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The American
The American is a novel by Henry James, originally published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly in 1876-77 and then as a book in 1877.
Christopher Newman, a ‘self-made’ American millionaire in France, falls in love with the beautiful aristocratic Claire de Bellegarde. Her family, however, taken aback by his brash American manner, rejects his proposal of marriage. When Newman discovers a guilty secret in the Bellegardes’ past, he confronts a moral dilemma: Should he expose them and thus gain his revenge? James’s masterly early work is at once a social comedy, a melodramatic romance and a realistic novel of manners.
Excerpt:
On a brilliant day in May, of the year 1868, a gentleman was reclining at his ease on the great circular divan which at that period occupied the centre of the Salon Carre, in the Museum of the Louvre. This commodious ottoman has since been removed, to the extreme regret of all weak-kneed lovers of the fine arts; but our visitor had taken serene possession of its softest spot, and, with his head thrown back and his legs outstretched, was staring at Murillo's beautiful moon-borne Madonna in deep enjoyment of his posture. He had removed his hat and flung down beside him a little red guide-book and an opera-glass. The day was warm; he was heated with walking, and he repeatedly, with vague weariness, passed his handkerchief over his forehead. And yet he was evidently not a man to whom fatigue was familiar; long, lean, and muscular, he suggested an intensity of unconscious resistance. His exertions on this particular day, however, had been of an unwonted sort, and he had often performed great physical feats that left him less jaded than his quiet stroll through the Louvre.
Christopher Newman, a ‘self-made’ American millionaire in France, falls in love with the beautiful aristocratic Claire de Bellegarde. Her family, however, taken aback by his brash American manner, rejects his proposal of marriage. When Newman discovers a guilty secret in the Bellegardes’ past, he confronts a moral dilemma: Should he expose them and thus gain his revenge? James’s masterly early work is at once a social comedy, a melodramatic romance and a realistic novel of manners.
Excerpt:
On a brilliant day in May, of the year 1868, a gentleman was reclining at his ease on the great circular divan which at that period occupied the centre of the Salon Carre, in the Museum of the Louvre. This commodious ottoman has since been removed, to the extreme regret of all weak-kneed lovers of the fine arts; but our visitor had taken serene possession of its softest spot, and, with his head thrown back and his legs outstretched, was staring at Murillo's beautiful moon-borne Madonna in deep enjoyment of his posture. He had removed his hat and flung down beside him a little red guide-book and an opera-glass. The day was warm; he was heated with walking, and he repeatedly, with vague weariness, passed his handkerchief over his forehead. And yet he was evidently not a man to whom fatigue was familiar; long, lean, and muscular, he suggested an intensity of unconscious resistance. His exertions on this particular day, however, had been of an unwonted sort, and he had often performed great physical feats that left him less jaded than his quiet stroll through the Louvre.
471 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1877
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About the author
Henry James
4,554 books3,940 followersHenry 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."
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."
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July 29, 2024Are you the kind of person who enjoys fast-paced melodrama? Fortified castles where dreadful deeds are carried out at midnight? A beautiful heroine who is destined to be buried alive? Evil villains straight out of a gothic romance? No?
Perhaps you are instead the kind of reader who prefers a more sedate narrative full of realistic depictions of everyday life. If you are, you share a trait with Christopher Newman, the American of the title. Though his story is set in the 1860s, Newman is a modern man who would never be caught dead inside the pages of a Gothic romance. Dramatic heroines given to extravagant displays of passion don't interest him, nor do flirtatious or hysterical characters. In fact, he rarely reads novels of any kind. He is practical rather than romantic; he likes new inventions, things that make life faster, easier and brighter; things like trains, lifts, electric lighting. Dark and gloomy castles aren't really his thing.
But although he favours the modern and the innovative, Newman is quite simple in his personal tastes, and especially in the way he expresses himself. While traveling through Europe visiting the many magnificent monuments to be found there, the brief comments he pencils into the margins of his guidebooks summarise his reactions perfectly: "Wherever you find a scratch or a cross, or a ‘Beautiful!’ or a ‘So true!’ or a ‘Too thin!’ [in the guidebooks] you may know that I have had a sensation of some sort or other."
So we know early on that Newman doesn't waste time on extravagances of expression. When he meets the beautiful Comtesse de Cintre for the first time, his reaction is characteristically low-key : She was pleasing, she was interesting; he had opened a book and the first lines held his attention.
Yet his muted reactions don't equal a lack of feeling, he simply prefers to keep some feelings private. He is a man who knows the value of silence. He is surrounded by characters who love to expound. A few of them know what they are talking about, others, perhaps not. Newman stands out among them for the careful way he uses words, and when he is silent, it doesn't mean he disapproves or that he has nothing to say, just that he is wiser than the rest.
His quiet wisdom makes him a daunting opponent for anyone who tries to thwart his plans for the future: if he were to take the trouble he might, as he phrases it, break all the windows (I really liked the way HJ juxtaposes modern sayings reflecting Newman's New World origins with the old-fashioned sedate language of the narrative).
Newman's plans for the future aren't hugely ambitious however. Making money has always been easy for him so wealth is not something he covets. Neither does he have any social aspirations; he is oblivious to class distinctions and is not intimidated by aristocratic families with 'noble' lineages. He measures people by their behavior rather than by the deeds of their ancestors, and he has very high standards for his own behavior. In short, everything he says and does reveal him to be a thoroughly noble character, though he will always be plain 'Mr' Newman.
About half way through this book, Newman's nobility and patience suffer a terrible test, and this reader's patience along with him. If you glance at the updates, it might seem that I gave up at page 225. I didn't stop reading however, but I did stop posting updates; there were simply no more passages that struck me as memorable. Newman too is out of his natural habitat in the second half of the narrative. His sense of fairness and his sense of fun are no longer called for. He finds himself among people he can't recognise and situations he can't negotiate. It was too strange and too mocking to be real; it was like a page torn out of a romance, with no context in his own experience.
Yes, you've guessed it. Newman finds himself trapped in a gothic melodrama, complete with fortified castles, emprisoned heroines and evil villains. There is nothing to be done but get through it as quickly as possible. And so we both did.
Perhaps you are instead the kind of reader who prefers a more sedate narrative full of realistic depictions of everyday life. If you are, you share a trait with Christopher Newman, the American of the title. Though his story is set in the 1860s, Newman is a modern man who would never be caught dead inside the pages of a Gothic romance. Dramatic heroines given to extravagant displays of passion don't interest him, nor do flirtatious or hysterical characters. In fact, he rarely reads novels of any kind. He is practical rather than romantic; he likes new inventions, things that make life faster, easier and brighter; things like trains, lifts, electric lighting. Dark and gloomy castles aren't really his thing.
