The main character of The Age of Innocence struggles with their expectations from society and their passion for the person they love.

The Classic - The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

How many movies or books just ran through your head? One of the seven common literary conflicts, character vs. society, is frequently found in fiction. It can vary from a dystopian-level crisis to one more based on societal expectations like the one appearing in this week’s Pulitzer-winning classic (the first won by a woman), The Age of Innocence. In the novel, her main character struggles between his societal expectations to marry the shy and pretty debutante and his passion for being with her louder, more interesting, divorced cousin. The novel continues to resonate due to its experimental nature and its ability to acknowledge that while these societal pressures notably suppressed women, men felt the same forces in many ways.

The Age of Innocence

by Wharton, Edith

Young and aristocratic Newland Archer is engaged to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. But when May's disgraced cousin Ellen arrives from Europe, she turns their high-society New York world upside down. The young, successful Newland Archer and sweet socialite May Welland are the high society couple they were always meant to be. However, fresh on the heels of their engagement, they find their world upended by the scandalous arrival of May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Recently separated from her husband and surrounded in rumors, Ellen returns to America and is reluctantly befriended by Archer and his bride-to-be. Initially disturbed, Archer grows more appreciative of Ellen's free-spirited ways as she opens his eyes to the world past Fifth Avenue. Torn between his loyalty to his marriage and disillusion with New York aristocracy, Archer begins to question all that he knows about love and passion while hopelessly pursuing the unattainable Countess.

Our Modern Companions

We’ve paired this novel with a couple of varied choices for you this week. Newland Archer struggled with the familial and societal pressures on his marital decisions, which characters in these novels found themselves also experiencing.

If You Leave Me

by Kim, Crystal Hana

Read a preview of If You Leave Me.

"An immersive, heartbreaking story about war, passion, and the road not taken." – People
"One of the most beautiful and moving love stories you'll read this year." – Nylon Magazine

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post - The New York Post - Vulture - Real Simple - Bustle - Nylon - Thrillist - Mental Floss - Self magazine - Booklist - Refinery 29

An emotionally riveting debut novel about war, family, and forbidden love--the unforgettable saga of two ill-fated lovers in Korea and the heartbreaking choices they're forced to make in the years surrounding the civil war that still haunts us today.

When the communist-backed army from the north invades her home, sixteen-year-old Haemi Lee, along with her widowed mother and ailing brother, is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night, she escapes her family's makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan.

Focused on finishing school, Kyunghwan doesn't realize his older and wealthier cousin, Jisoo, has his sights set on the beautiful and spirited Haemi--and is determined to marry her before joining the fight. But as Haemi becomes a wife, then a mother, her decision to forsake the boy she always loved for the security of her family sets off a dramatic saga that will have profound effects for generations to come.

Richly told and deeply moving, If You Leave Me is a stunning portrait of war and refugee life, a passionate and timeless romance, and a heartrending exploration of one woman's longing for autonomy in a rapidly changing world.

One True Loves

by Reid, Taylor Jenkins

Named a Best Book of Summer by Cosmopolitan * InStyle * Redbook * Us Weekly * PopSugar * Buzzfeed * Bustle * Brit+Co * Parade

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life. In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure. On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever. Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma's second chance at happiness. That is until Jesse is found. He's alive, and he's been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves. Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly? Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She's just not sure what it's saying.

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