The title “the Age of Innocence” is an ironic title in comparison to the plot of the book. The story portrays the true scandal of the upper class society. The book takes place in New York during the 1920’s. During this time social rules were strict and women were seen as weaker than men. The title of this book gives the appearance that everyone will be model citizens, obeying the strict societal rules, and portraying their strong marriages. However, that's not quite how the book goes. Each and every character contradicts the title. The main characters; Archer, May, Ellen, and Beaufort have frequent societal mistakes, causing the title to be ironic.
The reader would have had no reason to assume the title was ironic until Ellen was introduced. She was introduced as being
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However this is only the beginning of the huge scandalous event. Archer falls in love with Ellen's rebellious attitude, and sees her as being free and strong willed. He sees this in her due to her revealing style of dress and her willingness to walk in public, while married. the exact opposite of what a typical women in this time should be. It is also strange for Archer to fall for such an outgoing women, for, at the time, May is the perfect woman, she obeys all societal laws and does what she is told. May and Ellen being cousins only causes more irony, for family is suppose to have strong ties, and be important. However Ellen and Archer have been meeting up in public which is breaking multiple societal rules. married Men and women can't be seen in public with the opposite sex, and even more important, cheating was the worst thing anyone could do. It would ruin your social status. This is showing a lot of irony, because based on the title, everyone is supose to be model citizens. However the entire book portays multiple scandalous