But although he favours the modern and the innovative, Newman is quite simple in his personal tastes, and especially in the way he expresses himself. While traveling through Europe visiting the many magnificent monuments to be found there, the brief comments he pencils into the margins of his guidebooks summarise his reactions perfectly: "Wherever you find a scratch or a cross, or a ‘Beautiful!’ or a ‘So true!’ or a ‘Too thin!’ [in the guidebooks] you may know that I have had a sensation of some sort or other."
So we know early on that Newman doesn't waste time on extravagances of expression. When he meets the beautiful Comtesse de Cintre for the first time, his reaction is characteristically low-key : She was pleasing, she was interesting; he had opened a book and the first lines held his attention.
Yet his muted reactions don't equal a lack of feeling, he simply prefers to keep some feelings private. He is a man who knows the value of silence. He is surrounded by characters who love to expound. A few of them know what they are talking about, others, perhaps not. Newman stands out among them for the careful way he uses words, and when he is silent, it doesn't mean he disapproves or that he has nothing to say, just that he is wiser than the rest.
His quiet wisdom makes him a daunting opponent for anyone who tries to thwart his plans for the future: if he were to take the trouble he might, as he phrases it, break all the windows (I really liked the way HJ juxtaposes modern sayings reflecting Newman's New World origins with the old-fashioned sedate language of the narrative).
Newman's plans for the future aren't hugely ambitious however. Making money has always been easy for him so wealth is not something he covets. Neither does he have any social aspirations; he is oblivious to class distinctions and is not intimidated by aristocratic families with 'noble' lineages. He measures people by their behavior rather than by the deeds of their ancestors, and he has very high standards for his own behavior. In short, everything he says and does reveal him to be a thoroughly noble character, though he will always be plain 'Mr' Newman.
About half way through this book, Newman's nobility and patience suffer a terrible test, and this reader's patience along with him. If you glance at the updates, it might seem that I gave up at page 225. I didn't stop reading however, but I did stop posting updates; there were simply no more passages that struck me as memorable. Newman too is out of his natural habitat in the second half of the narrative. His sense of fairness and his sense of fun are no longer called for. He finds himself among people he can't recognise and situations he can't negotiate. It was too strange and too mocking to be real; it was like a page torn out of a romance, with no context in his own experience.
Yes, you've guessed it. Newman finds himself trapped in a gothic melodrama, complete with fortified castles, emprisoned heroines and evil villains. There is nothing to be done but get through it as quickly as possible. And so we both did.
November 16, 2020
An American millionaire businessman arrives in Paris, Christopher Newman in 1868, to get "Culture," find the perfect wife after all he's 36 and lonely... while walking through the gigantic Louvre museum the tired man sits down, he views the magnificent paintings surrounding him on the walls. Newman notices too, young pretty girls, copying these exquisite works particularly the highly ambitious Noemie Nioche efforts, making an offer to buy the picture and does, for a greatly inflated price ( Christopher is not wise on the quality of paintings, very far from it indeed ). Her ancient father comes to escort her home and is delighted to discover the sale of a painting he is discouraged , depressed, a failure in business yet offers to teach the American, French he the compassionate foreigner readily agrees...Mr.Tom Tristram, a fellow American and old friend of Newman's he sees walking by, they haven't met since St.Louis, during the American Civil War (he fought, Tom didn't), after taking a minute or two to remember Christopher, the millionaire is happy to have someone to talk to in the city. Later taking the businessman, back to his modest home, and introducing him to his intelligent, but sarcastic wife, Mrs.Tristram (that the intimidated Tom, is afraid of), another American, who knows all the important people in the town. She recommends her friend, a young, beautiful widow, by the name of Claire de Centre ( nee Claire Bellegarde) from a very proud aristocratic family , in need of money, their houses are becoming shabby, as a candidate for his future wife. Mr. Newman's at first sight is intrigued, by Claire, from the beginning, he has not seen any woman like her before, smart, gorgeous , well spoken and the manners of the nobility. But there is a problem, her mother and older brother Urbain, feel Christopher is beneath them, a common man in commerce, even though he is rich, yet still not in their class, he wouldn't fit in, holding their noses they permit him to court her, the money is too tempting. After a lengthy, respectable , getting to know each other better, Claire and Christopher become officially engaged...Mr. Newman had followed the rules, the goodhearted , amiable man, visited his love almost daily at her family home, it has seen better days, the aloof relatives still show him their distaste, except for Valentin, the amusing, younger, lazy brother, who becomes his close friend. A crisis develops, right after a sparkling party given by the arrogant Bellegardes, for the engaged couple, to show their great, noble friends , Mr. Newman, though something is not quite right, the atmosphere is thick with uneasiness, the people are polite but rather remote, it is not the kind of thing that Christopher will ever feel comfortable with or they him ( he was born and raised in a Republic)...Life is not tranquil, it is full of obstacles to be overcome by the brave, Mr. Newman learns...to maybe his regret
March 26, 2018
I have felt with "The American" as if I had been watching a balloon inflating. As it gradually gained shape, as this shape expanded and expanded, and as its surface became more and more tense, I experienced a similar tension in my nerves. I was absolutely glued to the pages of this novel out of which this extraordinary balloon was swelling. The strain on its stretching rubber was also elating my expectations. But just as I was anticipating for this balloon to take off and reach the sky and fly in the air of literary bliss, it burst.
Well, no, it did not burst. It just began deflating and deflating until it became a formless substance that could just be discarded away. It just fizzled out.
But then I began to wonder whether it was all an illusion. As if some magician had conjured up a phantasm or as if I had been hallucinating.
So, this is how it was with this novel in which the plot seemed to be driving it for a while. As the story became more complicated, and gained in intrigue, I wondered if Henry James had gone ‘gothic’, or if there had been any matter with him when he wrote this. He was still a young writer and was possibly finding his literary path.
At least that is what I thought while the balloon inflated and the tension grew. But when it exhausted itself and we were left at the end of the book with the protagonist almost as he was at the beginning, then I realized that no, that this novel had the same Henry James seal with which I was already familiar.
For Christopher Newman was a good singled-minded man in the first pages, and after entering a corrupt world where he is manipulated, teased, provoked, fruitlessly encouraged, affronted, ridiculed, wangled, and where revenge, spite and ruthlessness futilely tempt him, he however remains at the end good man who looks at life single-mindedly.
The busy plot is a teaser; the novel is after all a careful meditation on morality -- without moralising. The story that supports the rumination on ethics may just be, after all, a wink that the author is addressing to his readers. Yes, he can write stories too; but he can also discard them.
And so when the balloon has shrunk, and the reader and his/her nerves are calm again, Henry James’s signature stands in high relief.
June 8, 2023
Christopher Newman has it all
He’s young he’s rich he’s six-feet tall
He doesn’t beat about the bush
He never feels the need to rush
In Europe’s old museum towns
Or far across yon English downs
You’ll see him stretching his long legs
Asking for the price of eggs
He seldom gets mad or upset
He doesn’t gamble doesn’t bet
He doesn’t show one duelling scar
He would not care for a cigar
Nor does he know much about art
(Who is this fellow you call Moe Zart?)
