Named source · 1920

The Age of Innocence Quotes by Edith Wharton: Context & Meanings

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The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!

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“The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!”

Edith Wharton

Meaning & context

Wharton separates physical solitude from social isolation: Ellen feels most alone when acceptance depends on hiding what she actually thinks and has experienced.

Source details

The Age of Innocence, Book I, Chapter IX, Project Gutenberg #541. Countess Ellen Olenska tells Newland Archer that “The real loneliness” is living among kind people who ask one to pretend after explaining that her relatives will help only on condition that unpleasant truths remain unheard. It remains fictional character dialogue inside Wharton’s critique of social convention rather than a universal sociological finding.

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