Teaching The Age of Innocence

Instructions for You

Objective: Have you ever walked into a room and had the feeling that everyone had just finished talking about you? Maybe you've had a conversation with someone, and wished you could read their mind to hear what they really thought. What if you could just say what you thought all the time, without any consequences? Would it be a relief or a disaster to talk about the elephant in the room?

Conversation in The Age of Innocence is often dangerous. Friendly banter during a dinner party can quickly turn into bitter gossip the moment a guest leaves the room. Characters have banal conversations about everyday things, but what's actually being talked about is adultery, desire and well, no-nos of every kind. In this lesson, students will rewrite a scene from the novel in order to explore the complex and multilayered nature of conversation in the novel.

This activity should take two class periods.

Materials Needed: Pen, paper and a copy of The Age of Innocence; you can also direct students to Shmoop's summary of the book.

Step 1: Write the following questions on the board:

• When have you wished you could have said what you were really thinking, but didn't? Why didn't you?
• When have you felt like there was an "elephant in the room"?

Ask students to get into small groups of three or four to share their responses to these questions. After everyone has had a chance to hear their group members out, open up the discussion to the whole class.

Step 2: Turn to the text. What's left unspoken in the scenes below? Why? Ask the student groups to choose one scene and answer these questions. They should take notes, and be ready to share their responses with the class:

• Chapter 8: "It was not the custom in New York drawing rooms for a lady to get up and walk away from one gentleman in order to seek the company of another. Etiquette required that she should wait…But the Countess was apparently unaware of having broken any rule…"

• Chapter 10: " 'We can't behave like people in novels, though, can we?' " 'Why not—why not—why not?' " She looked a little bored by his insistence. She knew very well that they couldn't, but it was troublesome to have to produce a reason…"

• Chapter 10: "And the Countess Olenska…a charming woman…she has a real gift for arranging flowers…go and see how cleverly she's arranged her drawing room…I should really like to take Louisa to see her, if the neighborhood were not so unpleasant."

• Chapter 17: " 'Here she comes,' she said in a rapid whisper; and then, pointing to the bouquet on the sofa: 'Am I to understand that you prefer that, Mr. Archer? After all, marriage is marriage…and my niece is still a wife…'"

• Chapter 30: " 'Newland! Do shut the window. You'll catch your death.' He pulled the sash down and turned back. 'Catch my death!' he echoed; and he felt like adding: 'But I've caught it already. I am dead – I've been dead for months and months.'"

• Chapter 31: " 'She hates Ellen,' he thought, 'and she's trying to overcome the feeling, and to get me to help her to overcome it.' The thought moved him, and for a moment he was on the point of breaking the silence between them, and throwing himself on her mercy… 'Ah,' said Archer with an impatient laugh. The open door had closed between them again."

This might also be a good time to refer students to Shmoop's explanation of symbolism, imagery and allegory in The Age of Innocence.

Step 3: Let's face it: some topics are hard to talk about. In Newland Archer's world, some are barely safe to think about. Tell students that now they're each going to choose one of the scenes in Step 2 and rewrite it on their own, in approximately 200 to 400 words. They should plan to write in modern-day English, and keep the following questions in mind as they write:

• What is really being talked about, but isn't?
• Why isn't this topic being discussed?
• What might happen if the dreaded "thing that must not be named" is, well, named?

Students don't need to reinterpret every line, but should be able to give a sense of the structure and tone of the scene, along with what the characters might really be feeling and thinking.

Step 4: After your students have finished rewriting their individual scenes, ask them to come back together and share their work with their original brainstorming groups. Ask them to consider the following questions:

• Were things better left unsaid in these scenes?
• What positive outcomes could you imagine from talking frankly and openly?
• What are the drawbacks?

Instructions for Your Students

Have you ever walked into a room and had the feeling that everyone had just finished talking about you? Maybe you've had a conversation with someone and wished you could read their mind to hear what they really thought. What if you could just say what you thought all the time without any consequences? Would it be a relief, or a disaster to talk about the elephant in the room?

Conversation in The Age of Innocence is often dangerous. Friendly banter during a dinner party can quickly turn into bitter gossip the moment a guest leaves the room. People regularly have banal conversations about everyday things, but what's actually being discussed is adultery, desire and, well, no-nos of every kind.

In this lesson, you'll be given the power to say what should have been said all along. Wield it wisely.

Materials Needed: Pen, paper and a copy of The Age of Innocence; you can also check out Shmoop's summary of the book.

Step 1: First, your teacher will split you into groups of three or four and ask you to think about the following questions:

• When have you wished you could have said what you were really thinking, but didn't? Why didn't you?
• When have you felt like there was an "elephant in the room"?

After everyone has had a chance to hear their group members out, the discussion will open up to the whole class.

Step 2: Now, with your group, you're going to take a closer look at the text. Choose one of the scenes below and ask each other: What's left unspoken in these scenes? Take notes as you discuss things with your group, and be prepared to share your ideas with the class:

• Chapter 8: "It was not the custom in New York drawing rooms for a lady to get up and walk away from one gentleman in order to seek the company of another. Etiquette required that she should wait…But the Countess was apparently unaware of having broken any rule…"

• Chapter 10: " 'We can't behave like people in novels, though, can we?' " 'Why not—why not—why not?' She looked a little bored by his insistence. She knew very well that they couldn't, but it was troublesome to have to produce a reason…"

• Chapter 10: 'And the Countess Olenska…a charming woman…she has a real gift for arranging flowers…go and see how cleverly she's arranged her drawing room…I should really like to take Louisa to see her, if the neighborhood were not so unpleasant."

• Chapter 17: " 'Here she comes,' she said in a rapid whisper; and then, pointing to the bouquet on the sofa: 'Am I to understand that you prefer that, Mr. Archer? After all, marriage is marriage…and my niece is still a wife…'"

• Chapter 30: " 'Newland! Do shut the window. You'll catch your death.' He pulled the sash down and turned back. 'Catch my death!' he echoed; and he felt like adding: 'But I've caught it already. I am dead – I've been dead for months and months."

• Chapter 31: " 'She hates Ellen,' he thought, 'and she's trying to overcome the feeling, and to get me to help her to overcome it.' The thought moved him, and for a moment he was on the point of breaking the silence between them, and throwing himself on her mercy… 'Ah,' said Archer with an impatient laugh. The open door had closed between them again."

To help understand some of the hidden language beneath everyone's boring exteriors, check out Shmoop's explanation of symbolism, imagery and allegory in The Age of Innocence

Step 3: Let's face it, some topics are hard to talk about. In Newland Archer's world, some are barely safe to think about. Now it's your chance to be brave, be bold, and speak up. On your own, you'll choose one of the scenes in Step 2, and re-write it in approximately 200 to 400 words, in modern-day English. As you write, keep the following questions in mind:

• What is really being talked about in this scene, but isn't actually articulated?
• Why isn't this topic being discussed?
• What might happen if the dreaded "thing that must not be named" is, well, named?

You don't need to reinterpret every line, but your piece should give a sense of the structure and tone of the scene, along with what the characters might be feeling and thinking.

Step 4: After you've finished rewriting your scene, get back together with your original brainstorming group and share your ideas. As you hear your partners out, think about the following questions:

• Were things better left unsaid in your scene?
• What positive outcomes could you imagine from talking frankly and openly?
• What are the drawbacks?