The Figure in the Carpet

by Henry James

'Did she know and if she knew would she speak?'

The story of an unsolved literary mystery that explores what James referred to as "troubled artistic consciousness"

Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.

Henry James (1843-1916).

James's works available in Penguin Classics are The Portrait of a Lady, The Europeans, What Maisie Knew, The Awkward Age, The Figure in the Carpet and Other Stories, The Turn of The Screw, The Aspern Papers and Other Tales, The Wings of The Dove, Washington Square, The Tragic Muse, Daisy Miller, The Ambassadors, The Golden Bowl, Selected Tales, Roderick Hudson, The Princess Casamassima and The American.

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Fiction, American, 19th Century, Literature, Mystery

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1896

About the author

Henry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."

Reviews

[Glenn Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Henry James short story published in 1896 is a lustrous, clear Tahitian pearl for those of us here on Goodreads since the first-person narrator is a young book reviewer who becomes obsessed with both Hugh Vereker, a much celebrated novelist, and also Vereker’s novels. It all started when our narrator penned a glowing review of the latest Verkeker and then had occasion to meet the great novelist himself at an evening social.

Enjoying his magazine review and also recognizing a fellow lover of literature, author Vereker takes an instant liking to the young narrator and shares his lifelong secret: all the critics, reviewers and readers of his novels have missed his "little point," that is, his central authorial purpose, a purpose profound yet so simple that “It governs every line, it chooses every word, it dots ever I, it places every comma.” Such disclosure has a powerful effect- the master’s words fuel our young narrator’s lively curiosity to dig deep and discover the hidden, mysterious Vereker secret.

Predictably, filled with youthful ardor, not to mention obsessive infatuation, the narrator’s excitement brims over – he relates the details of his conversation to his fellow reviewer, George Crovick, and Crovick, in turn, unveils it all to Gwendolen Erme, an accomplished author herself, having published her first three-volume novel at age nineteen, a young lady he desires to marry once Gwendolen’s dying mother finally shuffles off her mortal coil.

Now Hugh Vereker has not only one but three young lovers of literature aflame to embark on a quest to discover his "little point." And as part of their literary detective work, which both men likened to a game of chess, the narrator shares with Crovick one key reflection on what the author conveyed during that memorable evening of revelation, “For himself, beyond doubt, the thing we were also blank about was vividly there. It was something. I guessed, in the primal plan; something like a complex figure in a Persian carpet. He highly approved of this image when I used it, and he used another himself.”

So, the answer to Hugh Vereker’s literary puzzle is likened to a clear-cut but weighty mystery we might uncover whilst looking carefully at a Persian carpet. Let’s pause here – please take a close look at this exquisite Persian:



Now let me add a bit of tantalizing information about Persian rugs I learned from a scholar of Middle Eastern art: these rugs can be viewed as a visual symbol of the universe. For example, in the above pic, rather than seeing the pattern as a flat surface, look at this rug as if you are looking up at the sky, as if you are viewing it in 3D, the outer rectangular border representing our material world and each successive rectangle contained therein indicating a further distant, more ethereal plane of reality leading to the far distant field of paradise in the middle. And all the symbols contained in this paradise are supercharged with meaning, especially the most central symbol, the eight petal flower. I don’t know about you, but once alerted to this methodology, casting my eyes on Persian rugs has never been the same. Anyway, my sense is our three literary investigators in James’ tale are attempting to uncover a comparable formula in the Hugh Vereker oeuvre.

There are a number of other themes in this superb tale, such as how the mysteries of literature may be more readily uncovered in collaboration with friends or one’s spouse and how a story can serve as a vehicle to theorize about the very nature of fiction itself, the dynamics of storytelling or the interpretation of narrative.

However, I’d like to focus on one other major theme: author intention. When Henry James published this work there was much postulating and conjecture on authorial intention, more specifically on the author’s underlying message and meaning of why pen was set to paper in the first place. Of course, it is this authorial intention driving our three literary explorers in their probing the Vereker riddle.

A most formidable challenge to this emphasis on author intention was formulated in the 1950s by W. K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley. Stated concisely, these two philosophers reasoned the author’s intention is only a secondary and much less consequential consideration; rather, any meaning contained within a piece of literature must be derived from the work itself. I have always wondered how Henry James would have responded to what Wimsatt and Beardsley termed “The Intentional Fallacy.”

I myself am inclined to agree with Wimsatt and Beardsley since, being a romantic at heart, I see literature taking on a life of its own well beyond the reach of an author’s ideas, philosophy, and yes, intention. But this doesn’t detract one bit from my enjoying this classic Henry James set in the atmosphere of genteel conversations, top hats and horse-drawn carriages, featuring a famous author who takes this Edgar Degas quote very, very seriously: “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”

[Orsodimondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

IL LATO OSCURO DEL LEGGERE



Il segreto di Vereker, caro amico, l’intenzione generale dei suoi libri, il filo che legava le sue opere, il tesoro nascosto, il motivo nel tappeto.

