tractive. May, like Diana, made Newland unattractive, at least to Ellen. The fact, albeit a lie at the time, that he was about to become a father, was enough to urge Ellen away. And just like Actaeon, Newland’s: “mind remained unchanged.” He was trapped forever in the question, ‘what if’ and forced to leave behind his love, his freedom and hence his mortality. Newland Archer becomes a hero because of his differences; yet he is also an anti-hero because of his paralysis. He is a god in the pantheon. He is a mortal man and an immortal god.Wharton has juxtaposed mortality and immortality with great skill. Newland Archer as the hero struggles to understand his own mortality. Yet as the anti-hero, he is a coward; he denies his mortality and accepts immortality. He lives within the pantheon of the gods yet by rejecting their societal rules, he is a thinking human mortal being. But as a mortal being he lacks the strength to change and recreate the New York pantheon. He is forever trapped within the walls of its mausoleum.*One story about Wharton and James goes like this: Wharton drove up to James’ house one day in a brand new, beautifully large car. She got out and said that she had purchased the car with the proceeds of her last book. James pointed to a wheelbarrow and replied that that was what he purchased with the proceeds of his last book and with the sale of his next book, he would paint it. I think this is an appropriate story about popularity and fiction and the perceived value of that fiction....