He really has a lot to learn
But that’s the least of his concerns
He’ll sympathise with you and me
And have no truck with snobbery
A princess and her underling
To his large mind are the same thing
He listens more than he does speak
He’s always strong and never weak
Here is the real American
Whose favourite words are yes I can
He falls in love deliberately
Like tripping down to Italy
It’s just something one ought to do
Before one's days are worn right through
As for a wife he’ll have the best
Smart pretty kind and all the rest
So what if her folks don’t agree?
The yankee buck will set her free
But Europe has its mysteries
Its codes and deep intricacies
Its blue-blood stained hypocrisies
Its blue-eyed female Socrates
And notwithstanding the invention
Of New World masculine perfection
It will not yield to foreign pressure
A single gold coin from its treasure
January 23, 2014
THE AMERICAN : PLOT SYNOPSIS WITH SOUNDTRACK
On a lovely day in May, 1868, Christopher Newman, a wealthy American businessman, sits down in the Louvre with an aesthetic headache, having seen too many paintings.
A young Parisian copyist, Noémie Nioche, catches his eye, and he agrees to buy the painting she is working on for the extravagant price of 2,000 francs.
BARRET STRONG : MONEY
Money don't buy everything it's true
But what it don't buy, I can't use
Here's 2000 francs
(that's what I want)
For your painting
(that's what I want. although 3000 would be good too)
Shortly thereafter, Newman recognizes Tom Tristram, an old friend from the Civil War, wandering the gallery.
THE CARTER FAMILY : FRIEND TO ME
If ever I have had a pal
You've been that friend to me
Since the day I helped saw your leg off
Newman explains that he has made quite a fortune and now he has come to Europe to find a wife to complete his fortune.
BOBBY DARIN : DREAM LOVER
Every night I hope and pray
A dream lover will come my way
Mrs. Tristram suggests Claire de Cintré, the beautiful and widowed daughter of an impossibly aristocratic family, the Bellegardes.
JACKIE WILSON : REET PETITE
Well, lookabell,lookabell,lookabell,lookabell Oooooh Weeeeee
Lookabell,lookabell,lookabell OoooooWeeee
Oh, Ah,Oh,Ah, Oh wee
Well, she's so fine,fine,fine,She's so fine fafafa fine
She's so fi iii ine,She's so fine,fine,fine
She's really sweet the finest girl you ever wanna meet
Oh,oh,oh,oh Oh,oh,oh,oh,oh
Rrrrrrrr Reet Petite, the finest girl you ever wanna meet
Several days later, Newman stops by the Tristram house only to find the visiting Claire, who politely invites him to call on her.
MARLENE DIETRICH : FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN
Men cluster to me like moths around a flame
And if their wings burn I know I'm not to blame
When Newman stops by the Bellegarde home, a pleasant young man promises to go get Claire, but is checked by an imposing older figure who claims she is not at home.
SMILEY LEWIS : I HEAR YOU KNOCKING
I hear you knocking but you can't come in
Come back tomorrow night & try it again
Shortly thereafter, M. Nioche, Noémie's father, appears at Newman's hotel with his daughter's heavily varnished and framed picture. When the timid, bankrupt Nioche admits his fear that his beautiful daughter will come to a bad end, Newman offers to let her earn a modest dowry by painting. When he meets Noémie in the Louvre to commission the paintings, however, she tells him bluntly that she cannot paint and will only marry if she can do so very well.
THE SPICE GIRLS : I WILL ONLY MARRY IF I CAN PAINT VERY WELL
I'll tell you what I want
What I really really want
I will only marry if I can paint very well
I will only marry if I can paint very well
Yeah
Mrs. Tristram encourages Newman to spend the summer traveling, promising that Claire will wait for his return.
CLIFF RICHARD : SUMMER HOLIDAY
We're all going on a summer holiday
Doing things we always wanted to
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday
Exploring ruins, monuments and cathedrals
Ha ha ho ho
Newman spends a wonderful summer exploring ruins, monuments, cathedrals, and the countryside with his usual enthusiasm. On his return to Paris in the fall, Newman calls on Claire and finds her at home with her brother Valentin, the pleasant young man he met on the first visit. Newman is deeply drawn to Claire's presence, her peace, and her intense yet mild eyes.
ELVIS PRESLEY : I GOT STUNG
Holy smoke, land sakes alive!
I never thought this could happen to me
Mm, yeah! Mm, yeah!
I got stung by a sweet honey bee
Oh, what a feeling come over me
It started in my eyes
Crept up to my head
Flew to my heart
Till I was stung dead
I'm done, uh-uh
I got stung!
About a week later, Valentin calls on Newman at home. The two talk late into the night and soon become fast friends. Valentin explains to Newman that Claire was married at eighteen, against her will, to the disagreeable old Count de Cintré. Valentin tried to stop the wedding, but his mother, the Marquise and his brother, Urbain—the imposing older figure who barred Newman's first visit—coveted the Count's pedigree and fortune.
EMINEM : I COVET YOUR PEDIGREE
[lyrics removed after complaint received from copyright holder]
When the Count dies and his questionable business practices are exposed. Claire is so horrified that she withdraws her claim to his money. The Marquise and Urbain allows this withdrawal on the condition that Claire obey them completely for ten years on every issue but marriage.
THE STOOGES : I WANNA BE YOUR DOG
And I'll lay right down in my favorite place
And now I wanna be your dog for ten years
And now I wanna be your dog for ten years
And now I wanna be your dog for ten years
Well, come on
Newman tells Valentin that he would like to marry Claire.
PERCY SLEDGE : WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN
When a man loves a woman
Spend hisa very lasta dime
Tryin' to hold on to what he neeeeds
He'd give up all his skanking around Europe
Stop visiting prostitutes
If she said that's the way it ought to be
Valentin promises to help Newman's cause, out of both friendship and a spirit of mischief. The following day, Newman calls on Claire and finds her alone. He frankly details his love,
THE WHO : I CAN'T EXPLAIN
Dizzy in the head and I'm feeling blue
The things you said, well, maybe they're true
I'm gettin' funny dreams again and again
I know what it means, but …
Can't explain
I think it's love
Maybe
I dunno
I'm inarticulate
his assets,
MUDDY WATERS : I'M A MAN
I'm a full grown man
Man
I'm a natural born lovers man
Man
I'm a rollin' stone
I'm a man-child
I'm a hoochie coochie man
well, well, well, well
hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry
It can't have escaped your notice
What I'm actually singing about here
I got a big one
Yeah
and his desire to marry her. Fascinated but hesitant, Claire tells him she has decided not to marry, but agrees to get to know him if he promises not to speak of marriage for six months.
MARNI NIXON (dubbing for Deborah Kerr): GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Getting to know you,
Getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you,
Getting to hope you like me.
Getting to know you,
Putting it my way,
But nicely,
You are precisely,
My cup of tea.
