I’m going to be honest. This book didn’t really move me. I can see that it’s well written. I can see the social critique. The themes are important. Women’s limited freedom, the pressure of society, divorce as scandal, the hypocrisy of the upper class. It’s all there. But emotionally, I just never fully connected to it. The characters felt distant to me, almost untouchable. This New York elite thinks it’s refined and morally superior, looks down on Europe while literally coming from European roots. There’s so much pride and so much narrow mindedness at the same time. Everything is about appearance. Reputation. Control. And honestly, half of the plot could have been solved with one clear conversation. If Archer and Ellen had simply admitted their feelings openly, so much drama would not even exist. The constant hinting and emotional dancing around each other was frustrating to read. Archer marrying May while knowing he loves someone else felt selfish to me. Being engaged is not a life sentence. But I will say this. He stays. He chooses his marriage and he stands by it. Even after May’s death, Ellen remains a dream rather than a second chance. And maybe that’s the real point. Not a lack of love, but a lack of courage. I was at 3 stars. But Edith Wharton was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1921 and was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. That mattered. It was a breakthrough for women in literature. So I’m giving it 3.5 stars. PS: At least my edition has one of the prettiest covers I own.

<blockquote><b><i>“In reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs.”</i></b></blockquote> I can't believe I'm finally done with this book. Seriously, I thought this would never end. Although a short book, it took me the longest to finish, mainly because it was so slow going and the plot failed to move and things never happened in this that I was super close to DNF it. Only my total obsession with finishing book series and books in general, no matter how much I'm hating it, that kept me going (one of the reasons why I was able to finish "The Great Gatsby", "The 100" and why I will read "Grey" as well). I just couldn't connect or sympathize with any of the characters (they annoyed me to no end - especially Archer, he's just a total idiot), the plot failed to intrigue me or keep me interested and the most interesting characters were not properly developed for me to understand their motives and their actions. I get the whole criticism of the society of that time, the judgmental AF society and everything, but I was so irritated over the characters and the slow pacing that I couldn't fully get into this side of the book as much as I would've liked. Overall, a terrible book for me, and I failed to understand what was so brilliant about it or why so many people love it. Thankfully I'm free to move to other things. Actual rating: 1.5 stars.