Dove Vereker è Hugh Vereker romanziere molto apprezzato dai due dialoganti di questa novella (breve) o racconto (più lungo del solito).
E i due dialoganti sono il narratore, mai nominato, e il suo amico Drayton Deane, entrambi critici e studiosi di letteratura innamorati della narrativa di Vereker.
Dove il “tesoro nascosto” è appunto l’intenzione generale dei suoi romanzi, il filo che lega le sue opere, che lo stesso Vereker ha confessato al narratore esistere, e che con sua grande sorpresa, e ancor maggior diletto, non è mai stato scoperto, tanto meno intuito da nessun critico e recensore.



The Figure in the Carpet, nella mia edizione tradotto come “cifra nel tappeto”, e nel corso della narrazione diventa invece il “motivo nel tappeto”, credo sia meglio tradotto in altre edizioni con un semplice “la figura nel tappeto”.
James immerge storia e personaggi nella sua consueta atmosfera sottile e impalpabile, ma non così carica d’ombre scure come Il carteggio Aspern – Aspern Papers che a me ha molto ricordato, e non immersa in ombre nere e horror come Il giro di vite – The Turn of the Screw cui viene spesso accostata.



Qui, in questa sessantina di paginette, James tiene ritmo incalzante e fa molto ricorso all’ironia per raccontare una trama densa e movimentata dove sostanzialmente non succede nulla.
Apparsa nel 1896, The Figure in the Carpet è in buona parte un trionfo del caso, “dominatore dell’attualità”.
È per caso che il narratore viene incaricato dall’amico critico e recensore George Corvick di leggere e recensire l’ultimo romanzo del grande Hugh Vereker.
Ed è per caso che il narratore e lo scrittore Hugh Vereker si trovino ospiti nella stessa villa per un weekend, durante il quale Vereker gli confesserà che tutta la sua opera nasconde un segreto, un collegamento, proprio come la figura di un tappeto persiano.



Sarebbe lungo elencare gli altri momenti che appaiono frutto del caso e snodi di trama fondamentali. Sarebbe lungo elencare gli accadimenti, le malattie, le morti, gli incidenti, che per lo più accadono fuori scena, altrove, senza che il narratore sia presente e partecipe, li apprende tutti in qualche modo dopo che sono successi.
Sarebbe inutile anche perché come dicevo prima, in sostanza, sembra che succeda molto, ma nei fatti non succede granché: tutta la narrazione ruota intorno alla scoperta di questo segreto, questa cifra o figura o motivo nel tappeto della trama dei romanzi dello scrittore Vereker. Ma noi lettori siamo lasciati alle congetture e supposizioni, niente ci viene rivelato: James ci fa alzare dalla tavola della lettura senza saziare il nostro appetito. Si dice che sia il modo migliore di partecipare a un pasto.



Miss Giddens, la giovane istitutrice di Il giro di vite – The Turn of the Screw ha ragione, i due bambini che le sono stati affidati, Miles e Flora, hanno davvero la brutta abitudine di trafficare con due fantasmi che li vengono di tanto in tanto a trovare? Nel qual caso, fa bene a impedire quel “lugubre commercio”, anche se porta alla rovina i due bambini?
Nel qual caso è pertanto vero, Il giro di vite – The Turn of the Screw è una storia di fantasmi, una classica ghost story, come si riteneva all’uscita della novella (1898), epoca in cui le teorie di Freud non erano ancora patrimonio comune.
Non sarà che sia tutto parto delle ossessioni della giovane istitutrice, che era zitella, probabilmente vergine, probabilmente desiderosa di far colpo sullo zio dei due bambini, probabilmente attraversata da chi sa quale turbamento, come si è sempre più spesso pensato nell’ultimo secolo, dopo che la psicanalisi è diventata diffusa?


La figura sotto il tappeto.

E cosa spera di trovare davvero il protagonista di Il carteggio Aspern – Aspern Papers, che rimane sempre senza nome, cosa spera di scoprire nelle lettere del grande poeta Aspern ormai da tempo defunto (quasi un secolo prima)? Quale sarà la grande scoperta che quelle lettere possono contenere? E sarebbe davvero disposto per mettere le mani su quella corrispondenza a spingersi fino a convolare a nozze con Miss Bordereau, la scialba e solitaria figlia di quella che fu il grande amore del sommo poeta Aspern?
Da notare che anche qui, in La cifra o la figura nel tappeto, il segreto verrebbe svelato solo dopo le nozze: solo che lo sposo muore e si porta il segreto dietro nella tomba. Anzi no, potrebbe averlo rivelato alla vedova, la quale a sua volta lo confiderà solo a persona a lei così vicina e intima come il secondo marito. Il quale secondo marito, rimasto vedovo, non sa neppure dell’esistenza del segreto, men che meno così sia quel “tesoro nascosto”.


La figura sotto il tappeto.

La lettura è scoprire il significato del testo o è l’esperienza che genera/produce nel lettore? È una struttura oggettiva o esperienza soggettiva?

