The Age of Innocence

Is the novel a tragedy or a composite of variety of genres? What is the most tragic aspect of the novel? What is the source of its tragedy? Has the tragedy of it diminished or increased or otherwise changed from our twenty-first century vantage point? The essay consists of analytical writing about any one of the works we’ve read so far in the course up through Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. Though it’s not required, you may use any one of the prompts I’ve provided thus far in the course (or combine them). You should consult and quote at least one legitimate secondary source in addition to the primary sources you’re discussing. JSTOR.org is quite helpful in searching for such sources, but a general guideline is that legitimate sources have an easily-discerned editorial apparatus, i.e. they aren’t study guide websites like Sparknotes, Gradesaver, etc.