Question: Write a detailed commentary on the following extract, paying

close attention to the presentation of Newland Archers state of mind at

this point in the novel.
This extract occurs at a point in the novel where Newland has just retired from
dinner, and is reflecting upon his rather uncharacteristic exclamation of Women
should be free as free as we are during dinner, and is subsequently disturbed
by the consequences of that statement and what it means for him, and these
thoughts ultimately distress and disturb him. Newlands state of mind is
presented as being enlightened and disillusioned with the superficiality and
rigidity of Old New York, and yet very distressed and disturbed by these
realisations. Methods such as narrative interjection, diction and irony are all used
to present this state of Newland Archers mind.
Firstly, Archers mind is being gripped by the realisation of the superficiality and
rigidity of his society, and is starting to accept it and becoming disillusioned with
it. One way that this id delivered is through Whartons use of quotation marks
when describing the women and men of ONY as nice and decent
respectively, as well as the use of narrative interjection when describing the
supposedly happy marriages, which gives rise to a sense of insincerity and
cynicism in her descriptions. It also suggests that the niceness, decency and
happiness are merely a faade, and that upon further analysis the lady or
gentlemens character and the marriage is quite different from what it seems.
This is reflective of the beginning of Newlands disillusionment and express
cynicism for his society. Besides that, the authors harsh diction when describing
May as an artificial product and creation of factitious purity reflects Archers
realisation of the superficiality of Mays, and by extension, other ONY womens,
presented image. The use of phrases that link to the idea of Mays image being
fake and manufactured. This is further emphasised by the stark contrast
between this description of May and his earlier reverence and praise of her,
which points to the severity of his realisation.
Yet, despite this realisation that he has come to, there is still a part of his mind
that is trying to deny his current situation. The authors diction and choice of the
phrase [t]he young man when referring to Newland in the assertion that he
was sincerely but placidly in love is indicative of Newlands denial of his
situation, in which he is starting to doubt the love and connection between May
and himself. The phrase [t]he young man distances the reader from Newland,
and might also be reflective of how he is trying to distance himself from his inner
turmoil, pointing to his reluctance to accept the truth of the situation. The use of
the word placidly is also ironic, as it can be seen from his earlier and later
statements that his mind is in fact very disturbed by the thoughts that suddenly
came upon him, and the contrast between Archers perception of his mind and
its actual state again shows the state of his denial towards his current situation.
In addition to that, we also know that Archers denial of his situation arises from
his fear of the implications of his realisations, which is presented through the
description of Archers old convictions as dangerous also points to his fear of
what could arise from the thoughts that have suddenly come upon him, as the
word dangerous implies that Archer sees these thoughts as a threat, possibly
to the peacefulness of his life and mind. The imagery of Archer experiencing a
shiver of foreboding when thinking about the actual unsatisfying nature of his

future with May further emphasises this fear of his, as the word shiver brings
to mind the response to something sinister or feared.
However, in conjunction with his fear, there is also a part of his mind that is
confused as to Mays true self. The ironical nature of Archers statement that May
remained the more inscrutable for her very frankness also points to his
confusion as to who the true May Welland is, underneath the faade she has
been presenting to him. Given that May is supposedly frank, one would expect
that Newland would find it easy to read her, yet in reality she is inscrutable to
him. The irony and contradictory nature of these descriptions thus point to how
confusing Newland now finds May. The use of the word mystification also
implies that May is a mystery that needs to be decoded and solved in order to
understand, thus again emphasising the confusion with which Newland currently
views May.
Ultimately, this contributes to a part of his mind that recognises the
hopelessness and inevitability of his situation, leading to the restraint that he
feels. The repetition of the words tie and bound and its other forms
throughout the passage points towards the hopelessness and external restraint
that Newland is starting to feel. The words tie and bind evoke notions of
being restrained by something, which is in fact a reflection of how Newland feels
restrained by the social codes of his society with regards to his marriage and
May. The use of balanced sentences, as in Archer tried to console himself with
the thought that he was not quite such an ass as Larry Lefferts, nor May such a
simpleton as poor Gertrude; but the difference was after all one of intelligence
and not of standards. also points to the inescapability and hopelessness of
Archers situation. In this sentence, the significance of the second part is
highlighted by the placing of the two sentences in such close proximity, and
emphasises that even if May and Newland were different from Lawrence Lefferts
and his wife in terms of intelligence, in the end they were still restrained by the
same social conventions and standards. In fact, Newland even explicitly
mentions later on that he feels oppressed by the superficiality that ONYs strict
social codes called for. This hopelessness is further emphasised by the use of
listing in of mothers and aunts and grandmothers and long-dead ancestresses,
which encompasses all the women that have ever existed in Old New York,
indicating how pervasive and extensive the constraints he is experiencing are.
In conclusion, the presentation of Newland Archers mind as enlightened, yet
disturbed and distressed, in light of his outburst at dinner, has been achieved by
Wharton through her effective use of narrative techniques, such as listing,
imagery and balanced sentences.