Ora che quel momento è passato, non riesco a capire come sia potuto giungere a tanto, così oltre le mie consuetudini. Prima d’allora non avevo mai parlato, in nessun momento di confidenza per quanto grande, del mio piccolo segreto; né mai più tornerò a parlare di quel mistero. Oltre tutto, sono stato con voi tanto più esplicito di quanto non fosse nelle regole del mio gioco, tanto che trovo che quel gioco – voglio dire il piacere di farlo – ne soffre in maniera considerevole.

[Gaurav Sagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When I hear a critic speaking of an author’s sincerity I know that either the critic or the author is a fool”
-Vladimir Nabokov


What is the role of a reviewer or critic? Does an author really need them? Is the critics’ search for meaning in literature futile? Could a critic find the meaning exactly what the author is intending? What does an author intend with his/ her work? Does he want critics to find those intentions? Isn’t it so that a creation stands alone from its creator, as if it has an existence of its own, independent of its creator? These are most apparent questions which pop up in your mind after reading The Figure in the Carpet by Henry James. The author remained elusive to me all these years, for I tried him during my school days when the association could not really developed as he seemed incomprehensible to me, then. After spending good enough years of life, I took the risk again, incidentally helped by one of the reviews by Fionnuala, in which I came to know about the story. While thinking about James’s full-length novels, I still get butterflies in my stomach, however this one I could have endured so I pounced upon the opportunity. Henry James got me completely off guard, he was too clever for readers’ sake.

Henry James increasingly abandoned direct statement in favour of frequent double negatives, and complex descriptive imagery. in which an initial noun would be succeeded by pronouns surrounded by clouds of adjectives and prepositional clauses, far from their original referents, and verbs would be deferred and then preceded by a series of adverbs. The overall effect could be a vivid evocation of a scene as perceived by a sensitive observer. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often made use of a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to impressionist painting.

The story opens up with an unnamed narrator reviewing the latest novel by the author Hugh Vereker, and congratulates himself on having divined the true meaning of Vereker’s book. However, at a gathering, he catches Vereker telling different visitors that the storyteller's survey was 'the standard twaddle'. When Vereker finds the narrator heard him castigating his review, he looks to appease him by disclosing to him that no one has figured out how to divine the genuine significance of his work, however that there is a thought present in the entirety of his books, which he compares to the complex woven figure in a Persian carpet, which gives the 'mystery' or 'key' to seeing the entirety of his work. Prodded on by this, the narrator decides to find what 'the figure in the floor covering' truly is that will open the privileged insights of Vereker's work.

Whenever since I’ve happened to have a glimpse of them they were still blazing away—still missing it, I mean, deliciously. You miss it, my dear fellow, with inimitable assurance; the fact of your being awfully clever and your article’s being awfully nice doesn’t make a hair’s breadth of difference. It’s quite with you rising young men,” Vereker laughed, “that I feel most what a failure I am!”

The author chose to tell the story through the first-person narrator who is an unnamed critic, which means that we can never learn the secret of the story: the narrator is in the dark, so we are in the dark, since he is our only access to the ‘truth’ of Vereker’s work. This would still be possible with a limited third-person ‘omniscient’ narrator, but there is a second reason why James’s first-person narration is a triumph, which we come to know once we realise that James’s narrator is unreliable.



The Figure in the Carpet invites numerous interpretations, many of them equally plausible. Is it a parody on the connection among creators and critics, whereby James is taunting those critics and commentators who aren't generally keen on understanding a creator's work, however only need to propel their own professions? The author discards away such critics with disdain, for he believes whatever he wants to say, he said through his work, and once created the creation stands alone from the creator, he can’t be held responsible for its interpretations. Is it a parody on the vogue for famous fiction during the 1890s, for example, the tremendously successful detective stories. In James’s story, those loose ends remain very loose indeed – not unlike the frayed edges of the carpet which provides the story with its titular metaphor.

I pass rapidly over the question of this unmitigated tragedy, of what the loss of my best friend meant for me, and I complete my little history of my patience and my pain by the frank statement of my having, in a postscript to my very first letter to her after the receipt of the hideous news, asked Mrs. Corvick whether her husband mightn’t at least have finished the great article on Vereker. Her answer was as prompt as my question: the article, which had been barely begun, was a mere heartbreaking scrap. She explained that our friend, abroad, had just settled down to it when interrupted by her mother’s death, and that then, on his return, he had been kept from work by the engrossments into which that calamity was to plunge them.

The narrator might have figured out that he must bring the warmth of caring emotion to the text and that such a loving attitude in search for the figure in the carpet of Vereker’s work shows author’s intention to diffuse thought and emotion through the opaque substance of to-day, and thus make it a bright transparency; such a transparency would have revealed the value hidden in the ordinary. Unfortunately for the narrator, the epitome of all the devilishly subtle critics, he could neither bring love to Vereker’s works, nor, thus, allow that muted, warm red glow to transform his own life beyond literature.

Henry James felt that literature should depict the essence of life. In a way we may associate it with the titular metaphor of the story. I guess it may be presumed that all the rags and portions of a carpet represents different aspects of life which is represented by the carpet itself. So, the figure in the carpet should be representing the life per se like an impressionist painting, which perhaps the author- Vereker is intending. Having said that, the story may be interpreted in many different ways- it also reminds of Kafkaesque world as our feeble narrator is thrown in a cruel world in which he struggles to make his way out amidst pressing circumstances, which means it is essentially a warning against starting on a quest to find anything nourishing in literature.

