Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Individual
Group Discount
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews December 14, 2023 December 7, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan - Group Discount
Qty: 00
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
In a society filled with conspicuous consumption, descriptions of furniture, dishes, even locations of summer homes all act as subtle indications of differences in wealth even amongst the very elite. In addition to their commercial value, any of these items may also suggest the personality of their owner. For example, May's bouquets of lilies-of-the-valley and her white dresses indicate her innocence and her purity. The eclectic furnishings in Ellen's New York flat gives her character an air of wild freedom. It is also important to remember that Wharton was writing about a world that no longer existed. Details add a sense of historical veracity and serve to maintain a sense of distance between Old New York and the modern world. In addition, Wharton was writing at a time when anthropology was becoming a new field of study. With her close observances of cultural artifacts, Wharton mimics the scholar of ancient and primitive civilizations. As a result, Old New York itself appears somewhat primitive, despite its own claims of high culture and morality.
There are many problems inherent to making a film from an existing novel. The most basic of these is that films can use visual images to great effect, whereas unillustrated books cannot. As a result, much of the textual nuances of a novel get lost in its translation to film. In
Newland may keenly feel the hypocrisy of Old New York, but he is not exempt from it himself. The most notable example of his double standards comes with his ideas on women. In Book One, he remarks privately that he wishes that May would learn to think independently despite the upbringing that taught her never to question authority, yet he also feels a proud sense of possession over May. On a broader scale, Archer claims that women should be granted the same rights as men, and should not be censured for having private relationships. Yet he also makes a judgmental distinction between "the women one loved and the women one pitied."
Archer can also be remarkably naïve. While he is astute to the complex authority the Mingott family wields, he underestimates its cleverness. While he feels he can defy the family's powerful solidarity by contradicting their opinions, Archer realizes with a start in Book Two that he has simply been excluded from consultation. He is also naïve in the sense that he feels that he is somehow exceptional to the usual codes and judgments of good society. He quixotically hopes that somehow Ellen and he can form a relationship that will defy the usual dreary terms of adultery. It is Ellen who must keep Archer's feet planted to the ground.
Please wait while we process your payment