The Age of Innocence: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Archer is feeling embarrassed to have everyone focused on the box where his betrothed sits, particularly since he momentarily can’t figure out who the woman attracting attention is. Then he realizes that she’s May Welland’s cousin, Ellen Olenska, who recently arrived from Europe. Archer admires the Mingotts’ willingness to stand by the odder members of the family, and he’s glad that May is kind to Ellen Olenska in private. However, he’s indignant that the Mingotts would bring Countess Olenska to the opera with them.

Archer knows that the matriarch of the Mingotts, Mrs. Catherine Mingott, is quite daring. Despite initial social disadvantages, she managed to marry into the wealthy Mingott family, marry two of her daughters off to foreigners, and build a large, unconventional house. Mrs. Mingott’s foreign daughters never come to see her, and she remains at home, enthroned in the house that proves her moral courage. Mrs. Mingott has never been beautiful, and some people say that she’s been successful only because of her stubbornness.

Mrs. Mingott’s husband died when she was young, but she went on boldly mingling with all kinds of people, both noble and socially questionable. Her reputation has never been doubted. Mrs. Mingott’s husband’s money was initially tied up after his death, and though she was able to get access to it, she still lives thriftily. In particular, her food and wine are of mediocre quality, much to her relatives’ dismay. People continue to visit her in spite of this.

Archer turns back to the Mingotts’ box. May Welland is the only one who looks the slightest bit aware of the significance of having Ellen Olenska there. Countess Olenska watches the stage, her dress revealing a bit more than is typical in New York. Archer hates few things more than people going against “taste,” and Countess Olenska’s dress shocks him. He doesn’t like to think of May being under her influence.

The men in Archer’s box are talking about Ellen Olenska, who left her brute of a husband. Lefferts confirms that he was an awful womanizer and spent freely, but she ran off with the husband’s secretary. The affair didn’t last long, and one of her relatives retrieved her from Venice. The men think it’s not right for her to be at the Opera, particularly with May Welland, but Lefferts attributes this bold move to Mrs. Mingott’s influence.

As the act ends, Archer feels a sudden need to go to Mrs. Mingott’s box and help May through her social difficulty. He hurries to the box, where he can tell that May understands why he’s come. The fact that she can immediately understand this delicate matter makes him feel very intimate with her. Mrs. Welland introduces Countess Olenska, and Archer sits down next to May. He tells her quietly that he wants to announce their engagement at the ball that evening. She says he can do so if he can persuade her mother to let him, and he should tell Countess Olenska now, since he used to play with her when they were children.

Archer goes to sit next to Ellen Olenska, who reminds him that he was an awful child and once kissed her. Being here is making her think of everyone as she knew them when they were children. Archer is shocked that she’s thinking of these honorable people in such a way, particularly when they’re all judging her. She says she’s been gone so long that she feels she’s died and New York is heaven. To Archer, this seems a very disrespectful description.