Delighted by Newman's success, Valentin arranges an audience with the heads of the family later that week.
BLACK UHURU : GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
Guess who's coming to dinner, Natty Dreadlocks
Guess who's coming to dinner, Natty Dreadlocks
So let's give thanks and praise, Natty Dreadlocks
I appreciate the herb you brought for me, Natty Dreadlocks
On the appointed evening, after some painful small talk, Newman horrifies the assembled company with a long and candid speech about his poor adolescence
BILLY JOE ROYAL : DOWN IN THE BOONDOCKS
Down in the boondocks, down in the boondocks
People put me down 'cause that's the side of town I was born in
and the makings of his fortune. When the others have left for a ball, Newman bluntly tells the Marquise that he would like to marry her daughter.
HERMAN'S HERMITS : MARQUISE VON WHATEVER YOU'VE GOT A LOVELY DAUGHTER
Walkin' about, even in a crowd, well
You'll pick her out, makes a bloke feel so proud
After inquiring with equal frankness about his wealth, the Marquise grudgingly agrees to consider his proposal. Several days later, M. Nioche unexpectedly appears at Newman's hotel room, clearly worried about Noémie's antics.
THE COASTERS : POISON NOÉMIE
She comes on like a rose
But everybody knows
She'll get you in dutch
You can look but
You better not touch
Poison Noémie, poison Noémie
Late at night while you're sleeping
Poison Noémie comes a-creeping around
Newman decides to visit Noémie at the Louvre to discern the trouble. He encounters Valentin en route and brings him along. Valentin, completely charmed by Noémie and her ruthless, sublime ambition, resolves to pursue her.
THE BEACH BOYS ; HERE TODAY
it starts with just a little glance now
right away you're thinking about romance now
you know you oughta take it slower
but you just can't wait to get to know her
Shortly thereafter, Newman receives an invitation to dinner at the Bellegarde house. After dinner, Urbain confirms that the family has decided to accept Newman as a candidate for Claire's hand.
DEAN MARTIN : MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS
one girl, one boy
two bags of joy
Over the next six weeks Newman comes often to the Bellegarde house, more than content to haunt Claire's rooms and attend her parties.
DOBIE GRAY : THE IN CROWD
Any time of the year, don't you hear? Spendin' cash, talkin' trash
I'll show you a real good time, come on with me, leave your troubles behind
I don't care where you've been, you ain't been nowhere til you've been in
With the in crowd, with the in crowd, in crowd!
One afternoon as he awaits Claire, Newman is approached by Mrs. Bread, the Bellegardes' old English maid, who secretly encourages him in his courtship. Meanwhile, the Bellegardes' long-lost cousin Lord Deepmere arrives in Paris. Upon the expiration of the six-month period of silence about marriage, Newman proposes to Claire again, and she accepts.
EDDIE CANTOR : YES YES MY BABY SAID YES YES
Instead of no no
The next day, Mrs. Bread warns Newman to lose no time in getting married. The Marquise is evidently displeased by the engagement, but agrees to throw an engagement ball.
THE B52S : PARTY OUT OF BOUNDS
Who's to blame when situations degenerate?
Disgusting things you'd never anticipate
Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hooo--ooooooo...
The following few days are the happiest in Newman's life, as he sees Claire every day, exchanging longing glances and tender words. Meanwhile, the Marquise and Urbain are away, taking Deepmere on a tour of Paris. On the night of the Bellegarde ball, Newman suffers endless introductions gladly and feels elated. He surprises first the Marquis and then Claire in heated discussions with Lord Deepmere, but thinks little of it. Afterwards, he and Claire exchange declarations of happiness.
VELVET UNDERGROUND : I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR
I find it hard to believe you don't know
The beauty that you are
But if you don't let me be your eyes
A hand in your darkness, so you won't be afraid
I'll be your mirror
The next morning, Newman arrives at the Bellegardes' to find Claire's carriage packed. In great distress, Claire confesses that she can no longer marry him. The Marquise and Urbain admit that they have interfered, unable to accept the idea that a commercial person should marry into their family.
THE SHANGRI-LAS : LEADER OF THE PACK
One day The Marquise said find someone new(new,new)
I had to tell Mr Newman we're through
(Whatcha mean when he said that you better go find somebody new?)
He stood there and asked me why
But all I could do was cry
I'm sorry I hurt you, American man of independent means
Vrrroooommm Vrrroooommm
Now read on….
July 31, 2023
O carte splendida de moravuri, specialitatea maestrului Henry James. Fiind o admiratoare a realismului psihologic, pe care autorul il reprezinta atat de bine, am cautat sa citesc cat mai multe dintre cartile scrise de el. Asa am aflat ca cealalta opera a sa, "Europenii", reprezinta un roman in oglinda pentru "Americanul".
In opera de fata, Henry James abordeaza situatia strainului aflat la Paris si imposibilitatea acestuia de a patrunde in cercurile inalte ale aristocratiei franceze, in ciuda educatiei sau averii sale. Pe tot parcursul romanului este foarte interesant felul in care Parisul si francezii sunt vazuti prin ochii unui american sadea. In America, oamenii mari au mintea coapta si inima si moravurile tinere pe cand in Franta, mintea cruda, inima imbatranita si moravurile pline de riduri.
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, Christopher Newman este un american realizat care calatoreste la Paris unde prietenii ii propun cea mai dificila misiune - aceea de a o cuceri pe Claire de Cintre. Provocarea este una aproape imposibila din cauza rudelor aristocrate foarte rigide ale fetei care isi incalca cuvantul de onoare dat. In viziunea lor, Newman este doar un negustor parvenit fara rang nobiliar.
Pe langa personajele principale, Henry James il introduce si pe Valentin, fratele romantic, bun si jovial al lui Claire, care ajunge sa se dueleze pentru onoarea sa, acest moment aducandu-mi aminte de Oneghin al lui Puskin, deznodamantul duelului fiind la fel de inutil.
In cadrul cartii, Henry James ne ofera si diferenta dintre o ''frumusete'', ce reprezinta perfectiunea si ''o femeie frumoasa'' cu unicele imperfectiuni care ii sporesc farmecul. Putem descoperi si poate cea mai originala si spectaculoasa cerere in casatorie, in care Newman ii spune lui Claire, cu siguranta unui american: "Sunt bun, bun, bun".
Exista carti pe care le citesti cu nerabdare ca sa afli cat mai repede deznodamantul, in schimb la altele iti este oarecum frica sa parcurgi prea repede randurile ca nu cumva sa ratezi vreun sentiment, vreun detaliu. Ti-e teama ca nu cumva sa pierzi ceva din frumusetea mesajului sau al constructiei textului. "Americanul" este o asemenea carte.
