Ellen Olenska is one of the heroines in Edith Wharton’s masterpiece The Age of Innocence.This paper analyzes the unfair treatment on Ellen by the Old New York and the miserable fate destined for Ellen,and aims at point out that Ellen was a woman who desired for freedom and independence;however,in the male chauvinist society,women with such advanced ideas are bound to be a tragedy.Because in that society,women lack of free and independence is the root cause of economic foundation.Thus,Ellen’s desire for freedom is illusive and will never be realized.