I completely agree! It’s so frustrating/ funny that Archer is so unhappy about the monotony of his life but also doesn’t want to actually hang out with people who are breaking out of that monotony and living exciting lives.

I know I’m a little afraid I’ll never finish because I’ll forget to do the last couple of pages because they’re so far apart 😅 I wound up putting them in my calendar- hopefully that works

Clip from the movie says Bowfort

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I’ve never heard of the Shaughraun outside of this book and it makes me curious to see the play!

It also makes Newland’s thoughts of Ellen’s greater sophistication hit in a different way. I imagine him being like ‘omg I bet she’s seen plays that she doesn’t already know the ending of!!’ 🏹

he's excited that May is dumb (he can mold her!), worried she's too dumb, and then surprised when she isn't as dumb as he thought (recognizes receiving flowers at the exact same time is a bad sign). Never seems to occur to him to ask her what she thinks of his feministy ideas though. So close, dude🏹

This chapter makes me feel like Ellen's family are really not doing a good job at explaining to her how to follow the rules and get that safety. Maybe because everyone speaks to her in the Old New York hieroglyphics/code and just expects her to get it? 🏹

I'm falling behind but I need to mention that Lefferts almost ruins Countess Olenska's return to society by making a big show of moral judgment to distract his wife from noticing his latest affair. This works just as well if his affair is with a man imo. 🏹

Haha I had no memory of him either when I saw the play! Hopefully paying too much attention to a minor character isn’t something I’ll regret

As for Lefferts-watch, apparently he cheats on his wife excessively and his wife is so stupid she doesn't notice (my money is on she chooses not to see, which is different from being stupid). I don't think it's an unreasonable adaptive choice to assume he cheats with men instead of women. 🏹

Haha I think Newland is a stuffed shirt with potential, and it's kind of interesting to see if he will ever realize that potential

So I guess the big question is whether Newland will ever find a way out of his own convoluted pretensions and hypocrisies.

Everything in Newland's mind is such a tangle. He recognizes that May's innocence is a kind of act, and is kind of bothered by the hypocrisy, but he's as hypocritical as they come. He is as conversant as anyone in the hieroglyphics of his society (as he puts it), and is a product of them.

ooh I'm here for a new adaptation, thanks for the news!

It really underscores that it's more about the excess than the room itself. Wharton really has a way of description

Oh please add me to the feed for Age of Innocence!

Honestly this book makes me feel like making someone the executor of your will is like giving them a BFF friendship bracelet 😂