In opera de fata, Henry James abordeaza situatia strainului aflat la Paris si imposibilitatea acestuia de a patrunde in cercurile inalte ale aristocratiei franceze, in ciuda educatiei sau averii sale. Pe tot parcursul romanului este foarte interesant felul in care Parisul si francezii sunt vazuti prin ochii unui american sadea. In America, oamenii mari au mintea coapta si inima si moravurile tinere pe cand in Franta, mintea cruda, inima imbatranita si moravurile pline de riduri.
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, Christopher Newman este un american realizat care calatoreste la Paris unde prietenii ii propun cea mai dificila misiune - aceea de a o cuceri pe Claire de Cintre. Provocarea este una aproape imposibila din cauza rudelor aristocrate foarte rigide ale fetei care isi incalca cuvantul de onoare dat. In viziunea lor, Newman este doar un negustor parvenit fara rang nobiliar.
Pe langa personajele principale, Henry James il introduce si pe Valentin, fratele romantic, bun si jovial al lui Claire, care ajunge sa se dueleze pentru onoarea sa, acest moment aducandu-mi aminte de Oneghin al lui Puskin, deznodamantul duelului fiind la fel de inutil.
In cadrul cartii, Henry James ne ofera si diferenta dintre o ''frumusete'', ce reprezinta perfectiunea si ''o femeie frumoasa'' cu unicele imperfectiuni care ii sporesc farmecul. Putem descoperi si poate cea mai originala si spectaculoasa cerere in casatorie, in care Newman ii spune lui Claire, cu siguranta unui american: "Sunt bun, bun, bun".
Exista carti pe care le citesti cu nerabdare ca sa afli cat mai repede deznodamantul, in schimb la altele iti este oarecum frica sa parcurgi prea repede randurile ca nu cumva sa ratezi vreun sentiment, vreun detaliu. Ti-e teama ca nu cumva sa pierzi ceva din frumusetea mesajului sau al constructiei textului. "Americanul" este o asemenea carte.
May 1, 2014
I wasn't sure I would like any of Henry James' work after reading the acclaimed The Portrait of a Lady and being unable to finish it. Even now, I pulled it off my shelf to give it another go and still, I can't just yet. Portrait of a Lady is a novel said to be one of the greatest 19th Century American realist novels. So pardon my reader obstinacy and humble opinion, James fans, when I say that no, I did not see Isabel as a "realistic invention of female psychology."
But now that James has given me Newman…
Imagine a character who loses himself in this labyrinth that he can't seem to find his way around. Think of him as all these things: noble, honest, arrogant, rich, classist, stubborn, rude. Now consider how lovable and convincing he is despite all this.
Noémie was the minor character and artist who dazzled me from the beginning, even more than the main character Claire, whom Newman is on a quest to marry. If I could ask for one thing, it would be to have more of Noémie and the old mysterious housekeeper, Mrs. Bread.
But romantic tragedy, this is. Man chases woman based on a lofty idea he has, man thinks too much of himself and his potential conquest, man enters a world so unlike his own, and man is disappointed. This is a novel about failure and romance, freedom and bondage, gain and loss. it is about seeing a culture through the lenses of an American entrepreneur in Paris who tries to blend in with high society. But oh the secrets that the society weaves...
The drama begins when our character realizes that he is in over his head. This was an alluring narrative arc as we see a man lose himself in his illusion:
The language is fascinating and I loved the infusion of French phrases throughout the book. The character descriptions reminded me of Turgenev's writings (his essay on the murder of Tropmann for example).
It is said that James had numerous revisions to this book. My version is the New York edition of 1907. However, other versions may have some slight changes because at some point, James developed this for the stage and also changed some lines and character interactions. The notes state that some readers also disliked the sad ending. I didn't. I loved the sad ending because without it, this could have been any other romance novel. But here we had tragedy.
But now that James has given me Newman…
Imagine a character who loses himself in this labyrinth that he can't seem to find his way around. Think of him as all these things: noble, honest, arrogant, rich, classist, stubborn, rude. Now consider how lovable and convincing he is despite all this.
You've got something it worries me to have missed. It's not money, it's not even brains...it's your superfluous stature...it's a sort of air you have of being imperturbably, being irremovably and indestructibly at home in the world.
Noémie was the minor character and artist who dazzled me from the beginning, even more than the main character Claire, whom Newman is on a quest to marry. If I could ask for one thing, it would be to have more of Noémie and the old mysterious housekeeper, Mrs. Bread.
But romantic tragedy, this is. Man chases woman based on a lofty idea he has, man thinks too much of himself and his potential conquest, man enters a world so unlike his own, and man is disappointed. This is a novel about failure and romance, freedom and bondage, gain and loss. it is about seeing a culture through the lenses of an American entrepreneur in Paris who tries to blend in with high society. But oh the secrets that the society weaves...
The drama begins when our character realizes that he is in over his head. This was an alluring narrative arc as we see a man lose himself in his illusion:
Never was a man so pleased with his good fortune. You've been holding your head for a week past just as I wanted my wife to hold hers. You say just the things I want her to say.You walk about the room just as I want her to walk. You've just the taste in dress I want her to have. In short you come up to the mark, and, I can tell you, my mark was high.
The language is fascinating and I loved the infusion of French phrases throughout the book. The character descriptions reminded me of Turgenev's writings (his essay on the murder of Tropmann for example).
It is said that James had numerous revisions to this book. My version is the New York edition of 1907. However, other versions may have some slight changes because at some point, James developed this for the stage and also changed some lines and character interactions. The notes state that some readers also disliked the sad ending. I didn't. I loved the sad ending because without it, this could have been any other romance novel. But here we had tragedy.
He came back to reality indeed, after such reveries, with a shock somewhat muffled; he had begun to know the need of accepting the absolute. At other times, however, the truth was again an infamy and the actual a lie, and he could only pace and rage and remember till he was weary. Passion, in him, by habit, nevertheless, burned clear rather than thick, and in the clearness he saw things…
December 17, 2021
Newman is a wealthy American businessman who travels to Europe after the Civil War. He wants to expand his knowledge, improve himself, collect some art reproductions and find an exceptional woman to marry. He falls into instalove with a young widow from a rich (but idle) family comprised of incomparable snobs: “we really cannot reconcile ourselves to a commercial person”. Things don’t go well.
This book is long and slow. There are a lot of tedious conversations and the ending isn’t very satisfying. I have liked other books by James more than I liked this one. 3.5 stars
This book is long and slow. There are a lot of tedious conversations and the ending isn’t very satisfying. I have liked other books by James more than I liked this one. 3.5 stars
June 16, 2017
A ‘connection’: I chose this book to take with me on travels not too long ago, not realizing I would see the real-life version of its cover near the end of my trip: https://www.flickr.com/gp/146453712@N...
A connection: If I hadn't recently reread Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, I wouldn't have noted this novel’s obvious debt to it. And I do mean obvious, though James employs a different setting and different nationalities to create another theme (“I’ve never met an American before” is a literal or almost-literal quote, said to Newman (the New Man)). And I do mean obvious, though James swaps the genders of his protagonist and a mercenary parent, while increasing the ‘reality’ at the heart of darkness of the latter’s family, instead of deflating it as Austen did.
