Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence lends itself as a work of social criticism against the tyrannical ideals of the society of old New York through experiences by Newland Archer and his love divided between two women. Wharton's plot, set in the late 19th century, tells the story of a charming young lawyer named Newland Archer who finds himself engaged to the lovely May Welland, but hopelessly in love with the intellectual Countess Ellen Olenska. Newland's love struggles between May's passionate innocence and Ellen Olenska's captivating intellect. Many times throughout the novel Wharton acknowledges the parallels of May and Ellen's characters to classical mythology. Women in the early nineteenth century were expected to act according to society's conventions, but Wharton depicts each female character as a Roman or Greek goddess to give May and Ellen power in a society where they could never exercise power otherwise. In The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton uses mythological characters such as May and Ellen archetypes to express her views on the repression of women in the late 19th century. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Edith Wharton uses the Roman goddess Diana to characterize the attractive May Welland and her opinion on the repression of women. The Roman goddess Diana, equivalent to the Greek goddess Artemis, is generally known as the goddess of fertility, nature and childbirth, while Artemis depicts the Greek goddess of the hunt. Wharton's first reference to May's mythological equivalent occurs at van der Luyden's dinner with May's entrance in a "white and silver dress, with a crown of silver flowers in her hair, [a] tall girl [ which looks like] a Diana who has just come down." from the hunt" (Wharton 42). The color white characterizes the innocence that Newland observes in May, while the color silver refers to his association with Artemis, who Jackson calls the Maiden of the Silver Bow ("Artemis"). May's dress depicts her understated innocence, a common archetype of conventional women in the late 19th century. May's "Diana-like" persona (Wharton 123) allows her to manipulate Newland's love for her away from Ellen. to establish a relationship that he knows as conventional, safe, and secure While visiting May in St. Augustine, Newland again notices her immortal nature with her shiny “silver thread” hair and a “face [that] she wore the vacant serenity of a young marble athlete" (91). Once again, May's resemblance to the immortals shows that she is "not truly an empty statue as Newland sees her" (Deter 6), but she also embodies the goddess Diana in her hunt for her man, Newland. Deter believes that the most obvious allusion to Diana's athletic abilities as a huntress is May's beautiful archery (8). She physically embodies Diana's innocent beauty in "her white dress, with a pale green ribbon around her waist and a wreath of ivy on her hat, [having] the same coldness of Diana as when she entered the Beaufort ballroom that night. his engagement" (Wharton 134). May's relationship with the color white and her "nymph-like ease" (135) represent her innocent nature but also her ability to retain athletic qualities to strike her target, Newland. May's "classical grace" (135) causes others to appreciate her unique ability and draws attention to herself in a way that no conventional nineteenth-century woman would have done. Here, Newland begins to realize that May is not as innocent as she seems and simply plays the game of life according to her fantasy. He obeysstrictly to all the rules of society to appear innocent compared to New York's conventional elite. According to Deter, Wharton uses the classic mythological figure of Diana to give May the power of a woman who exists in her world, excelling at her own game (9). Later, after the wedding, Newland finally realizes May's superior influence and the purpose of his "hunt": "Perhaps that faculty of unawareness was what gave her eyes their transparency, and her face the appearance of representing a type rather than a person; as if she had been chosen to pose for a Civic Virtue or a Greek goddess The blood flowing so close to her pale skin might have been a preserving fluid rather than a devastating element; of indestructible youth made her seem neither harsh nor dull, but only primitive and pure (Wharton 120). May's appearance of immortality challenges Newland's first impression of her innocent life of purity obviously has much more authority over his comrades compared to a traditional woman in old New York society. Wharton uses the mythological character of May to represent her opinion against the subjugation of women before the end of the 20th century. According to Gore Vidal's introduction to The Age of Innocence, Wharton, "because of her sex...has been denied her rightful place in the nearly empty pantheon of American literature" (qtd. in Harold Bloom 4233 ). Obviously, Wharton's femininity limited the initial success of her life's work and led her to become more feminist in her novels. Wharton expresses her concern about the suppression of women's rights by giving May a mythical goddess to empower her. Ellen's associations with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the famous Helen of Troy also help develop Wharton's belief in the subjugation of women. Unlike May, Ellen represents an attractive combination of passion and intellect that distances Newland from his companion of convenience, May. Wharton confirms Ellen's colorful relationship with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexual ecstasy. Unlike May, Ellen has recently arrived from an anguished life with her ignorant husband in Poland and is completely unaware of the “intricate and tyrannical tribal customs of a highly stratified New York society” (Cutler 65). Her petty attempts to fit into conventional New York society are unsuccessful, and her constant disobedience to all of society's rules depicts a more liberal side of women not otherwise seen in the late nineteenth century. In fact, Newland seems tempted by Ellen's rebellious nature, which he finds quite attractive. While May wears innocent little white dresses, Ellen “dresses in more provocative styles that depict her sensuality” (Deter 10). When Newland first sees Ellen at the opera she is wearing a dark blue dress with a "Josephine look" that troubles him in her "[disregard] of the dictates of Taste" (Wharton 7.10). Ellen's seductive dress directly portrays Aphrodite's passionate attributes. Ellen, like Aphrodite, seems to have the unique ability to combine lust and reasoning to attract her lovers. According to Carol Singley, Aphrodite and Ellen come from "ambiguous origins, both marry unlikely men, and both are identified with roses..." in their association with the color red (qtd. in Deter 10). Like Ellen, Aphrodite was married off for her father's convenience to someone who could not make her happy. Aphrodite was also quick to punish those who resisted the call of love, much like Ellen's departure from New York because Newland resisted her love. Many of Ellen's attributes also connect her to the classic Helen of Troy. Mount them:, 1996.