• Late Period (1895-1916): a revival of the theme of innocence in a corrupted world and “the international theme”. major works: 1895-1990: The Turn of the Screw (1898), What Maisie Knew (1897), etc. 1900-1904: The Ambassadors (1903), The Wings of the Dove (1902) 1904-1916: The American Scene (1907), etc.
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.
Henry James
（1843-1916） ） An American novelist
and
literary critic
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.
The time of James’s
• He never took part in public affairs or showed much interest in the economic and social changes of that period.
The time of James’s
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.”
Literary Features of James
• The cultural conflict between Europe and America • The psychological activities of character • Dramatic effect • Ambiguity in attitude towards many things
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
Three Periods of James’ literary Career
• Early period (1865-1882): “international theme” (American innocence in face of European sophistication) major works: The American (1877), Daisy Miller (1878), The Europeans (1878), The Portrait of a Lady (1881)
• Middle period (1865-1895): experiments with different themes and forms (subtle studies of inter-personal relationship) ajor works: The Bostonians (1886), The Private Life (1893), The Death of a Lion (1894)
• He was deeply interested in the contrast between the old world and the new one.
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