Wharton, Edith — The Age of Innocence [711]

Here was truth, here was reality, here was the life that belonged to him; and he, who fancied himself so scornful of arbitrary restraints, had been afraid to break away from his desk because of what people might think of his stealing a holiday! — Wharton, Edith, The Age of Innocence, 711

Note

The irony does a double turn: Archer flatters himself as ‘scornful of arbitrary restraints’ while simultaneously confessing he feared what people would think — the exact control mechanism the book dissects. The sentence convicts him of the very conformity he believes he transcends.