• In 1875 he decided that Europe was his ideal home and settled in Paris, where he met Flaubert and Maupassant.
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The author and his time
• He never took part in public affairs or showed much interest in the economic and social changes of the period.
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The author and his time
• He was deeply interested in the contrast between the old world and the new one, between the European way of life, which he considered fascinating, sophisticated, rich in culture and tradition but corrupting, and the American one which he considered too rigid, Puritan but innocent.
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Literary career: three stages
• a. 1865~1882: international theme • The American 《美国人》 • Daisy Miller 《黛西米勒》 • The Portrait of a Lady 《贵妇画像》
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five
he
was
recognized as the
best short story writer
in America.
• He never married.
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PERSONAL INFORMATION
• For many years he alternated visits to England, France and Italy to stays in the USA.
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• c. 1895~1900: novels and tales dealing with childhood and adolescence, then back to international theme
• The Turn of the Screw《螺丝在拧紧》 • What Maisie Knew 《梅西所知道的》 • The Ambassadors 《奉使记》 • The Wings of the Dove 《鸽翼》 • The Golden Bowl 《金碗》
• b. 1882~1895: inter-personal relationships and some plays
• The novels and plays were poorly received but he got a better knowledge of literary techniques.
educated him, but he
was above all a
“rer of books”.
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PERSONAL INFORMATION
• He was the brother of
philosopher
and
psychologist William
James.
• At the age of twenty-
external
circumstances lose
significance before
the inward events that
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take place in a soul.
A new concept of the author
• James eliminates the author and gives the reader the illusion of being present at the scene of action.
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Psychological novel
• James changed the
method
of
presentation in a
novel, shifting the
centre of gravity from
action
to
its
intellectual
and
fantastic aspects:
HENRY JAMES (1843 - 1916)
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Life
a wealthy cultured
father-- an eminent philosopher and reformer
family
brother--a famous
philosopher and psychologist developed a life-long friendship with Howells,
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PERSONAL INFORMATION
• Henry James was born in New York in 1843.
• He belonged to a rich
family who could
afford the private
tutors
and
governesses that
who became his “moral police.“(道德榜样)
the cultural influence of Europe
In the Harvard Law School, he read French novelists and critics.
He toured England, France and Italy, and met Flaubert and Turgenev. He settled down in London in 1876. In 1915 he became a British citizen.