The Age of Innocence: Chapter 34

"Something he knew he had missed: the flower of life."

We made it! Welcome to the final week of our slow reading of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence.

I’m so excited to dive into the chapter with you all today, and to focus on a few favorite moments from this absolutely incredible finale chapter.

But before we dive in:

A fun new thing! If you’d like a postcard to celebrate reaching the end of the novel, please send me a DM here on Substack or fill out this form. I designed a few Age of Innocence cards that I can’t wait to share with anyone who’d like one to commemorate their reading experience!

A brief summary

Here’s a breakdown of what happens in these chapters, with any new characters we meet in bold.

You can listen to an audio summary here.

Chapter 34

• Newland reflects on the last 26 years of his life, in which he has raised three children with May and now finds himself a widower at 57 years old — with one more c…