IV explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Tradition vs. Change

  The rigid betrothal ritual contrasts with Mrs. Mingott's unconventional household and the emerging influence of new money like Mrs. Struthers.

• Hypocrisy and Moral Duality

  Society's silent condemnation of Ellen's public appearance with Beaufort while privately admiring his wealth and status reveals double standards.

• Class and Social Hierarchy

  The visit underscores the importance of family approval and social standing, with Mrs. Mingott's approval of the ring and wedding plans reinforcing class boundaries.

Characters to notice

• Newland Archer

  Participates in betrothal visits, feels amused by Mrs. Mingott's unconventional household, and informs Ellen of his engagement.

• May Welland

  Present as the betrothed, receives the engagement ring, and is the subject of family discussions about the wedding date.

• Mrs. Manson Mingott

  Hosts the betrothal visit, approves the ring, urges an early wedding, and welcomes Julius Beaufort with eager gossip.

• Ellen Olenska

  Arrives late to her grandmother's house with Julius Beaufort, speaks briefly with Archer about his engagement, and is silently criticized for her public appearance.

• Julius Beaufort

  Accompanies Ellen Olenska to Mrs. Mingott's, is praised by the old lady, and discussed in relation to his invitation of Mrs. Struthers.

• Mrs. Welland

  Accompanies the betrothal party, explains the ring's new setting, and silently disapproves of Ellen's public behavior.

Key passages

• “The New York ritual was precise and inflexible in such matters; and in conformity with it Newland Archer first went with his mother and sister to call on Mrs. Welland, after which he and Mrs. Welland and May drove out to old Mrs. Manson Mingott's to receive that venerable ancestress's blessing.”

  Newland Archer followed the strict social protocol by first visiting Mrs. Welland with his mother and sister, then going with Mrs. Welland and May to get old Mrs. Mingott's blessing.

  Describes the formal betrothal visit sequence.

• “The immense accretion of flesh which had descended on her in middle life like a flood of lava on a doomed city had changed her from a plump active little woman with a neatly-turned foot and ankle into something as vast and august as a natural phenomenon.”

  Mrs. Mingott's massive weight gain in middle age transformed her from a lively, trim woman into a grand, almost geological presence.

  Vivid description of Mrs. Mingott's physical appearance and its symbolic weight.

• “It amused Newland Archer (who had secretly situated the love-scenes of Monsieur de Camors in Mrs. Mingott's bedroom) to picture her blameless life led in the stage-setting of adultery; but he said to himself, with considerable admiration, that if a lover had been what she wanted, the intrepid woman would have had him too.”

  Archer found it ironic that Mrs. Mingott's innocent life was lived in a setting that seemed designed for scandal, and he admired her boldness enough to think she would have taken a lover if she had wished.

  Highlights Archer's fascination with the contrast between appearance and reality.

• “But at any rate it spared them the embarrassment of her presence, and the faint shadow that her unhappy past might seem to shed on their radiant future.”

  The family was relieved that Ellen was absent, as her troubled history might have cast a pall over the happy engagement visit.

  Reveals society's view of Ellen as a tainted figure.