Henry James1

1、Henry James(1843-1916)oArt, especially literary art, makes life, makes interest, makes importance. Works: Early StageoTransatlantic Sketches (travel pieces, 1875), oThe American (1877), oDaisy Miller (1879), oand a masterpiece, The Portrait of a Lady (1881). Works: Second PeriodoJamess second period

2、 was experimental. He exploited new subject matters - feminism and social reform in The Bostonians (1886) and political intrigue in The Princess Casamassima (1885). He also attempted to write for the theater, but failed embarrassingly when his play Guy Domville (1895) was booed on the first night. W

3、orks: the Third PeriodoIn his third, or major, phase James returned to international subjects, but treated them with increasing sophistication and psychological penetration. The complex and almost mythical The Wings of the Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903) (which James felt was his best novel), an

4、d The Golden Bowl (1904) date from this major period. Features of the third periodoJamess constant concern is perception. In James, only self-awareness and clear perception of others yields wisdom and self-sacrificing love. As James develops, his novels become more psychological and less concerned w

5、ith external events. In Jamess later works, the most important events are all psychological - usually moments of intense illumination that show characters their previous blindness. International themeoJames is noted for his international theme - that is, the complex relationships between naive Ameri

6、cans and cosmopolitan Europeans. What his biographer Leon Edel calls Jamess first, or international, phase encompassed such works as Transatlantic Sketches (travel pieces, 1875), The American (1877), Daisy Miller (1879), and a masterpiece, The Portrait of a Lady (1881). In The American, for example,

7、 Christopher Newman, a naive but intelligent and idealistic self-made millionaire industrialist, goes to Europe seeking a bride. When her family rejects him because he lacks an aristocratic background, he has a chance to revenge himself; in deciding not to, he demonstrates his moral superiority. The

8、 Portrait of a LadyoIsabel Archer oGilbert Osmond oMadame Merle oRalph Touchett oLord Warburton oCaspar Goodwood Henrietta Stackpole Mrs. Touchett Pansy Osmond Mr. Touchett Mr. Bantling Countess Gemini Study QuestionoThe Portrait of a Lady is consistently focused on the idea of Isabel Archers independence: whether she has it, whether she is true to it, whether she betrays it, and whether it is more important than her social duty. But the novel never really defines what independence means, and as a result, it lacks thematic focus. Do y