During the 1870s, old New York modeled an atmosphere very different from that of Europe, which was still recovering from the war. The way author Edith Wharton viewed the society around her was one of expectations. There were expectations for men and women. For the most part, these expectations were unspoken rules about good manners, dress, good company, and any other details regarding a person's appearance to others. However, due to social determinism, Americans were not as “free” as they believed. The Age of Innocence presents a depiction of the constant social trap that forced people to mask their true feelings due to the ever-imposing desire to always look their best. One of the main themes of the story is the lack of morality in Old New. York. The city is renowned for its “rigidities in matters of form, family, and financial issues” and is “the embodiment of rectitude” (Kozloff, 273). However, Wharton exposes the town as actually being very hypocritical and falling victim to the social trap of hiding one's true identity. For example, the book's main male character, Newland Archer, discovers that all of his close family and friends are actually acting "like a bunch of stupid conspirators, and himself and the pale woman to his right as the center of their conspiracy » (Kozloff, 273). It is really sad that there is no honesty with oneself in this society and everyone wears a mask of “feel good” to hide their secrets. Cannedy 2The story's three central characters include, first, Newland Archer, a wealthy lawyer. who is engaged to the beautiful May Welland; second, May, a young debutante who models the stereotypical woman of old New York society, "...(a) young New York girl so beautiful and intelligent" (What...... middle of paper .... .. finally, Wharton demonstrates through Archer and Ellen's separation that people must put aside their personal desires for the greater good of the social dimension Works Cited Evron, Nir "Realism, irony and morality in. Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence." Literature 35.2 (2012): 37-51. JSTOR Web. March 22, 2014. Jessee, Margaret J. "Trying It On: Storytelling and Masking in the Age of Innocence." Journal of Modern Literature 36.1 (2012): 37-. JSTOR Web March 22, 2014. Klimasmith, “Recovering History: Modern Philosophies of Memory and Time in the Age of Innocence.” Kozloff, Sarah. “Complicity in The Age of Innocence.” Style 35.2 (2001): n. Literary Reference Center..