Throughout history, society has never cared much for women’s happiness. Arranged marriages were used to buy and to sell women to the highest bidder and women were expected to comply for the best interest of their families. While society did not care if a man had an affair, a woman was expected to keep a content facade. Helga Crane from the novel Quicksand, May Newland and Ellen Olenska from the novel The Age of Innocence, and Holly Golightly from the novella and movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s all have suffered through marriages in order to have a place in the world. The patriarchal society that these women live in conditions them to believe that in order for them and their loved ones to survive, they must belong to a man, even if it costs them their happiness. In Quicksand, the protagonist Helga spends her life fleeing from one town to the next. From an early age, society conditions her to find a man so that she will have a place in society. Helga was born…show more content… Ellen Olenska marries a Polish count, but then escapes Europe and settles in New York to be with her family. At her arrival in New York, “there [is] a shadow of shade on… Ellen Olenska’s reputation” and she instantly becomes the subjects of the town’s gossip (Wharton 16). The town accuses Ellen of sleeping with Mr. Beaufort as well as talk about her failed marriage. At first, Ellen is allowed to live without her husband in a comfortable life with her family; but when she pushes for a divorce, her family “reduce[s her] allowance” (Wharton 170), in an attempt to force her to go back to her husband. Without a man, Ellen cannot exist in society, “Everyone had refused the Mingott’s invitation” (Wharton 30) “to meet the Countess Olenska”(Wharton 29) which shows that society wants nothing to do with her after she leaves her husband. Ellen goes against societal norms by getting a divorce, so therefore society turns on