This is an early James and I missed his semicolons.
A connection: If I hadn't recently reread Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, I wouldn't have noted this novel’s obvious debt to it. And I do mean obvious, though James employs a different setting and different nationalities to create another theme (“I’ve never met an American before” is a literal or almost-literal quote, said to Newman (the New Man)). And I do mean obvious, though James swaps the genders of his protagonist and a mercenary parent, while increasing the ‘reality’ at the heart of darkness of the latter’s family, instead of deflating it as Austen did.
This is an early James and I missed his semicolons.
June 28, 2023
A Mid-Nineteenth Century American In Paris
Christopher Newman, 36, an American who has become wealthy in commerce and manufacturing following the Civil War, is the hero, in "The American", an early novel by Henry James. Most of the story is set in France in the late 1860s as Newman, vaguely dissatisfied with his life of making money, wants to learn what Europe has to teach. Newman is also lonely and in search of a wife; but the "bar", as he puts it, for a prospective wife is high. Through American friends in Paris, Newman is introduced to a young aristocratic widow, Claire de Bellegarde, 25, whose elderly husband from an arranged marriage has died. Newman is taken with the cultured, reserved Madame Bellegarde and determines to wed. The Belllegarde family begrudgingly permit the courtship to proceed up to a point due to Newman's wealth. But after Newman wins his lady's consent at last, the family persuades the Madame to break of the engagement. She enters a convent instead. "Our hero", as James calls him is grief-stricken and angry. The latter part of the novel shows Newman dealing with his grief and his anger.
The James brothers, Henry and William, are often referred to as the novelist who writes like a philosopher and the philosopher who writes like a novelist. Even in this early novel, the depiction is accurate for Henry James. "The American" is funny and sharply satirical. It is as well a comedy of manners and more than a touch melodramatic. James already has a fully developed eye for places and characters and they are described in depth in lengthy, complex sentences and in the intricate plot. The book has a great deal to say, in the twists and turns of the story, about letting go, dealing with loss, and finding self-knowledge. With all the melodrama, the story offers a good deal of reflection and wisdom.
But there is more. James portrays the conflict between a wealthy, successful but undefined American and a Parisian family with a long lineage that has fallen on hard times but which still scorns a man who makes money through trade as a proper suitor for their family. James' Newman also genuinely wants to improve his mind and spirit by learning the music, architecture, literature, and more that Europe has to offer. The portraits and the sympathies of the reader shift subtly and several times during the course of the work. For the most part, Newman becomes admirable with his desire to learn and with his persistence in winning his lady. But the Bellegardes' with their traditionalism and for all their treachery have a case to be made as well. James looks closely at the courtship between Newman and Claire. Newman might be thought of as looking for a prize in a wife to match his wealth, but that would take an overly narrow view. He unquestionably respects and wants to do the best for Claire who gradually and reluctantly has accepted him. What the relationship lacks on both sides is passion. Sexuality is absent, for all the reader can see, on both sides For that and other reasons, it could be questioned whether any marriage between the two would be happy even without the family opposition. Lack of passion also is important in thinking about Newman's over-reaction to the end of the courtship. The anger seems less directed towards losing a woman he adores and loves than towards the suffering of a personal affront.
One of the broad issues raised by "The American" is the nature of love and marriage. On both sides of the Atlantic in the book, we are in the mid-19th Century. The tendency has developed to view marriage as strictly a matter of love and of the free choice between the two allegedly autonomous people involved. The views of family or of that vague thing called "society" should have nothing to do with it. That certainly is not the view of marriage of the Bellegardes in this book and it is questionable whether it is the view of Newman. The book thus encourages readers to recognize their own position on the parties involved in a marriage -- whether the two individuals making the marriage alone or whether others are involved -- and to see that different positions have been taken at different times in different places.
The other broad issue I found interesting in this novel was the portrayal of the United States in respect to Europe. Newman is the primary American character but there are others. He comes across as brash, poorly educated and naïve; but he wants to learn, is well-meaning, and has a good deal of undeveloped intelligence. The America which has allowed entrepreneurial individuals such as Newman to prosper is satirized but not rejected. It is shown in its rawness as having potential as well as a good deal to teach an entrenched Europe. In short, the portrayal of the United States is nuanced and balanced. Those from all shades of the political spectrum in James' day and in ours could recognize themselves in the portrait and respond to it constructively. Much, not all, of the literature written by Americans over the past, say, 50 years takes, in my view, an unduly derogatory, angry, and deflationary view towards the United States. These novels and writers have an important lesson to learn from "The American". For all its 19th Century tone, language, and story, the book is fresh and entertaining. Readers may learn and enjoy.
Robin Friedman
Christopher Newman, 36, an American who has become wealthy in commerce and manufacturing following the Civil War, is the hero, in "The American", an early novel by Henry James. Most of the story is set in France in the late 1860s as Newman, vaguely dissatisfied with his life of making money, wants to learn what Europe has to teach. Newman is also lonely and in search of a wife; but the "bar", as he puts it, for a prospective wife is high. Through American friends in Paris, Newman is introduced to a young aristocratic widow, Claire de Bellegarde, 25, whose elderly husband from an arranged marriage has died. Newman is taken with the cultured, reserved Madame Bellegarde and determines to wed. The Belllegarde family begrudgingly permit the courtship to proceed up to a point due to Newman's wealth. But after Newman wins his lady's consent at last, the family persuades the Madame to break of the engagement. She enters a convent instead. "Our hero", as James calls him is grief-stricken and angry. The latter part of the novel shows Newman dealing with his grief and his anger.
The James brothers, Henry and William, are often referred to as the novelist who writes like a philosopher and the philosopher who writes like a novelist. Even in this early novel, the depiction is accurate for Henry James. "The American" is funny and sharply satirical. It is as well a comedy of manners and more than a touch melodramatic. James already has a fully developed eye for places and characters and they are described in depth in lengthy, complex sentences and in the intricate plot. The book has a great deal to say, in the twists and turns of the story, about letting go, dealing with loss, and finding self-knowledge. With all the melodrama, the story offers a good deal of reflection and wisdom.
But there is more. James portrays the conflict between a wealthy, successful but undefined American and a Parisian family with a long lineage that has fallen on hard times but which still scorns a man who makes money through trade as a proper suitor for their family. James' Newman also genuinely wants to improve his mind and spirit by learning the music, architecture, literature, and more that Europe has to offer. The portraits and the sympathies of the reader shift subtly and several times during the course of the work. For the most part, Newman becomes admirable with his desire to learn and with his persistence in winning his lady. But the Bellegardes' with their traditionalism and for all their treachery have a case to be made as well. James looks closely at the courtship between Newman and Claire. Newman might be thought of as looking for a prize in a wife to match his wealth, but that would take an overly narrow view. He unquestionably respects and wants to do the best for Claire who gradually and reluctantly has accepted him. What the relationship lacks on both sides is passion. Sexuality is absent, for all the reader can see, on both sides For that and other reasons, it could be questioned whether any marriage between the two would be happy even without the family opposition. Lack of passion also is important in thinking about Newman's over-reaction to the end of the courtship. The anger seems less directed towards losing a woman he adores and loves than towards the suffering of a personal affront.