Point
Newland is starting
to accept and
become
disillusioned with
the superficiality
and rigidity of his
society

Evidence
nice use of quotation
marks
What could he and she
really know of each
other
decent use of
quotation marks
-the supposedly happy
ones-
he returned
discouraged by the
thought that all this
frankness and innocence
were only an artificial
product
And he felt himself
oppressed by this
creation of factitious
purity, so cunningly
manufactured by a
conspiracy of mothers
and aunts and
grandmothers and longdead ancestresses,
because it was
supposed to be what
he wanted, what he had
a right to. In order that
he might exercise his
lordly pleasure in
smashing it like an
image made of snow.

Yet, there is still a

part of him that is in
denial.

The young man was

sincerely but placidly in
love statement of
assertion (?), distancing
himself

Analysis
Whartons use of quotation
marks when describing the
women and men of ONY as
nice and decent
respectively, as well as the
use of narrative interjection
when describing the
supposedly happy
marriages gives rise to a
sense of insincerity and
cynicism in her descriptions.
It also suggests that the
niceness, decency and
happiness are merely a
faade, and that upon further
analysis the lady or
gentlemens character and
the marriage is quite
different from what it seems.
This is reflective of the
beginning of Newlands
disillusionment and express
cynicism for his society.
The authors harsh diction
when describing May as an
artificial product and
creation of factitious purity
reflects Archers realisation of
the superficiality of Mays,
and by extension, other ONY
womens, presented image.
The use of phrases that link
to the idea of fakeness and
being manufactured. This is
further emphasised by the
stark contrast between this
description of May and his
earlier reverence and praise
of her, which points to the
extent of the severity of his
realisation.
The authors diction and
choice of the phrase [t]he
young man when referring
to Newland in the assertion
that he was sincerely but
placidly in love is indicative

Fearful of what

stirred up old settled

convictions and set
them drifting
dangerously through his
mind
and with a shiver of
foreboding he saw his
marriage becoming
what most of the other
marriages about him
were

Confused by what

The result, of course,

was that the young girl
who was the centre of
this elaborate system of

of Newlands denial of his

situation, in which he is
starting to doubt the love and
connection between May and
himself. The phrase [t]he
young man distances the
reader from Newland, and
might also be reflective of
how he is trying to distance
himself from his inner
turmoil, pointing to his
reluctance to accept the
truth of the situation. The use
of the word placidly is also
ironic, as it can be seen from
his earlier and later
statements that his mind is in
fact very disturbed by the
thoughts that suddenly came
upon him, and the contrast
between Archers perception
of his mind and its actual
state again shows the state
of his denial towards his
current situation.
The description of Archers
old convictions as
dangerous also points to
his fear of what could arise
from the thoughts that have
suddenly come upon him, as
the word dangerous implies
that Archer sees these
thoughts as a threat, possibly
to the peacefulness of his life
and mind.
The imagery of Archer
experiencing a shiver of
foreboding when thinking
about the actual unsatisfying
nature of his future with May
further emphasises this fear
of his, as the word shiver
brings to mind the response
to something sinister or
feared.
The ironical nature of
Archers statement that May
remained the more
inscrutable for her very

mystification remained
the more inscrutable
for her very frankness
and assurance

First vestiges of
hopelessness
(suffocation?)

But here he was

pledged to defend
were in fact only a
humbugging disguise of
the inexorable
conventions that tied
things together and
bound people down to
the old pattern
the tie might gall
Archer tried to console
himself with the thought
that he was not quite
such an ass as Larry
Lefferts, nor May such a
simpleton as poor
Gertrude; but the
difference was after all
one of intelligence and
not of standards. use
of balanced sentence

frankness also points to his

confusion as to who the true
May Welland is, underneath
the faade she has been
presenting to him. Given that
May is supposedly frank,
one would expect that
Newland would find it easy to
read her, yet in reality she is
inscrutable to him. The
irony and contradictory
nature of these descriptions
thus point to how confusing
Newland now finds May.
The use of the word
mystification also implies
that May is a mystery that
needs to be decoded and
solved in order to
understand, thus again
emphasising the confusion
with which Newland currently
views May.
The repetition of the words
tie and bound and its
other forms throughout the
passage points towards the
hopelessness and external
restraint that Newland is
starting to feel. The words
tie and bind evoke
notions of being restrained
by something, which is in fact
a reflection of how Newland
feels restrained by the social
codes of his society with
regards to his marriage and
May.
The use of balanced
sentences, as in Archer tried
to console himself with the
thought that he was not quite
such an ass as Larry Lefferts,
nor May such a simpleton as
poor Gertrude; but the
difference was after all one of
intelligence and not of
standards. also points to the
inescapability and
hopelessness of Archers

situation. In this sentence,

the significance of the
second part is highlighted by
the placing of the two
sentences in such close
proximity, and emphasises
that even if May and Newland
were different from Lawrence
Lefferts and his wife in terms
of intelligence, in the end
they were still restrained by
the same social conventions
and standards. In fact,
Newland even explicitly
mentions later on that he
feels oppressed by the
superficiality that ONYs strict
social codes called for.