unit 9 henry james

1、Henry JamesThe 3 Giants The three dominant figures of the period are William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James. Mark Twain and Howells seemed to have paid more attention to the “life” of the Americans, and Henry James had apparently laid greater emphasis on the “inner world” of man. The grea

2、test of Americas realists are Henry James and Mark Twain. They moved beyond a superficial portrayal of social reality. James probed deeply at the individual psychology of his characters, writing in a rich and intricate style that supported his intense scrutiny of complex human experience. Twain, bre

3、aking out of the narrow limits of local color fiction, described the breadth of American experience.: a powerful example of realism - “Art without life is a poor affair.” - “The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent life - “It is art that makes life.”Life of H

4、enry James Henry James, (1843 1916) a US born British author, is one of the key figures of 19th century literary realism. He was born in New York City. And hes the second son of Henry James, Sr., who was an unorthodox theologian with considerable wealth. His elder brother was the famous philosopher

5、and psychologist. Henry James, Sr, the father, was a friend of Emerson and Carlyle. It was his father who gave his 2 sons a special infant baptism by taking them abroad before they could speak and by dipping them in the front of Europe. For Henry James, this meant that he grew in no particular soil

6、but the richest and most varied soil. His life, like his writing was international. In France, in 1870s, he came to know Flaubert, Maupassant and Zola. It is little wonder his fictive form was French. He also met Turgenev the Russian Writer. Later in his life he lived in Italy and England making onl

7、y the occasional visit to America. His life was sheltered, celibate and orderly. But the same life denied him the other enriching experiences. He never really knew the perpetual struggle for the mere existence as know to most people. He gave a cold treatment of sex passion in his writing. He lacked

8、understanding of business. Yet within his limits he was an artist who understood and expressed spiritual nobility. he spent much of his life in England and became a British subject shortly before his death. So he is claimed by both American and Britain as their writer. He is primarily known for a se

9、ries of major novels in which he portrayed the encounter of America with Europe. His plots centered on personal relationships, the proper exercise of power in such relationships, and other moral questions. His method of writing from the point of view of a character within a tale allowed him to explo

10、re the phenomena of consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting. James insisted that writers in Great Britain and America should be allowed the greatest freedom possible in presenting their view of the world, as French authors were. His imag

11、inative use of point of view, interior monologue and unreliable narrators in his own novels and tales brought a new depth and interest to realistic fiction, and foreshadowed the modernist work of the twentieth century. An extraordinarily productive writer, in addition to his voluminous works of fict

12、ion he published articles and books of travel writing, biography, autobiography, and criticism, and wrote plays, some of which were performed during his lifetime with moderate success. His theatrical work is thought to have profoundly influenced his later novels and tales.Literary Career: 3 Stages 1

13、. 18651882: international theme The American (1877) Daisy Miller (1879) The Portrait of a Lady (1881)2. 18821895: inter-personal relationships and some plays (1886) (1886) 3. 18951900: novellas and tales dealing with childhood and adolescence, then back to international theme The Turn of the Screw (

14、1897) What Maisie Knew(1897) The Wings of the Dove(1902 ) The Ambassadors(1903) The Golden Bowl(1904)His contribution: No writer of Henry Jamess time surpass him in the art of novel and in the way his art aspires for the ideal. He was the first American writer who significantly developed the interna

15、tional dimension of American literature. He also made irony and indeterminacy as required attributes of art. Succeeding generations of readers and writers keep returning to him and find more meanings and differing values. The later James can be very difficult to reading and understand. He wrote long

16、 sentences in whole blocks of narration. he engaged masterfully in ambiguity. Aesthetic Ideas of Henry Jamesa. The aim of novel: represent lifeb. Common, even ugly side of lifec. Social function of artd. Avoiding omniscient point of viewNarrative style:a. Psychological analysis, forefather of stream

17、 of consciousnessb. Psychological realismc. Highly-refined language A. Language: highly-refined, polished, insightful, accurate B. Vocabulary: large C. Construction: long blocks of narration consist of elaborate sentences with multiple, dependent clauses and rich in meaning Although James style is q

18、uite demanding to the reader, he also trusts the reader to be able read at a higher level from which the appreciation of his fictional order and structure can be delightful.e.g.: . one may say that the civil war marks an era in the history of the American mind. It introduced into the national consci

19、ousness a certain sense of proportion and relation, of the world being a more complicated place than it had hitherto seemed, the future more treacherous success more difficult. At the rate at which things are going, it is obvious that that good Americans will be numerous than ever; but the good Amer

20、ican, in days to come, will be a more critical person than his complacent and confident grandfather. . - from Hawthorne Novels of Henry JamessWatch and Ward (1871) Roderick Hudson (1875) The American (1877) The Europeans (1878) Confidence (1879) Washington Square (1880) The Portrait of a Lady (1881)