The story raises the relevant questions about the role of a critic, the relationship of a critic and author, about the literature itself-how it is related to the author. However, like any modern and eminent text, left them unanswered. It was a challenging and absorbing read, as you expect from James but worthwhile.

It was something, I guessed, in the primal plan, something like a complex figure in a Persian carpet. He highly approved of this image when I used it, and he used another himself. “It’s the very string,” he said, “that my pearls are strung on!”


4/5

[Sean Barrs · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like Henry James misunderstood a key component of reading, literary criticism and book reviews. This story presents an ideal that for me misses the point entirely.

An author has written a book; he receives many positive reviews for his work. They are all flattering and intelligent. However, according to him, none of them see the true majesty of the work. None of them pick up on his supposed subtlety and obscure meaning he layered his writing with. Indeed, they miss the complex figure in the Persian carpet. And he’s rather annoyed. He informs his most popular reviewer of his inadequacy; thus, the reviewer is compelled to find what he missed. He fails dramatically.

For me, this was just beside the point. Authorial intent does not matter. It doesn’t matter that there is a secret that:

“governs every line, it chooses every word, it dots every I, it places every comma.”

Sure, it’s helpful to know what the author intended when you read a book, but what the author intended does not necessarily translate into the book. A good piece of work becomes something more; it transcends the designs of its writer and becomes universal; it becomes something different to each reader or critic. What the author put in does not always come out. So critiquing a reviewer’s work, and informing him that he misses the point, is beside the point. What he saw is what he saw. And if everyone else saw the same, then the problem is not the reader but the writer.

Literary criticism is a field of debate and arguments. There is no right and there is no wrong. Certainly, some arguments are more convincing that others, but the point is that if you read something and can make a case for your opinions- because that’s all criticism is (opinions) - then that’s it. What the author wants his book to be has absolutely nothing to do with your opinion. Well, unless you agree with what he is saying. Most of the time literature becomes something else entirely. Look at Kafka’s work. Is there a right way to read that? Do Shakespeare’s intentions (whatever they were) govern the way in which his plays are endlessly interpreted? No they don’t.

For me, this was an attempt by an insecure author to write back against reviews he has received in a clever way. Perhaps he is suggesting that somewhere along the line someone has missed the point of his work. And to be honest, I don’t really care. That’s not what criticism is about.

Penguin Little Black Classic- 49



The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.

[Stephen P(who no longer can participate due to illness) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Figure In The Carpet its boldness of direction shrinks with its characters flailing in a slight porous dimensionality. The stage is too small, cramping James’ skills.

Was it the narrowness of the narrator’s mind-journalistic world - that led to an obsession which carried the tale? I didn’t feel the grip. One possibility not to be ruled out is that I don’t and never had that kind of relationship to books, the literary world. So, I failed to catch the train and watched it with some indifference as it headed into the glib tunnel, minus the baited breath I think I was supposed to have. The obsession, its type, overtook the writing's style and with James that punctiliousness is a great deal of the enjoyment.

I couldn't see wrapping my existence in finding out a writers message told through his books which he is tempting the narrator. Luring him. The number of stretched grasps for the brass ring gathers. The almost's... One disappointment following another seemed a trick of the trade to keep me hanging on in suspense, and I felt used.

But is this what James is telling us beneath his impeccable style, how simple it is to be lured into a query and placard it with meaning, luring oneself. Does it then replace what has insufficient meaning or does it grow from a seedless bed, spawn from what is empty within? A cautionary tale? Whatever, whichever, I lost interest and saw the quiver of his pen planning and stylizing.

[Axl Oswaldo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2023/09

My first Henry James of the year and no, it wasn't great, though it wasn't terrible either. Perhaps one of his oddest stories I've come across since I started reading him, yet beautifully written as usual.
The Figure in the Carpet is about everything and nothing at the same time; a very ambiguous, confusing story that shows us the importance of reviewing books, before these are published and therefore only read—with an advanced copy—by 'the experts,' so to speak, those reviewers whose opinions are important(?) so that the books will be eventually read or not by other people. It is a whole process that, honestly, I don't care about since I'm not familiar with it (as some of you know, if I pick up a contemporary novel—those books that 'critics' are reviewing these days—it is because I feel the book will be for me, or perhaps a friend of mine recommended I read it, but never because of one of these reviews).
The figure in the carpet, as a symbolic aspect of the story, was what impressed me the most when reading this short novel, because we (the readers), along with the narrator, need to figure out what that even means to Hugh Vereker, a writer with his first apparent successful novel.

I suggest you give it a go if and only if you truly enjoy reading James' books. I wouldn't pick this up otherwise.

