YMMV / The Age of Innocence

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is Newland Archer a Tragic Hero whose romantic yearnings were cruelly stifled by a corrupt society, or a selfish cold hypocrite who wasted Ellen's time by promising her romance half-heartedly and insisting that she make the first moves, and whose divided nature prevented him from being a good husband.
  • Is May Welland a Manipulative Bitch who sugarcoats and lies to herself about the kind of person she is or a dutiful wife who is also a Stealth Mentor, saving Newland from dishonoring himself, his family and enabling him to be the good father and society gentleman that was his only real talent. The waters are further muddied regarding her character by her willingness to end the engagement, but holding on with a death grip once married, though this is largely justified given the nature of how their society views a broken engagement versus a divorce, especially regarding the women involved.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Scorsese's film adaptation does this for Newland Archer himself. Before his 1993 film adaptation, Newland was regarded by critics like Lionel Trilling and Harold Bloom to be a Satellite Character to Ellen Olenska and May. Thanks to Daniel Day-Lewis' great performance, Newland came to be seen as a more tragic, sympathetic and complex character.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?: Both the book and film are rife with examples. The "perfect" May is blonde and blue-eyed, the "bad girl" Ellen is dark-haired, and is often described as wearing pink or red—but is later seen in dull colors as she and Archer separate. Archer sends May white lilies, but Ellen gets yellow (more colorful) roses (more romantic) Most notably, on the night before Archer intends to consummate his affair with Ellen, he and May attend the opera—and May wears her wedding dress. The symbolism is cranked up to eleven when the train of the dress is caught in the carriage wheel and left torn and muddy. Meanwhile, the film opens with multiple shots of blooming flowers concealed behind a black piece of lace.
• The Woobie: Newland Archer, who spent almost his entire life lamenting the fact that he never truly followed his heart's desire to be with the woman he truly loved.
  • Ellen Olenska. She escapes an unhappy marriage only to be ostracized by the society she grew up in and is never able to be with the man she loves.

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