The Age of Innocence Chapter 23 Summary

  • In the morning, Archer arrives in Boston and checks into the Somerset House. He sends a message to the Parker House— where Ellen is staying— but the messenger returns to say that she has stepped out.
  • Archer goes out to find Ellen. She’s sitting on the Common.
  • She informs him that she is in town to meet with her husband's messenger, and she has rejected her husband's proposal that he return all her dowry to her in exchange for her return.
  • Archer invites Ellen to come along with him on a boat ride to Point Arley. After some convincing, she agrees.
  • They go back to Parker House so that Ellen can leave a message for her husband's messenger. He waits outside while Ellen goes inside, but he thinks he recognizes a man's face at the Parker House.
  • Archer and Ellen take a boat out to Point Arley. The restaurant in the inn there is crowded, so they get a private room to themselves for their lunch.