Laura Hope Crews: Mrs. Welland

The Age of Innocence

Mrs. Welland

Mrs. Welland: Oh, I hope you don't think my parents were as lax as we are today. We were brought up to think too much familiarity during the engagement took the bloom off things.

Mrs. Welland: The way engaged young couples act today makes one wonder if there's anything left for the honeymoon.

Mrs. Welland: Couldn't you drop her a little hint?
Granny Manson Mingott: Hint? I told her in the plainest terms!
Mrs. Welland: What his reputation was?
Granny Manson Mingott: I told her he didn't have much reputation. I told her no nice woman would be seen walking up Fifth Avenue in broad daylight with Julius Beaufort. And what do you think she said?
[laughs]
Granny Manson Mingott: She said, darling, would you rather I walk with him at night?

Mrs. Welland: Where is this place?
Ellen: West 23rd Street.
Mrs. Welland: West 23rd Street! Where all those dreadful people live.
Ellen: Dreadful people?
[to Beaufort]
Ellen: You told me it was respectable?
Julius Beaufort: Well, in my experience, I've always found it very respectable.
Mrs. Welland: You know perfectly well, the sort of persons who live there. All kinds of odds and ends. Bird-stuffers. Dreadful people who write. Dressmakers. Musicians. Painters.
Ellen: Musicians, painters. I've always liked Bohemians. My husband's house was always full of them.
Mrs. Welland: In deed.

Mr. Welland: [to Newland] It seems that over there, they're views are somewhat different from ours. And, eh, marriage doesn't seem to hold the same sacred responsibilities.
Mrs. Welland: The truth is, poor Ellen, has left her husband. And, there's talk of a scandal. Oh, I don't know any of the details. I only ask not to.

Mrs. Welland: Do you think your mother...
Newland Archer: I'll talk to mother. She'll understand.
Mr. Welland: We shouldn't like her to think that even though the Countess is our relative, that we condone a woman who has exposed herself by unconventional actions to offensive insinuation.