21、 The Bostonians (1886) The Princess Casamassima (1886) The Reverberator (1888) The Tragic Muse (1890) The Other House (1896) The Spoils of Poynton (1897) What Maisie Knew (1897) The Awkward Age (1899) The Sacred Fount (1901) The Wings of the Dove (1902) The Ambassadors (1903) The Golden Bowl (1904)

22、The Whole Family (collaborativenovel with eleven other authors, 1908) The Outcry (1911) The Ivory Tower (unfinished, published posthumously 1917) The Sense of the Past (unfinished, published posthumously 1917) The Other House (1896) The Spoils of Poynton (1897) What Maisie Knew (1897) The Awkward Ag

23、e (1899)The Sacred Fount (1901) The Wings of the Dove (1902) The Ambassadors (1903) The Golden Bowl (1904) The Whole Family (collaborative novel with eleven other authors, 1908) The Outcry (1911) The Ivory Tower (unfinished, published posthumously 1917) The Sense of the Past (unfinished, published p

24、osthumously 1917) The Portrait of a Lady The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillans Magazine in 18801881 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James most popular long novels, and is regarded by critics as one of his finest.

25、 The Portrait of a Lady is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who affronts her destiny and finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates. Like many of James novels, it is

26、 set mostly in Europe, notably England and Italy. Generally regarded as the masterpiece of his early phase of writing, this novel reflects Jamess continuing interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also treats in a profound way the theme

27、s of personal freedom, responsibility, betrayal, and sexuality.The jolly corner The jolly corner is a short story by Henry James published first in the magazine the English Review of December, 1908. one of James most noted ghost stories The jolly corner describes the adventures of Spencer Brydon as

28、he prowls the now empty New York house where he grew up. He encounter a “sensation more complex than had ever before found itself consistent with sanity.”Key themes: The story treats a theme of nearly universal interest: the “unlived life” the life a person might have had but didnt. Attempts have be

29、en made to relate the story to Henry Jamess own life certainly there are some parallels between the expatriate Brydon and the expatriate James. But too close an identification probably lessens rather than enhances the storys significance. In particular, likening the ghosts 2 lost fingers with the “o

30、bscure Hurt” that James experienced during his late teens may well be too reductive and simplistic. The Ambassadors The Ambassadors is a 1903 novel by Henry James, originally published as a serial in the North American Review (NAR). This dark comedy, one of the masterpieces of James final period, fo

31、llows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe in pursuit of his widowed fiances supposedly wayward son. Strether is to bring the young man back to the family business, but he encounters unexpected complications. The third-person narrative is told exclusively from Strethers point of

32、view.Plot of The Ambassadors Lambert Strether, a middle-aged yet not broadly-experienced man from Wollett, Massachusetts, agrees to take on a mission for his wealthy fiancee: to go to Paris and rescue her son Chad Newsome from the clutches of a presumably wicked woman. On his journey, Strether stops

33、 in England and meets Maria Gostrey, an American woman who has lived in Paris for many years. Her cynical wit and worldly-wise opinions start to rattle Strethers preconceived view of the situation.In Paris, Strether meets Chad and is impressed by the much greater sophistication he seems to have gain

34、ed during his years in Europe. Chad takes him to a garden party where Strether meets Marie de Vionnet, a lovely woman of impeccable manners, separated from her reportedly obnoxious husband, and her exquisite daughter Jeanne. Strether is confused as to whether Chad is more attracted to the mother or

35、the daughter. At the same time, Strether himself feels an overwhelming attraction to Marie de Vionnet, which he suspects she may return, and begins to question his commitment to return to Wollett and marry Chads mother, despite his admiration for her.Strether takes a small tour in the French country

36、side to escape these troubles, and accidentally meets Chad and Marie at a rural inn. Strether now realizes the full extent of the pairs romantic involvement. After he returns to Paris he counsels Chad not to leave Marie. But Strether finds that he is no longer comfortable in Europe. He declines what

37、 amounts to a marriage proposal from Maria Gostrey and returns to America. Major themes of The Ambassadors James got the central idea for The Ambassadors from an anecdote about his friend and fellow-novelist William Dean Howells. While visiting his son in Paris Howells was so impressed with the amen

38、ities of European culture that he wondered aloud if life hadnt passed him by. This intriguing suggestion grew into Strethers long speech to Little Bilham about living all you can.The theme of liberation from a cramped, almost starved emotional life into a far more generous and gracious existence pla

39、ys throughout The Ambassadors. But its important to note that James does not naively make Paris into a faultless paradise for stinted Americans. Strether learns about the reverse side of the European coin when he sees how Marie desperately fears losing Chad after all she has done for him. As one critic put it, Strether does not shed his American strait- jacket only to be fitted with a more elegant European model.Instead