One of the broad issues raised by "The American" is the nature of love and marriage. On both sides of the Atlantic in the book, we are in the mid-19th Century. The tendency has developed to view marriage as strictly a matter of love and of the free choice between the two allegedly autonomous people involved. The views of family or of that vague thing called "society" should have nothing to do with it. That certainly is not the view of marriage of the Bellegardes in this book and it is questionable whether it is the view of Newman. The book thus encourages readers to recognize their own position on the parties involved in a marriage -- whether the two individuals making the marriage alone or whether others are involved -- and to see that different positions have been taken at different times in different places.
The other broad issue I found interesting in this novel was the portrayal of the United States in respect to Europe. Newman is the primary American character but there are others. He comes across as brash, poorly educated and naïve; but he wants to learn, is well-meaning, and has a good deal of undeveloped intelligence. The America which has allowed entrepreneurial individuals such as Newman to prosper is satirized but not rejected. It is shown in its rawness as having potential as well as a good deal to teach an entrenched Europe. In short, the portrayal of the United States is nuanced and balanced. Those from all shades of the political spectrum in James' day and in ours could recognize themselves in the portrait and respond to it constructively. Much, not all, of the literature written by Americans over the past, say, 50 years takes, in my view, an unduly derogatory, angry, and deflationary view towards the United States. These novels and writers have an important lesson to learn from "The American". For all its 19th Century tone, language, and story, the book is fresh and entertaining. Readers may learn and enjoy.
Robin Friedman
November 22, 2022
An early novel of James and one where it's clear he's still learning his craft. The first half is a bit Edith Wharton following the social life of a rich American in Paris. The second half is operatic in its melodrama - murder, revenge, a convent, undying love, a villainess... Even the style eschews James's Latinate clauses for something more straightforward. And the characters are far thinner than the complex creatures who inhabit the later novels. I confess, I giggled at the fevered ending!
September 27, 2020
It's rated 4 stars because, its Henry James. If it was written by any one else, it would be 3 or less.
March 30, 2019
Es una novela que esta bien escrita, pero que me ha dejado algo indiferente. Quiero pensar que es porque este no era el momento para leer este libro.
Sin embargo me anima a leer más cosas de James, puesto que sé que esta no es de sus obras maestras.
Sin embargo me anima a leer más cosas de James, puesto que sé que esta no es de sus obras maestras.
Read
August 6, 20187.0/10
What saves this from a lesser rating is that this is Henry James. If someone else had written it, it might barely garner a "just plain awful" rating. But as with all James, there are layers upon layers to peel back and so one discovers lovely seams of sweetness hidden between the dried, stale cake.
I didn't much care for anyone in this novel, except perhaps Mlle Noémie, for at the least there is no pretense with her. Like the erstwhile Becky Sharp, she knows what she wants, and pursues it with vigour. The egalitarian soul in me cheers her on and longs to see more of her -- but alas, James decrees she is a classless woman, in both senses of the word, and leaves her to languish, off-stage, for most of the novel.
The evil gothic family twirls its collective mustachios, also mostly off-stage, and makes spontaneous, almost-unscripted appearances that reinforce how evil they are, without giving much substance to the story.
An idiot-looking-for-a-village appears in the languid, spiritless Mme de Cintré who meets a justifiable end in sackcloth and ashes. I was glad to see her go.
And Christopher Newman -- the lovable, trusting, hero who lays his metaphorical cloak in the mud for the almost-supine de Cintré, is a character study in passivity. The word pudd'nhead comes to mind.
Just the kind of pseudo-gothic novel I despise.
On the other hand, there is James fighting the never ending hand-to-hand combat of comparing and contrasting old world sensibilities with new world morality, and occasionally throws us a few gems, hidden in Newman's character. It is for these gems that one reads James.
And as with all James, one is lost in the soft beauty of the language -- so much so that reading him is like watching paint dry: but what a painting!
Nothing happens, nothing at all. But you are content to gaze upon it for hours.
To his credit, James realized the major errors in this novel, and considered it one of his least successful; he re-wrote major parts of it later in life -- but even he knew it was too riddled with error that it couldn't be rewritten to any satisfaction. In fact, most of the revisions were scrapped, and most modern editions stick to the original version. This is one of those novels that should, probably, never have seen the light of day -- except of course, that it was James.
What saves this from a lesser rating is that this is Henry James. If someone else had written it, it might barely garner a "just plain awful" rating. But as with all James, there are layers upon layers to peel back and so one discovers lovely seams of sweetness hidden between the dried, stale cake.
I didn't much care for anyone in this novel, except perhaps Mlle Noémie, for at the least there is no pretense with her. Like the erstwhile Becky Sharp, she knows what she wants, and pursues it with vigour. The egalitarian soul in me cheers her on and longs to see more of her -- but alas, James decrees she is a classless woman, in both senses of the word, and leaves her to languish, off-stage, for most of the novel.
The evil gothic family twirls its collective mustachios, also mostly off-stage, and makes spontaneous, almost-unscripted appearances that reinforce how evil they are, without giving much substance to the story.
An idiot-looking-for-a-village appears in the languid, spiritless Mme de Cintré who meets a justifiable end in sackcloth and ashes. I was glad to see her go.
And Christopher Newman -- the lovable, trusting, hero who lays his metaphorical cloak in the mud for the almost-supine de Cintré, is a character study in passivity. The word pudd'nhead comes to mind.
Just the kind of pseudo-gothic novel I despise.
On the other hand, there is James fighting the never ending hand-to-hand combat of comparing and contrasting old world sensibilities with new world morality, and occasionally throws us a few gems, hidden in Newman's character. It is for these gems that one reads James.
And as with all James, one is lost in the soft beauty of the language -- so much so that reading him is like watching paint dry: but what a painting!
Nothing happens, nothing at all. But you are content to gaze upon it for hours.
To his credit, James realized the major errors in this novel, and considered it one of his least successful; he re-wrote major parts of it later in life -- but even he knew it was too riddled with error that it couldn't be rewritten to any satisfaction. In fact, most of the revisions were scrapped, and most modern editions stick to the original version. This is one of those novels that should, probably, never have seen the light of day -- except of course, that it was James.
June 25, 2017
The American was my second dip into early Henry James, after Roderick Hudson, his very first, published in 1875. The American is a little later; it appeared in 1877, although James seems to have rewritten it quite extensively in 1907 for the New York edition of his collected works. I read it in the 1907 version, in a very good Oxford World’s Classics edition, which contains a fascinating essay by James, written at the time of his revision, recalling the work’s composition and retrospectively critiquing his work.
