Many writers enrich their prose with ambiguity, using words with multiple meanings or definitions that could all apply to a person, place, thing, or idea. The Oxford English Dictionary, or OED, is an important and vital tool.
The Age of Innocence
One example of the literary technique of ambiguity is found in the 1920 novel The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1862-1937). Wharton describes the Gilded Age in New York City, the turn of the century, from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, a time of great wealth along with great social, political, and economic change.
The Love Triangle
The love triangle involves Newland Archer, an attorney from an established and wealthy New York family. He has determined to marry May Welland, a debutante from a family that matches his in class and wealth. Yet, he is attracted to a cousin of the family, Countess Olenska, the black sheep, who has suffered from an unfortunate marriage, and left her husband in Europe to seek solace with her family in New York.
The Countess is Seated in the "Gilt" Chair
Newland and the Countess begin an almost-requited love affair behind May's back, though the society circles begin to suspect the attachment. At one of the society affairs, the Countess is seated in a "gilt" chair.
Here is where the Oxford English Dictionary can help with vocabulary and with the author's intention. Looking in the Oxford English Dictionary, one can find the word "gilt," with its myriad ambiguous meanings.
Oxford English Dictionary Definitions of "Gilt"
- One definition certainly describes the gold-painted chair as "gilt."
- "Gilding: the thin layer of gold with which anything is gilt."
- An obsolete meaning is "Money."
- A slang term for "Thief."
- Obsolete for "Guilt" or "Jilt."
With Countess Olenska seated in the "gilt" chair, all these meanings could apply.
How the Multiple Meanings Apply to the Countess
Certainly the chair is painted, or gilded, with gold, or something that looks like gold. This might indicate that she is artificial, or not the pure woman that May is.
There might also be an allusion to money, which the Countess needs to stay free of her abusive husband. With some of the family chipping in to provide funds for her, then she could be sitting in the "Money" chair.
At the same time, the Countess has been involved with an engaged, and then married, man. In this way, she could be considered a thief, and seated in the 'Thief" chair.
Finally, the old and obsolete meaning for "gilt" was "Guilt" or "Jilt." Both of these definitions could apply to the Countess. With Newland, she is guilty of falling in love with a man married to someone else. Yet, according to society's double standard, it is the woman seated in the "Guilt" chair, not Newland.
The word "Jilt" can also apply to this love triangle. The marriages of Newland, May, the Countess, and her husband, are at the bending or breaking point, with each person "jilting" the other in some way. Again, though, it is the single woman who bears the punishment of the "jilt" chair.
The term "gilt" could also be an allusion to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne, coming out of prison for adultery, is wearing a scarlet "A" with gold trim. Countess Olenska is seen as the "Scarlet" woman. Sitting in the "gilt" chair gives her the colors of red and gold, like Hester's "A" for "Adultery."
The Oxford English Dictionary offers a treasure of enriching words for writers searching for new vocabulary, and for readers digging for enriched meaning to the words on the page.
For further discussion, with an example from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, please see "Literary Techniques - Ambiguity."
References
Oxford Dictionary. AskOxford: Search Oxford Dictionaries Online.
Oxford English Dictionary, The Compact Edition. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1971, 1979, p. 1143, "Gilt."
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. New York: D. Appleton, 1920. Bartleby, 2000.
Teresa Knudsen - Teresa's writing appears in the British Library, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Online she has written for USA Today and E How.
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