Well, well, well: if it isn’t the consequences of his own actions.
Newland Archer marries May Welland this week — and literally during the ceremony starts to regret it and dreams of Ellen instead.
In this week’s audio guide, I’m asking if you remember the Oedipus myth, and if you think our dear Newland Archer is Old New York’s very own doomed protagonist, destined to play-out a tragic and horrible fate he wants no part of, but will force to happen regardless?
Methinks he may be.
I ramble, I wander, I closely read.
Listen along to get back into the novel this week — and watch for the full written guide to these chapters on Wednesday. Then, if you’re just too excited to talk about that killer “archery” pun in Chapter 19, get thee hence to the comments and get conversation started.
Also, I’ve started a “Chat” for closely readers in the Substack app. It feels very 90s and it’s very fun to hear from you as you read. Feel free to join in!
More soon — until then, happy reading!
Diving into Book 2