Totem Terrors

Wharton's first use of symbolism in The Age of Innocence is interesting and put to creative use. Throughout the beginning of the novel, the cultural and traditional behaviors of  Old New York is described as being very predictable and ritualistic: an epitome of such is the scene of the opera and the commencement of the annual Beaufort's ball. Wharton compares this predictable behavior with that of primitive cultures when she employs Archer's concern with such as being likenable to the "totem terrors that had ruled the destinies of his forefathers thousands of years ago."

I found this comparison very interesting. I also found the concept of such a ritualistic lifestyle to be exhausting and mundane.