New-York tribune., 1920-11-26
Books u.yu.a5 ay n,,un

"The trouble with YOU said one of
our newspaper friends, who is more
or less addicted to this form of open
ing, dis that your pcrspectives all
wrong. You go off your head about
this Moon-Face and Main Street in
stead of saying anything about The
Age of Innocence There's a woman
that knows her business Her books
different There's no fubdub about
that"
Edith Wharton does know her bust
ness, but curously enough we found
that The Age of Innocence was in many
respects strikingly similar to Moon
Calf and, to a greater extent, Main
Street. The fundamental theme in all
three is the conflict between the ideal
ist and his cnvronment Sinclair Lewis
has written of Gopher Prairie, but
it is spiritual kin to the New York of
the '70s about which Mrs. Wharton
writes. Fifth Avenue is her Main
Street and it seems in all important
respects as deadening a thorouehfare as
the chief highway of the little Minnesota
town. New York downs Newand
Archer just as decisivey as Gopher
Prairie defeats Carol Knnecott
Here resemblance ends and a differ
ence in point of view creeps in. Carol
accepts the inevitable because she has
to, but the author is not disposed to
find any spiritual consolation in her
sacrifice. Edith Wharton takes dis
tinct sentimental satisfaction in break
ing the heart Of her hero She is not
above finding him noble rather than
futile, which he was. Out of suffering,
she seems to imply, grows peace rather
than suffering. When the crisis comes
Archer decides TO say goodby to the
woman he loves and stay with his wife
She was dull and without understands
ing and she had trieked hm out Of his
hope of happiness, but Mrs. Wharton
cannot forget that beyond all this she
is a good woman. And years after
Archer's decision to accept duty as the
greatest thing in the world the author
writes of her hero and his wife: "Their
long years together had shown him that
it did not so much matter if marriage
was a dull duty, as long as it kept the
dignity Of duty; lapsing from that, it
became a mere battle of ugly appetitas.
Looking about him, he honored his own
past and mourned for it, After all,
there was good in the old ways
If there were not a "Who's Who at
hand we would still know that Mrs.
Wharton was ont OF Boston, or, at any
rate, heir OF the Puritan tradition The
audacious simplicity Of ugly appetses'
tells the whole story. But man has
come up out Of the mud and ooze urged
on by his appetites If dignity were
the compelling quality OF the world we
might all be tadpoles stn. Appetites
are not ugly. They are the truest sign
and symbol of life. The history of our
past is written in them and in them
lies the hope of our future. Perhaps
it is only fair to admit that dignity
and duty are both among the appetites.
At least they are among the acquired
tastes of mankind. They have their i'm
portance. Perhaps there would be less
relish in life without them. A pinch
of dignity and half teaspoonful of
duty are no more than fitting at this
stage of mans development, but these
are not things to make a meal Of
Archer, as we see him, was glutton
for both dignity and duty, and we do
not believe that in such fare there is
sustenance to bring even the hero of
a novel to comfortable old age
at did not SO much matter if mar
rage was dull duty, as long as it kept
the dignity of duty" We disagree
1t does matter. There is no. dignity in
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