Character Development

Question 1

Newland Archer

• hidden meaning behind his name

Answer 1

• His first name- ‘New-land’ promotes America’s image to the world, opposing the ‘old’ ways of Europe.
• If Newland represents America, he represents an America that aims for (“arches” toward) higher ideals, but doesn’t have the cojones to make fantasies into reality.
• He is American by blood, this is something we see throughout the play because he never truly lets go of his traditional American ideas

Question 2

Consequences of Newland Archer’s attraction towards Olenska

Answer 2

• Considering Archer read a lot of books, this tended to feed into his romantic imagination.
• Archer begins to fall more and more in love with Olenska, his whole way of looking at the world, and his world has completely changed. (“the Welland house, and the life he was expected to lead in it, that had become unreal and irrelevant”)
• His fantasies begin to manifest themselves into reality.
• Straying away from his origin- ‘unreal/irrelevant’. He’s in between choosing comfort and confinement or freedom and discomfort.-

Question 3

Newland Archer

“he moved with a growing sense of unreality and insufficiency, blundering against familiar prejudices and traditional points of view as an absent-minded man goes on bumping into the furniture of his own room”

Answer 3

Now completely in love with Madame Olenska, Archer is unable to function in New York society. He’s blinded by love.

Question 4

Madam Ellen Olenska’s Female Empowerment

Answer 4

After leaving her husband, after his poor treatment towards her, she grows, not only as a woman but as an individual.

Olenska may be alone for a lot of her life, but i don’t think she can ever feel as lonely as these people

People look down on her of her for leaving her husband and shirking certain social rules. Ellen is characterized by her wisdom and worldly experience, which are characteristics that New York women are not supposed to have-ultimately empowering her as a female.

Question 5

May Wellend

‘she doesn’t even guess what it’s all about’

Answer 5

-Initial condescending view of may and her innocence, the irony here is that she eventually begins to reveal her true character, she is much more smarter and wiser than perceived to be.

Question 6

May Wellend

‘a young girl in white with eyes ecstatically fixed on the stage lovers’

‘lilies of the valley on her knee’

Answer 6

-first impression of may wetland, wearing white - associated with purity

the flowers may is associated are white and pure and associated with innocence like her, very different to Ellen’s vivacious yellow roses

Question 7

Ellen Olenska’s critical views on society.

Answer 7

“Does no one want to know the truth here, Mr. Archer? The real loneliness is living among all these kind of people who only ask one to pretend!”

Olenska has broken free from the shackles that Traditional Americans grasp onto, she has a clear opinion on society- that everyone is just ‘pretending’ and living a life of lies in order to feel accepted into society.

She stands by this opinion throughout the play, she doesn’t change for anyone, only Newland does..