1. （1843-1916） A famous novelist and literary critic
Henry James
（ ）
A famous novelist
and
literary critic

3. Life of Henry James
Born in a wealthy family in New York to a philosopher and theologist father
Brother William James a famous philosopher, psychologist, and founder of utilitarianism.
Father encouraging children to familiarize themselves with all kinds of thoughts and things, to make their own judgment, to cultivate independent thinking (inwardness)

4. Life of Henry James
Frequent tour to Europe learning Henry James with the long history and brilliant culture of Europe (known for his international topic, world citizen)
Acquaintance with William Dean Howells in the 1860s and publishing short stories and articles on The Atlantic Monthly, North American Review

5. Life of Henry James
Acquaintance with Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, Gustave Flaubert, Guy de Maupassant, Emile Zola, and Adlai Ewing Stevenson
Settling in London from 1875 on
A English man in 1915
Death in 1916

6. Periodization of James’s Career
The experimental period ( )
Collection of creative materials and international subject
Realistic, rich content
Vivid characters
Daisy Miller (1879)
The Portrait of A Lady (1881)
The American (1877)

7. Periodization of James’s Career
The Second period ( )
More forms of art (novel, story, play)
Subject matters other than international cultural conflict (social and political problems but conservative) (The Bostonians, 1886; The Princess Casamassima, 1886)
Morality and good conscience of modern man (What Maisie Knew 1897)
Art and life (The Tragic Muse, 1890)

8. Periodization of James’s Career
The Third Period ( )
International cultural themes but more emphasis on the harmony between cultures and between men
Ambiguous attitude toward European and American culture (sophistication & hypocrisy & arrogance vs. vulgarity & simplicity & equality & kindness)
The Wings of he Dove (1902)
The Ambassadors (1903)
The Golden Bowl (1904)

9. Literary Contribution of James
Literary criticism
The Art of the Novel
Terms:
“theme”
“technique”
“narrative angle”
“showing” (with the character’s interior monologue) and “telling.”

10. Literary Contribution of James
Novel Creation Theories
Content more important than form
A novelist’s peculiarity in creation
Novelist like artist
Art based on life, reflecting realistically life, but elevating life
Morality, truth and beauty as the novelist’s concern

11. Literary Contribution of James
Psychological Realism
Novels faithful to life
Plot not so important as the characterization, esp. their psychological activities
Plot depending not on external events but the characters’ internal consciousness
Forerunner of Stream of Consciousness novel

12. Literary Features of Henry James
The cultural conflict between Europe and America
The psychological activities of character
Upper class men and women, esp. children, women, artists and writers
Fluid, orthodox, subtle, well-chosen language
Integrity of form and content
Dramatic effect
Ambiguity in attitude towards many things

13. Negativity of Henry James’s Novels
Narrow, sometimes disgusting, psychological “realities”
Extravagant and ambiguous beyond the limit (the cathedrals of frosted glass)
James a snobbish aesthete
Too autobiographical
Ornamented language

14. The Portrait of A Lady Characters Mr. and Mrs. Touchett Ralph Touchett
Lord Warburton
Casper Goodwood
Gilbert Osmond
Isabel Archer
Madame Merle

15. The Portrait of A Lady Questions
Who is the “lady”? What is the implied meaning of this word?
What kind of person is Isabel Archer?
What is James’s attitude towards the Europeans
What is James’s attitude towards Madame Merle?
What do you think about the structure of this novel?