My rating on a scale of 1 to 5:

Quality of writing [4/5]
Pace [3/5]
Plot development [3.5/5]
Characters [3.5/5]
Enjoyability [3.5/5]
Insightfulness [4/5]
Easy of reading [3/5]
Photos/Illustrations [N/A]

Total [24.5/7] = 3.5 rounded down

[Paula Mota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta novela de Henry James faz-me lembrar uma anedota que me contaram em miúda, sobre um rapaz que toda a vida pediu uma bolinha amarela como prenda, até que, muitos anos depois, decide explicar a razão da sua fixação e… É basicamente o que sucede em “O Desenho no Tapete”, uma história sobre escritores e críticos literários.
A pedido do seu amigo Corvick, um crítico literário mais experiente que precisa de ocorrer ao chamado da sua amada Gwendolen, o narrador desta novela tem de compor um artigo sobre o livro de um conceituado escritor, Hugh Vereker, encontrando-se depois com ele num domingo passado na propriedade de uma aristocrata. Após um primeiro momento de constrangimento, o escritor revela-lhe que a sua decepção em relação à resenha não se prende com a opinião proferida mas com algo mais profundo, uma expectativa que ele acalenta desde que iniciou o seu mester.

Há uma ideia no meu trabalho sem a qual não sentiria o menor interesse por todo o meu trabalho. É a intenção mais delicada e mais completa de um todo, e a sua aplicação tem sido, creio, um triunfo de paciência, de sinceridade. Deveria deixar que outra pessoa dissesse precisamente isto, mas é exactamente o facto de ninguém falar disto o assunto da nossa conversa. Estende-se, este meu pequeno toque de magia, de livro para livro,, e o tudo o mais comparativamente, constitui um jogo superficial (…) Parece-me ser – acrescentou sorrindo – aquilo que compete ao crítico descobrir.

Surge, assim, uma obsessão que o narrador partilha com Corvick e Gwendolen, que também é escritora…

Lembro-me que ele me disse que ela sentia em itálico e pensava em maiúsculas.

…sendo Corvick, agora correspondente na Índia, que resolve o mistério que, no entanto, se recusa a contar por carta.

Aquelas páginas vibraram como um turbilhão constante no seu espírito, e um dia, quando nem sequer estava a pensar nelas, elas ajustaram-se, em toda a sua soberba complexidade, formando a combinação certa. O desenho no tapete evidenciou-se.

Depois de vários desencontros entre os dois amigos, dá-se uma tragédia e o narrador tem, tal como o leitor, de lidar com a frustração do sucedido e com a obstinação de Gwendolen que entretanto se casara com ele.
“O Desenho no Tapete” é realmente desconcertante, como diz na sinopse, mas levanta questões instigantes sobre a literatura que talvez levem a primazia sobre a história em si: se será assim tão essencial perceber o que subjaz oculto numa obra para a apreciar e se o escritor deve ter a veleidade de esperar que o leitor a interprete tal como ele a urdiu. Afinal, a meu ver, assim que um livro sai das mãos de um escritor para uma livraria, deixa de lhe pertencer.

Afinal, tinha sempre gostado dele, tal como ele próprio notara; o que agora de passara fora simplesmente a circunstância de que a minha jovem inteligência e a minha vã preocupação tinham danificado a minha admiração. Não só falhara em aperceber-me de uma intenção generalizada, como perdera as intenções subjacentes que antes me haviam agrado tanto. Até os seus livros tinham deixado de ser, para mim, as obras encantadoras que tanto admirara.

[Tessa Nadir · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Recenzia mea ieftina s-a topit in spatiu si cele mai bune lucruri pe care le spusesem in ea au devenit destul de plate in fata stralucirii prezentei lui." Cam asa simt si eu cand trebuie sa scriu despre Henry James.
In acest mini-roman autorul abordeaza relatia dintre scriitor, critic literar, fan, mentor si idol. Consider ca pentru a ilustra cel mai bine aceasta relatie trebuie sa inserez cateva citate relevante :
"Oare nu exista pentru orice scriitor un asemenea motiv anume, ceva ce-i justifica stradaniile - caci fara efortul de a realiza acel ceva nici n-ar avea rost sa scrie -, insasi pasiunea pasiunii sale, partea in care, pentru el, flacara artei arde cel mai intens?"
"Ordinea, forma, textura cartilor mele vor constitui poate intr-o zi pentru initiati o reprezentare a lui. E firesc, asadar, ca asta sa caute un critic."
" - Dar vorbiti despre cei initiati. Trebuie asadar, sa existe o initiere.
-Dar oare ce altceva e critica, pentru numele lui Dumnezeu?"
"Nu numai ca pierdusem cartile, dar pierdusem si omul: atat ele, cat si autorul lor erau distruse acum pentru mine."
"Literatura era un joc de abilitati, iar ablilitatea insemna curaj, curajul insemna onoare, onoarea insemna pasiune, insemna viata."
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, naratorul este un tanar critic care trebuie sa scrie o recenzie despre ultima carte a unui scriitor celebru, Hugh Vereker. El ii elogiaza opera si scrie despre inteligenta narativa a acestuia. Insa, la o petrecere, cand are ocazia sa-l intalneasca pe Hugh, acesta manifesta o atitudine ironica: "Tocmai cand am de-a face cu voi, tinerii in ascensiune, a ras Vereker, simt cel mai mult ce profund este esecul meu!" Pe langa asta, ii destainuie ca proza lui are un secret pe care nimeni, niciun critic, nu a reusit sa-l descopere. Naratorul este intrigat de aceasta marturisire ambigua si devine obsedat sa afle mai mult. Si plecand de la premisa ca "obsesia este jocul unui om tanar" (dar atunci cine imbatraneste oare cu adevarat?) el va incerca sa faca totul pentru a afla despre ce este vorba.
In incheiere va recomand cartea, desi este destul de atipica pentru Henry James in ceea ce priveste atat subiectul cat si numarul de pagini, dar mai ales pentru ca o sa va puna un pic pe ganduri.

