout the novel. In the end, it doesn’t matter how attracted Newland
is to Ellen being different than other women, how much he stands up to people
who reject her in society, or how many times he visits her. Newland never gets
to be with his true love and stays with his innocent wife, because he follows
his duty to her and sacrifices his personal freedom. In Newland’s conflict of
love, his moral duty and responsibility overpower his secret passion, and even
though he is not completely satisfied, his social integrity is maintained.
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