1. （1843-1916） An American novelist and literary critic
Henry James
（ ）
An American novelist
and
literary critic

3. Life of Henry James
Born in a wealthy cultured family in New York with a philosopher and theologist father
Brother William James is also a famous philosopher, psychologist, and founder of utilitarianism.
At the age of 25 he was recognized as the best short story writer in America.
He never married.

4. Life of Henry James
Frequent tour to Europe included London, Paris, had a profound influence on James's life and writing.
European art and culture, the trip exposed him to the erudition of European society.
New and Old World values, a conflict that appears repeatedly in James's fiction as “the international theme.”

5. Life of Henry James In 1875 settled in his ideal home --Paris
most well-known writers of that period, accepted him as a friend and appreciated his books.
An English man in 1915
died in 1916 and buried in Massachusetts
In 1976 his ashes were removed to Poets’ Corner

6. He never took part in public affairs or showed much interest in the economic and social changes of that period.

7. He was deeply interested in the contrast between the old world and the new one.

8. First period(international theme)
Roderick Hudson 《罗德里克·赫德森》 (1875)-first novel
Transatlantic Sketches (1875)
The American（1877）《美国人》–Newman
Daisy Miller （1878）《戴茜·米勒》 -“an outrage to American girlhood”-first international fame
The Europeans (1878)《欧洲人》
The Portrait of a Lady (1881)贵妇的肖像-greatest of early works
Washington Square (1881)华盛顿广场
A Little Tour in France (1884)
The Art of Fiction(1884) " James's most important artistic pronouncement has been called the "manifesto of fictional realism."

9. The Portrait of A Lady
The Portrait of A Lady (1881) is generally considered to be his masterpiece. It tells about the fate of one of those splendid Jamesian American girls, Isabel Archer, arriving in Europe, full of hope, and with a will to live a free and noble life, only to fall prey to the sinister designs of two vulgar and unscrupulous expatriates.

10. James' Literary Criticism
Henry James' literary criticism is an indispensable part of his contribution to literature. He worked out his influential principles of fiction in The Art of Fiction (1884).
The aim of the novel is to present life.
To probe the deepest reaches of the psychological and moral nature of human beings

11. Second period The Bostonians (1886)波士顿人-women movements
The Princess Casamassima (1886) 卡萨马西玛公主
The Aspern Papers (1888)
The Tragic Muse (1890) 悲惨的缪斯
The Spoils of Poynton (1897)波士顿的珍藏
The Turn of a Screw(1898)步步加紧

12. Third period（major period） return to international theme
The Wings of the Dove (1902)鸽之翼
The Ambassadors (1903)使节 (奉使记)
The Golden Bowl (1904)金碗
----widely considered to be James' most influential contribution to literature.

13. Literary Themes
Cross-cultural communication between Europeans and Americans
Differences between the Old World and New World (European and America)
Self-perception
Psychological examination of the human mind
Social Issues/Social Commentary
Romance

14. James considered his “most perfect” work of art

15. the greatest books that James ever wrote

16. Psychological novel
James changed the method of presentation in a novel, shifting the centre of gravity from action to its intellectual and fantastic aspects: external circumstances lose significance before the inward events that take place in a soul.

17. Stream of Consciousness
James’s contributions to the novel helped transform it to an art form of penetrating analysis of individuals confronting society.
James's style of writing encompassed both Europe and America. He is a master of character portrayal and has extensively used the "stream of consciousness" method in his fictional writing.

18. Stream of consciousness, as a term, was first used by William James (Henry James’s brother), the American philosopher and psychologist, in his book The Principles of Psychology (1890).

19. Stream of Consciousness, literary technique, first used in the late 19th century, employed to show subjective as well as objective reality. It reveals the character's feelings, thoughts, and actions, often following an associative rather than a logical sequence, without commentary by the author.

20. Stream of consciousness is often confused with interior monologue, but the latter technique works the sensations of the mind into a more formal pattern: a flow of thoughts inwardly expressed, similar to a soliloquy.

21. The technique of stream of consciousness, however, attempts to portray the remote, preconscious state that exists before the mind organizes sensations. Consequently, the re-creation of a stream of consciousness frequently lacks the unity, explicit cohesion, and selectivity of direct thought.

22. The International Theme
“The international theme” refers to the moral and psychological complications when the American innocence encountered the European sophistication
The typical Americans in James: fresh, enthusiastic, eager to learn, and basically “good” , disregard of the conventions, stand for morality
The Europeans in James : highly cultivated, elegant in manners, but sophisticated. stand for manners

23. James’s psychological novel
James changed the method of presentation in a novel, shifting the centre of gravity from action to its intellectual and fantastic aspects:
external circumstances lose significance before the inward events that take place in a soul.

24. Literary Features of James
The cultural conflict between Europe and America
The psychological activities of character
Dramatic effect
Ambiguity in attitude towards many things

25. Features of James’ novels:
1、The international theme:
“The international theme” refers to the moral and psychological complications when the American innocence encountered the European sophistication
The typical Americans in James: fresh, enthusiastic, eager to learn, and basically “good” , disregard of the conventions, stand for morality
The Europeans in James : highly cultivated, elegant in manners, but sophisticated. stand for manners

26. 2 、His narrative with the limited point of view
He tells the story in the third person, but stays inside the confines of what is perceived, thought, remembered and felt mainly by a single character within the story, such as Strether in The Ambassadors（专使）, Isabel Archer in The Portrait of a Lady (一个女士的画像)

27. The End