[Fionnuala]

The Figure in the Carpet is partly about readers and the obsessions they can sometimes develop with writers who intrigue them. In that sense it's a kind of warning not to associate writers' lives too closely with their work so I won't try to figure out what it might mean in connection with Henry James' own life and work!

[Darwin8u · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One fine ignorance is as good as another."
- Henry James, The Figure in the Carpet



Vol N° 49 of my Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set. This volume contains James's masterful short story "The Figure in the Carpet" published in 1896.

I could tell you what it all means, but I've spent my life trying to figure out Henry James. I finally, after a trip away, have him completely figured out. Just wait for my next review. James actually does a fantastic job of keeping the intention of the story itself a secret (from everyone but me dear reader). Is he mocking the whole industry of literary critic? Is he making fun of the pretention of some authors (himself included)? In many ways the story is built like a literary ouroboros. James is literally eating his own tail a bit. You can't trust the narrator, you can't trust Vereker, and you certainly shouldn't trust Henry James.

Sometimes, the best advice is the shortest and the hardest, don't chase the cheese and avoid the hook: "Give it up - give it up!"

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn’t heard of this HJ story until Fionnuala mentioned it in her review of Hygiène de l'assassin. Thank you to her.

From the story’s start, with the narrator’s frustrated obsession over an elusive element, I was reminded of one of my favorite James's stories, The Beast in the Jungle. I felt my comparison even more apt when I came to the phrase, “like a tigress out of the jungle.” (Chapter VI) Published seven years earlier, the story seems a warm-up to The Beast in the Jungle, though the different obsessions of each add different layers.

Despite the tale’s warning, this reader will continue searching for that “figure” in the works she reads, though never in the same manner as the narrator.

[Comfortably · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ω ο υπαρξιστής Henry James! Φτιάχνει μια ιστορία μυστηρίου για το μυστικό που κρύβεται στα βιβλία ενός μεγάλου συγγραφέα. Με άλλα λόγια, η εικόνα στο χαλί είναι μια νουβέλα που βάζει την κριτική στο μικροσκόπιο της λογοτεχνίας. Χμμμ δε νομίζω. Ο μεγάλος Henry James δημιουργεί αριστοτεχνικά και εδώ - όπως και στο Θηρίο στη Ζούγκλα - μια μίνι πραγματεία στο κενό ή μη της ανθρώπινης ύπαρξης, στο χώρο που βρίσκουν και δημιουργούνται οι ψυχώσεις. Κεκαλυμμένη βουτιά στο έρεβος της ανθρώπινης ψυχής, που αποδέχεται τη γύμνια της και παραδίνεται στις εμμονές της.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 2 out of 5]

Catching up with the classics # 27

Well if this story wasn’t one of the most frustrating I’ve ever read! I’ll have to think snout what James’ point was

[Paloma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review in English | Reseña en Español
I really don’t know how to rate this book. I didn’t dislike it but, as many other reviews point out, I was left a bit disappointed by the ending. Personally, open endings are not my thing -I prefer classic, well-rounded stories, that leave nothing to the imagination. To me, literature is quite open by nature as the reader is left to imagine things as he/she prefers, so plots where a mystery goes unsolved… well, they just don’t work for me. On the other hand, what I did enjoyed about James’s short story is the impeccable writing style and the bits and pieces where through the characters, the author shows its passion for literature.

The Figure in the Carpet has three main characters: the unnamed narrator, a literary critic; his friend Corvick, also a critic and the author Hugo Vereker. One evening, the narrator meets Vereker and they discuss the recent opinion of the young man on the author’s latest novel. Suddenly, Vereker mentions that most critics have failed to discover the driving force behind his writings, the true meaning of his texts; in other words, the figure on a Persian carpet that gives coherence to his stories. Both the narrator and his friend Corvick will embark in the task of discovering that elusive ‘raison d’être’ of Vereker’s text and well…they fail to discover it. And that is the end.

Honestly, I have an internal debate because I can’t decide the level of my frustration at the end. As it has been pointed out, probable James was only being a bit sarcastic about literary criticism and those critics who try to discover everything or thing they know everything about an author but understand nothing… If you approach the text this way, it does make sense. However, it is not my type of thing.

As I mentioned, what I did enjoy were the references to the beauty and the wonders of literature -the idea of a Persian carpet, full of mystery and life, that mesmerizes sight and intrigues as just as a good story does, or when Vereker talks about his passion for it -because literature is such an important part of life:

“Literature was a game of skill, and skill meant courage, and courage meant honor, and honor meant passion, meant life".

