Wharton, Edith — The Age of Innocence [30]

Mrs. Wharton belongs to a tradition which is ending. She realises this, and surveys without asperity the succeeding chaos. It is essentially an American tradition, though not one which has been able to flourish in America. Rooted in Puritanism and financial stability, it has put forth in Europe the flowers of a conscientious and distinguished art—an art which could not bloom until it had been transplanted. — Wharton, Edith, The Age of Innocence, 30

Note

The paradox of the tradition that could only flower once transplanted to Europe—‘rooted in Puritanism and financial stability’ but unable to bloom in America—captures Wharton’s own trajectory and the novel’s nostalgia.