# Mrs. Henry van der Luyden — The Age of Innocence character guide

> Mrs. Henry van der Luyden in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mrs. van der Luyden

**First appearance:** 0001-i

## Snapshot

Henry's pale, deliberate wife, who rules New York's drawing rooms with a frozen gentleness and never commits herself before consulting her husband.

## Who they are

Mrs. van der Luyden's habitual reply—that she must first talk things over with Henry—has made her the quiet gatekeeper of New York's most exclusive circles. Yet when the Archer family brings her the scandal of the Lovell Mingott dinner, she surprises everyone by reaching for the bell-rope and summoning her husband to hear the case. Her rare promptness signals that even the most glacial arbiters of taste can be moved when the social order itself is threatened.

## In the story

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se/chapters/vii)

Listens silently to Mrs. Archer's story and calls for her husband, ultimately supporting the plan to include Countess Olenska in their social event.

### [Chapter XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se/chapters/xxxii)

Hosts the dinner; expresses concern about Ellen's visit to Mrs. Beaufort and her lack of consultation.

### [XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se/chapters/xxxiii)

Attends the dinner; accepts being placed on the host's left to emphasize Ellen's foreignness.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se/characters/mrs_van_der_luyden
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_innocence_se/characters