I could not agree more.
______________

No sé cómo calificar este libro. No lo odié, pero, como muchas reseñas indican, quedé decepcionada del final. Personalmente, los libros con finales abiertos no me gustan -siempre prefiero historias clásicas, con inicio, desarrollo y fin, que no dejen muchos cabos sueltos. Esto es porque la literatura ya es en sí muy abierta, pues como lectores podemos imaginar muchas cosas y aspectos según nos plazca. Entonces, cuando un misterio se queda sin resolver… bueno, la historia no me resulta tan buena. Sin embargo, lo que sí disfruté de esta pequeña historia fue la escritura impecable del autor y las partes en donde, a través de los personajes, nos deja ver su pasión por la literatura.

The Figure in the Carpet tiene tres personajes principals: el narrador anónimo, que es como un periodista literario; su amigo Covrick, también un crítico, y el autor Hugo Vereker. Un día, el narrador conocer a Vereker y discuten sobre la reciente opinión del joven periodista sobre el más reciente libro del autor. De pronto, Vereker menciona que la mayoría de los críticos no ha podido identificar la fuerza detrás de sus escritos, el verdadero significado de sus textos; en otras palabras, no han logrado identificar la figura en un tapete persa que da coherencia a sus historias. Tanto el narrador como su amigo Covrick, al enterearse, se enfrascarán en la tarea de encontrar esa ‘razón de ser’ de los textos de Vereker y, fracasarán irremediablemente. Y ese es el fin.

Honestamente, tengo un debate interno porque no puedo definir mi nivel de frustración con el final. Y como algunos análisis indican, probablemente James solo fue sarcástico en relación con la crítica literaria de su tiempo y de aquellos críticos que intentan descubrir todo o piensan que lo saben todo de un autor cuando en realidad no entienden nada…si uno se acerca al texto bajo este foco, sí tiene sentido. No obstante, no es mi tipo de texto.

Como mencioné, me gustaron mucho las referencias a la belleza y maravillas de la literatura -la idea de un tapete persa, lleno de misterio y de vida, que atrae nuestra vida y crea un misterio tan bueno como puede hacerlo una historia, o cuando Vereker habla de su pasión por la literatura, pues ésta es una parte muy importante de la vida:

"La literatura es un juego de habilidad, y la habilidad significa coraje, y el coraje significa honor, y el honor significa pasión, significa vida”.

En esto, no puedo estar más de acuerdo.

[Jonfaith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for a rainy afternoon. A critic is teased with the elusive secret of a literary man, a figure both shrouded and a glamorous stand-in for James himself. That this essence exists excites the critical community. I can certainly see the trends on Goodreads in a similar light. There are certain interpersonal situations in the James. It was curious how the initial critic ruthlessly rereads the work of the author in his quest only to find something lacking. Erudition ensures and then life intervenes.

I’m curious if Leon Edel felt the implication?
Or Joseph Frank?

I just confided that James is polarizing for me; I appear to either love or loathe each distinct work.

[Meltem Sağlam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yazarın daha önce okuduğum kitaplarından çok farklı bir metin. Kurgusu da dili de çok farklı. Hikayesi her zamanki gibi ilginç, sonuna kadar merakla okumamızı sağlıyor.

Kısa ve güzel bir okuma oldu.

Can Yayınları’nın kapak çalışması başarılı.

[Davide · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quasi
(i libri Sellerio, quelli belli)
Riassunto: "Avevo fatto un po' di cose e guadagnato quattro soldi [...] mi sembra che sia - quasi - la mia vendetta."
('perfidamente' dice Benedetta Bini nel bel saggio introduttivo, che è messo all'inizio ma naturalmente va letto dopo, per lucidarsi prima la propria privata misura del piacere dell'incertezza)
(on the divan are piled...)
(discussione con g. sulle cinque stelle [non il movimento politico])

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't totally dislike this short story, but I found it very frustrating, which might have been part of the point, but which greatly diminished my reading experience. I always have this problem when authors introduce a "problem" or a riddle and then don't end up explaining it/solving it.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for one of my uni classes and even though it wasn't really my cup of tea, I quite enjoyed it. I could totally see Henry James' personal touch in this novella and the whole aspect of the "not knowing" definitely kept my attention throughout the reading experience.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't get Henry James.

After reading "A turn of the screw", I was left scratching my head.

After reading "The figure in the carpet", I was left shrugging.

James just gives me the impression of being too clever for his own good. Cryptic, too.

I enjoyed the ride and, naïvely enough, waited for a satisfying unveiling of the mysterious figure in the carpet. I should have known better. In a way, I understand the joke's on me, the reader. Perhaps the whole point is that there is no figure in the carpet, and that it's foolish to think that authors hide away their intents and purposes consciously, throughout their written work. Perhaps Hugh Vereker is Henry James and both strung the reader along with a false promise of a hidden treasure, just to teach us not to believe everything they say.

In this sense, I get Henry James a little better. But I still don't see why he's one of the greats.

