Wharton, Edith — The Age of Innocence [770]

The young man, who was dining alone with his mother and sister, glanced up in surprise and saw Mrs. Archer’s gaze demurely bent on her plate. Mrs. Archer did not regard her seclusion from the world as a reason for being forgotten by it; and Newland guessed that she was slightly annoyed that he should be surprised by Madame Olenska’s visit. — Wharton, Edith, The Age of Innocence, 770

Note

A compact portrait of Mrs. Archer’s passive aggression: she ‘did not regard her seclusion from the world as a reason for being forgotten by it,’ and her demure plate-gaze is a whole scene of reproach in miniature. Wharton lets a single observing sentence carry the mother’s entire social philosophy.