6. a.

The "International theme" in the Novels of Henry James

Daisy Miller, The Portrait of a Lady
6. b. Realism and humor at the end of the 19th c.: Stephen Crane and Mark Twain
Henry James (l843-1916)
He was born in NY, in a rich family. Henry settled in England in 1876. He was attracted to the
literary scene in Europe: Balzac, Flaubert.
An English or American writer? Why did he leave America? Perhaps on account of what he
expressed in his essay on "Hawthorne" (1879) " ... .The flower of art blooms only where the
soil is deep, ... it needs a complex social machinery to set a writer in motion". There were also
family and intellectual influences. Visits Europe:1855, 1869-70. Settled in England in 1876.
Early fiction: The international theme and cultural comparisons: Americans in Europe: the
artist (Roderick Hudson, 1875), the businessman (The American, 1877), the American girl
(Daisy Miller, 1878). Raises the question of moral superiority of America.
Essay on Hawthorne 1879, it was difficult for Hawth. to live in a country where there was no
such bulidings and sights as in Europe.

Daisy Miller (1879) international theme

Europeanized Americans
-sophisticated and rich
-Winterbourne
-Daisy is a flirt or ignorant?
-Mrs. Costello
-Mrs. Walker
-high society

Americans
- newly rich, vulgar
-sub-standard English
-sincere
-Daisy
-Mrs. Miller
-brother
-outcasts

Daisy
-would appreciate Wbs esteem
-lack of manners
-flirtatious
-independent stubborn
-low reputation
-pure

Winterbourne
-doubts concerning Daisys respectability
-Stiff? (mislead)
-obeying social norms
-dropping Daisy
-wasted opportunity
-corrupted ?

Death Roman fever (=malaria) Daisy dies. Who is responsible?

Too much independence, self-reliance.
Critique of Emerson: Daisy is non-conform and this causes her downfall.
Winterbournes conclusion: she was innocent, he was wrong.
A study of American innocence. The most popular of James's fiction except for The Tum of
the Screw. Daisy Miller is a study of character, a study of the American woman.
Antecedent: Hester Prynne, the example of the independent woman (in Hawthorne's
The Scarlet Letter). Innocent American girl travelling in Europe, Switzerland and ltaly. Meets
exiles. The behaviour of Daisy and family strikes people as vulgar.
Winterbourne, American expatriate interested in Daisy. She flirts with an ltalian. Catches
Roman fever and dies. At the end it turns out that Daisy would have appreciated
Winterbourne's esteem. If she had been treated better, she would have had a better end.

Coolness, stiffuess of W's emotions. Theme of wasted opportunities (See "The Beast in the
Jungle" and The Ambassadors.)

The Portrait of a Lady (1881) Isabel Archer, the indep., naive young American woman.
She inherits money. She is too self-reliant and doesnt listen to others. She chooses the wrong
husband.
Isabel and Americans from US: simple, straightforward, open
Europeanized Americans
"The conception of a certain young woman affronting her destiny". Characters: Isabel Archer,
Caspar Goodwood, Lord Warburton, Ralph Touchett, Gilbert Osmond and Madame Merle.
Isabel: "I can't escape my fate". Is fate accidental or man-made? Realizing her situation:
(Chapters 42 and 54). The question of evil in the novel. James wrote about it in his essay on'
"Baudelaire" (1876): it is "deep in the human consciousness". The novel is a critique of
Emersonian individualism ("Trust thyself' - "Self-Reliance", 1841).
The Bostonians (1886) One of James's few novels set in the U.S. The germs of feminism wornen more central to American life than in Europe. Set in the U.S.

The Turn of the Screw (1898)Relativity. Psychological ghost story, a novella.

Complicated narrative structure: there are 3 narrators.
The governess sees ghosts. Do the children see them?
The whole text is ambigious.
Problems: ambiguity as to reality of ghosts; innocence and corruption (children); role of the
governess.

The Art of Fiction - essay: his ideas on the novel expressed in it. Fiction is one of fine arts.
Novel is a superior form although its been vulgarized. Experience redefined as an immense
sensibility. The story isnt everything. The laws of writing fiction cannot be taught. Freedom
of forms for the writer: characters dont have to be clear-cut. Fiction shouldnt have a
conscious moral purpose. No good novel will ever proceed from a superficial mind.
Realism and humor at the end of the 19th c.
1860s:
literary centers: NY, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco
Focus on American society
The Gilded Age
Break with Romantism
American themes, characters
Ambrose Bierce (1847-1914) - short story writer, nicknamed Bitter Bierce.
Stories characterized by tension and suspense. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge".
Naturalistic descriptions. The most important theme in his short stories is Death.
The Devil's Dictionary (full of bitter aphorisms).
"MARRIAGE, n.
The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves,
making in all, two."

Regionalism or local color fiction focuses on characters, dialects, customs and descriptions
that are typical of a particular region. Often there is nostalgia in the writing, as the writer
remembers things.
Southern/Mid-Western/New England regionalism
Hart Crane (1836-1902)- introduces the subject of the American West. Humor. Taboo topics
discussed. Established the stereotype of the Wild West. Prostitutes, cowboys, mining camps.
"The Luck of Roaring Camp"
''The Outcasts of Poker Flat"
Stephen Crane (1871- 1900) - novelist, short story writer and poet
Maggie, a Girl of the Streets (1893) - Portraying the dark side of the big city. Environment
determines fate.
The Red Badge of Courage (1895) - Authentic description of the Civil War novel, although
Crane was not even alive at the time.
"The Blue Hotel" - the story takes place in the Mid-West - the main subject is fear.
Mark Twain (Samuel Longhorn Clemens 1835-1910) Contemporary of Henry James, they
hated each other.
Born in Florida, Missouri (Mid-West). Regarded as a humorist by contemporary readers. He
became an apprentice (=gyakornok) pilot on the Mississippi. He adopted as pseudonym the term
for indicating that the river was two fathoms (=2 l) deep "mark twain!"
Tall-tale -a typically American genre from the Mid-West and the West. It is a seemingly
factual story, usually humorous and full of exaggerations.
Example: "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Aceording to Twain, the tall
tale is typically American, it has to be delivered in a monotonous voice, the point has to be
delayed and slurred as much as possible and there should be a pause at the end for effect.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - The Great American Novel. A picaresque novel, written in
the vernacular (=npnyelv). Takes place before the Civil War. Contradiction btw Christianity
and the institution of slavery. Huck can live without civilization. He is "lowdown, plain and
ornery, living on the periphery of society. Although seemingly immoral (cursing) he is deep
down a very rnoral being. He has compassion for the suffering, but romantic ideals are
disgusting to him. There is a contrast btw the raft on the Mississippi and the shore. Huck's
friendship with Jim is sincere, but he trusts no one and tells lies to the adults he meets along
his travels.
Hemingway:"all modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain".
Faulkner: "of course Mark Twain is all our grandfather.