[[ J o ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot figure out why I liked this so: I dislike short stories and first-person narrative in almost all occasions, but this was wonderful. It drew me in, it kept me wondering, it gave me joy. It was an odd story, but I liked that. Written well, in that Victorian style so superbly used then, and giving me faith in this little collection once more.


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[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Σου κάνει το μυαλό πλυντήριο για να καταλήξει,κατα την γνώμη μου,ότι η αναζήτηση της κεντρικής ιδέας δεν μπορεί και δεν πρέπει να γινεται αυτοσκοπός.

[library ghost (farheen) · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is the closest to melodrama that henry james has ever come to

[Dawnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was a strange mixture, with very strange writing, very strange characters and an ending that i didn’t like.

i think - just guessing here honestly!- that this book was about an author that does not appreciate what others have to say about his work and that he thinks nobody understands what he meant to say in his writings... which was the first problem i have.

i believe whole heartedly that any book means something different to everyone and sure the author hopefully had an idea what he/she wanted to tell BUT what the reader takes away from the book has nothing to do with that anymore and i actually think that’s one of the most beautiful things in and with books!

so i didn’t enjoy that this entire book was basically about an author believing himself smarter or better than any reviewer and the reviewer trying to figure out how he read the book wrong...

again that doesn’t work for me since i don’t believe that there is sich a thing as „reading a book wrong“. there is reading a wrong book and i am guessing that is what happened with me and this little guy.

i appreciate the opinions shared and mentioned in this book especially for the time it was written in but it’s not my personal option at all.

that’s fine and i am happy i read this and might even reread this book sometime in the future - the beauty of short stories! super fast to read!

i still love this little collection of collected short stories of all those different authors and will continue reading them every now and again.

and apparently either absolutely love them or not enjoy them at all.

[Lourdes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A través de una historia que parece de suspense, James nos plasma el sentimiento que la lectura despierta en lectores, escritores y críticos. Un telar lleno de misterio en el que se encierra el arte de narrar y la capacidad de ver la figura que el escritor tejió en el tapiz.

Pero seamos más mundanos, esta breve historia nos hará meditar sobre qué es la creación literaria, cual es el papel del crítico, qué transmite el escritor a sus lectores, qué encierra la magia de la literatura, etc. Una novela que te atrapa en una especie de laberinto literario en el que me ha encantado perderme y entrar y salir en más de una ocasión para compartir la experiencia de la literatura con otros lectores con los que comparto estupendas lecturas en Facebook en el Grupo de Los libros de Carmen y amig@s.

Un libro que recomiendo a todo el mundo.

[Francisco Barrios · Rating 5 out of 5]

En este libro, al igual que en toda la obra de Henry James —como atinadamente apunta Antoni Marí— hay un secreto: ¿cuál es el hilo conductor que atraviesa toda la obra narrativa de Hugh Vereker?

A partir de esta premisa, que oculta el valor del arte como resultado individual de la experiencia estética, los personajes de Henry James echan a andar la maquinaria de las intrigas, el chismorreo y la especulación. El resultado no puede ser menos que maravilloso.

Porque al final, como bien podrá dilucidar el lector, el autor también estaba apuntando a varios tipos de lectores y a qué hacemos con nuestra experiencia de esto que llamamos «Literatura».

Sencillamente bellísimo, intrincado e imperdible.

[Melusina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit that Henry James got me this time. I was waiting for the literary mystery to unveil itself only to realise that there wasn't any. I read it as a twisted tale of getting back at his critics, which seems a little childish to me, but to weave it into a Victorian mystery tale is quite clever nonetheless. Inferior to anything else I have read by HJ so far, but still entertaining, despite the rather obvious selfish need of the author to get back at his critics. The key is always in the written word itself. All said and done.

[Clémence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une amie me l'a offert, me disant qu'on lui avait recommandé en 1ere année d'hypokhâgne. C'est en effet une introduction parfaite à la critique littéraire et à la valeur herméneutique de l'art.
J'ai de plus pris plaisir à cette lecture qui m'a beaucoup fait penser à Au cœur des ténèbres de Conrad. Dans le motif de la quête, devenant progressivement quête du sens dans une lecture méta littéraire. Il m'a ainsi semblé que la "coque de noix ouverte" conradienne, où se trouverait le sens, trouve incarnation dans cette nouvelle jamesienne.

[fiona ☁️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe the real figure in the carpet was the friends we made along the way
(read for uni)

[Fin · Rating 4 out of 5]

He would bound off on false scents as I had done - he would clap his hands over new lights and see them blown out by the wind of the turned page.

...he had caught whiffs and hints of he didn't know what, faint wandering notes of a hidden music.

A perfect rhyme with my favourite James story (and maybe my favourite short story) "The Beast in the Jungle". The same beast, clothed in the same fur, in another vast uncertain jungle...

This outlines much the experience of reading generally, and of living in hope and curiosity. Alsoo James is just one of the BEST prose stylists ever omg he is just so poised and delicious.

I got hold of [her debut novel] again: it was a desert in which she had lost herself, but in which too she had dug a wonderful hole in the sand