SparkNotes: The Age of Innocence: Quiz

How is The Age of Innocence characterized?

(A) A social protest novel

(B) An autobiography

(C) A social critique

(D) None of the above

What would best characterize New York society?

(A) A cold and anonymous environment filled with impersonal daily encounters

(B) Heavily influenced by European values and fashions

(C) An assortment of claustrophobically tight-knit families

(D) None of the above

At the end of the novel, why is Beaufort shunned from good society?

(A) His many illicit affairs are discovered

(B) He supported Ellen Olenska's decision to sue her husband for divorce

(C) His business affairs collapsed after some shady speculations

(D) None of the above

Who is Mrs. Manson Mingott?

(A) Ellen Olenska's grandmother

(B) May Welland's grandmother

(C) A spirited and corpulent old aristocrat

(D) All of the above

Why does May Welland question Archer's eagerness to marry her?

(A) She fears he has fallen in love with Ellen Olenska

(B) She fears he is still in love with his old mistress

(C) She fears Archer is using her for her family's fortune

(D) None of the above

Why does Ellen Olenska's family wish for her to return to her husband?

(A) To prevent New York from gossiping further about her unorthodox behavior

(B) Because of her husband's immense wealth

(C) Because of her husband's sincere love for Ellen

(D) Both A and B

When/where did Edith Wharton write The Age of Innocence?

(A) While recovering from a neurasthenic breakdown in 1883

(B) On vacation in Newport

(C) In Paris following the First World War

(D) None of the above

Where do May Welland and Newland Archer officially announce their engagement?

(A) At the Opera

(B) In St. Augustine

(C) At Beaufort's annual ball

(D) None of the above

Why does Old New York consider Ellen to be so unorthodox?

(A) It is rumored that she has had an affair

(B) She does not live in a fashionable neighborhood

(C) She associates with individuals on the fringe of good society

(D) All of the above

Why does Edith Wharton use so many details in The Age of Innocence?

(A) To give her novel a sense of historical accuracy

(B) To add subtle dimensions to the personalities of her characters

(C) To aesthetically enhance her novel's prose

(D) All of the above

Why does Newland Archer seek the advice of the van der Luydens soon after the arrival of Ellen Olenska?

(A) He fears the scandalous rumors associated with her will degrade the Mingott family

(B) He fears he is falling in love with Ellen

(C) He feels she has been unfairly shunned by some of the best families in New York

(D) None of the above

Why does Ellen return to Europe near the end of the novel?

(A) She wishes to return to her husband

(B) She is too impoverished to remain in New York

(C) She realizes that an affair with Archer would be impossible

(D) All of the above

Ellen Olenska is reluctant to consummate her love for Newland Archer because:

(A) She is still in love with her estranged husband

(B) She is afraid that their affair would become a tawdry fling subject to degrading gossip

(C) She fears it would hurt May and the family

(D) Both B and C

Why doesn't Newland Archer call off his engagement to May Welland?

(A) Because he realizes that he loves her and not Ellen Olenska

(B) Because she announces that she is pregnant

(C) Because May agrees to marry him sooner than planned and Archer feels trapped by his duty

(D) Because his family has arranged the marriage

Why is Newland Archer is disillusioned with his marriage to May Welland?

(A) He discovers that May has been unfaithful

(B) He learns that May does not actually love him

(C) He realizes that May has been raised to passively voice the opinions and values of others

(D) All of the above

Who is Ellen Olenska running away from when she leaves for Skuytercliff?

(A) Newland Archer

(B) Larry Lefferts

(C) Julius Beaufort

(D) Ned Winsett

Who is the French tutor?

(A) An intriguing conversationalist whom Archer meets while visiting family friends in London

(B) Secretary to Count Olenski

(C) The man suspected of being Countess Olenska's lover

(D) All of the above

At Newport, May wins first place at:

(A) Horseback riding

(B) Croquet

(C) Archery

(D) Three-legged race

After selling her little bohemian flat in New York, to where does Ellen Olenska moves?

(A) Paris

(B) Mrs. Manson Mingott's house

(C) Washington, D. C.

(D) Her husband's house

In Boston, what does Archer learn?

(A) Ellen's husband is pressing her to return to him

(B) Ellen is still in love with him

(C) That the French tutor is Count Olenski's secretary

(D) All of the above

Why is Mrs. Lemuel Struthers view by Old New York as "common"?

(A) She is the widow of a nouveau-riche shoe-polishing tycoon

(B) She throws bohemian gatherings at her home

(C) She is the mistress of Julius Beaufort

(D) Both A and B

After May's death, where does Archer reunite with Ellen?

(A) Paris

(B) New York

(C) Boston

(D) He is not reunited with Ellen

What character flaws does Newland Archer possess?

(A) A limited and often judgmental view of May

(B) To a lesser extent, the same fear of the new and the foreign as the rest of his clan

(C) Quixotic hopes that he is above or can escape the judgment of his clan

(D) All of the above

Why are Mrs. Medora Manson's eccentricities accepted by Old New York society?

(A) She is fabulously wealthy

(B) She is blackmailing Julius Beaufort

(C) She is related to the same powerful clan as Ellen Olenska

(D) None of the above

What brings on Mrs. Manson Mingott's stroke ?

(A) The effrontery of Mrs. Beaufort's request that Mrs. Mingott support her husband after his financial scandal

(B) Ellen's refusal to return to her husband

(C) A ham sandwich

(D) None of the above