Essay on The Age of Innocence and Yellow Roses

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3. What does the title The Age of Innocence symbolize?
Flowers are important symbols in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Many Victorian families had a book on the "language of flowers" in their home, or even a flower dictionary. Giving flowers was not only a way to express wealth, but also a way to communicate a subtle message. Every morning during his engagement, Newland Archer sends lilies-of-the-valley to May Welland. Lilies-of-the-valley symbolize purity, modesty, and return of happiness. Newland believes May to be as naïve and innocent as these white flowers suggest. After Newland's first visit to Ellen Olenska's home, he sends her a bouquet of yellow roses. The message of a yellow rose is more complicated. Yellow roses can represent jealousy, infidelity, friendship, or a decrease of love. "His eye lit on a cluster of yellow roses. He had never seen any as sun-golden before, and his first impulse was to send them to May instead of the lilies. But they did not look like her—there was something too rich, too strong, in their fiery beauty." (Wharton 60)
3. What does the title The Age of Innocence symbolize?
Flowers are important symbols in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Many Victorian families had a book on the "language of flowers" in their home, or even a flower dictionary. Giving flowers was not only a way to express wealth, but also a way to communicate a subtle message. Every morning during his engagement, Newland Archer sends lilies-of-the-valley to May Welland. Lilies-of-the-valley symbolize purity, modesty, and return of happiness. Newland believes May to be as naïve and innocent as these white flowers suggest. After Newland's first visit to Ellen Olenska's home, he sends her a bouquet of yellow roses. The message of a yellow rose is more complicated. Yellow roses can represent jealousy, infidelity, friendship, or a decrease of love. "His eye lit on a cluster of yellow roses. He had never seen any as sun-golden before, and his first impulse was to send them to May instead of the lilies. But they did not look like her—there was something too rich, too strong, in their fiery beauty." (Wharton 60)3. What does the title The Age of Innocence symbolize?
Flowers are important symbols in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Many Victorian families had a book on the "language of flowers" in their home, or even a flower dictionary. Giving flowers was not only a way to express wealth, but also a way to communicate a subtle message. Every morning during his engagement, Newland Archer sends lilies-of-the-valley to May Welland. Lilies-of-the-valley symbolize purity, modesty, and return of happiness. Newland believes May to be as naïve and innocent as these white flowers suggest. After Newland's first visit to Ellen Olenska's home, he sends her a bouquet of yellow roses. The message of a yellow rose is more complicated. Yellow roses can represent jealousy, infidelity, friendship, or a decrease of love. "His eye lit on a cluster of yellow roses. He had never seen any as sun-golden before, and his first impulse was to send them to May instead of the lilies. But they did not look like her—there was something too rich, too strong, in their fiery beauty." (Wharton 60)3. What does the title The Age of Innocence symbolize?
Flowers are important symbols in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. Many Victorian families had a book on the "language of flowers" in their home, or even a flower dictionary. Giving flowers was not only a way to express wealth, but also a way to communicate a subtle message. Every morning during his engagement, Newland Archer sends lilies-of-the-valley to May Welland. Lilies-of-the-valley symbolize purity, modesty, and return of happiness. Newland believes May to be as naïve and innocent as these white flowers suggest. After Newland's first visit to Ellen Olenska's home, he sends her a bouquet of yellow roses. The message of a yellow rose is more
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