One fascinating thing about these early novels is that James doesn’t seem to have decided definitively by this point what kind of novelist he wanted to be. Most of The American reads like Henry James, but, disconcertingly, towards the end, it takes a sudden lurch into “sensation novel” territory, as if the young James secretly nurtured an ambition to become the next Wilkie Collins. It’s a terrible idea, and it pretty much kills the book, but it’s always interesting to see a novelist’s trajectory, especially one who ended up with as clear a formula as James.
Before its Wilkie moment, I was enjoying The American very much. As the title suggests, the novel pivots round James’s classic theme of New World vs Old, as does Roderick Hudson. The American of the title, the aptly named Christopher Newman, is an American entrepreneur who retires after making his first gazillion dollars and goes to Europe to snaffle up some culture and find himself a pedestal-worthy wife. He begins courting a young widow from an aristocratic French family, who are horrified at the thought of a daughter of theirs staining her ancient name by marrying a man who has actually done a day’s work in his life. The mature James of the 1907 edition cheerfully admits the implausibility of this scenario, admitting that, in reality, his noble Bellegarde family would happily have swallowed their pride and snapped up Newman’s proffered millions like a shot.
Whatever the plausibility issues, the Bellegarde family is a beautifully drawn little pack of monsters—with the exception, I found, of Newman’s obscure object of desire herself, the undercharacterized Claire de Cintré (a “great white doll of a woman,” as a minor character, Tom Tristram, tellingly describes her.) Madame de Cintré’s harpy of a mother; her viperous, stuffed-shirt elder brother Urbain; her charming, doomed younger brother Valentin, who befriends Newman; Urbain’s brittle wife—these make up a marvelous quartet. Newman is an engaging character, as well, although I wasn’t sure I found him 100% plausible. I could perhaps have done without the subplot involving the demi-rep Noémie Nioche and her father, but I was steaming along very happily until the novel took its melodramatic turn.
There is a lovely passage in James’s 1907 essay on the novel when he recalls the Parisian apartment in which he wrote it, thirty years before. He recollects it essentially in sound terms, not visually: the “particular light Parisian click of the small cab-horse on the clear asphalt, with its sharpness of detonation between the high houses,” punctuated by the “hard music” of a troop of cuirassiers charging down the street to a nearby barracks (a sound that “so directly and thrillingly appealed” to his young self that he had to force himself not to hang out of the window each time to see them pass.) I loved his proto-Proustian description of the way that rereading the novel triggered this sharp recollection of place (much more vivid, as he freely admits, than any description of Paris found in the book.)
One fascinating thing about these early novels is that James doesn’t seem to have decided definitively by this point what kind of novelist he wanted to be. Most of The American reads like Henry James, but, disconcertingly, towards the end, it takes a sudden lurch into “sensation novel” territory, as if the young James secretly nurtured an ambition to become the next Wilkie Collins. It’s a terrible idea, and it pretty much kills the book, but it’s always interesting to see a novelist’s trajectory, especially one who ended up with as clear a formula as James.
Before its Wilkie moment, I was enjoying The American very much. As the title suggests, the novel pivots round James’s classic theme of New World vs Old, as does Roderick Hudson. The American of the title, the aptly named Christopher Newman, is an American entrepreneur who retires after making his first gazillion dollars and goes to Europe to snaffle up some culture and find himself a pedestal-worthy wife. He begins courting a young widow from an aristocratic French family, who are horrified at the thought of a daughter of theirs staining her ancient name by marrying a man who has actually done a day’s work in his life. The mature James of the 1907 edition cheerfully admits the implausibility of this scenario, admitting that, in reality, his noble Bellegarde family would happily have swallowed their pride and snapped up Newman’s proffered millions like a shot.
Whatever the plausibility issues, the Bellegarde family is a beautifully drawn little pack of monsters—with the exception, I found, of Newman’s obscure object of desire herself, the undercharacterized Claire de Cintré (a “great white doll of a woman,” as a minor character, Tom Tristram, tellingly describes her.) Madame de Cintré’s harpy of a mother; her viperous, stuffed-shirt elder brother Urbain; her charming, doomed younger brother Valentin, who befriends Newman; Urbain’s brittle wife—these make up a marvelous quartet. Newman is an engaging character, as well, although I wasn’t sure I found him 100% plausible. I could perhaps have done without the subplot involving the demi-rep Noémie Nioche and her father, but I was steaming along very happily until the novel took its melodramatic turn.
There is a lovely passage in James’s 1907 essay on the novel when he recalls the Parisian apartment in which he wrote it, thirty years before. He recollects it essentially in sound terms, not visually: the “particular light Parisian click of the small cab-horse on the clear asphalt, with its sharpness of detonation between the high houses,” punctuated by the “hard music” of a troop of cuirassiers charging down the street to a nearby barracks (a sound that “so directly and thrillingly appealed” to his young self that he had to force himself not to hang out of the window each time to see them pass.) I loved his proto-Proustian description of the way that rereading the novel triggered this sharp recollection of place (much more vivid, as he freely admits, than any description of Paris found in the book.)
November 28, 2017
Prima di addentrarmi in una specificazione vorrei riassumere brevemente la trama di questo romanzo.
L’americano del titolo è Christopher Newman, un quarantenne di bell’aspetto, molto facoltoso. il quale va in Europa deciso a trovare la migliore delle mogli. Si innamora, ricambiato, di una donna intelligente appartenente a una famiglia nobile. la famiglia della donna però si oppone a questa unione, poiché vedono Newman come un arricchito (un po' quello che potrebbe succedere alla fidanzata afro-americana del principe Harry con la famiglia reale...). La famiglia pertanto convince la donna a rinunciare a lui, e questa si farà monaca. Tuttavia, veniamo a sapere che Newman entra in possesso di un documento contenente un'infamia che potrebbe distruggere il buon nome della famiglia. A Newman è data la possibilità di vendicarsi di questo torto e questa umiliazione. A questo punto, c'è un ultimo capitolo.
(sorvolo su tutte le chiacchiere a proposito del contrasto America-Europa in James, che tanto amano i critici)
Henry James riscriveva/revisionava i suoi libri, è noto. Uno dei migliori interventi della letteratura è quello che fece su questo romanzo, The American. Purtroppo, la maggior parte dei critici sono concordi nel ritenere superiore la prima versione del romanzo, quella del 1879. Tanto è vero che Piero Pignata, curatore di questa edizione UTET, decide di prendere anche lui posizione a favore di questa versione. Cito le testuali parole: "ma The American è il romanzo di un trentenne, non di un sessantenne: perciò, se da un punto di vista stilistico, i risultati di questa ripulitura sono senz'altro apprezzabili, la trasformazioni di Newman in una persona di sensibilità più raffinata mal si accorda con le sue azioni, che saltato in quanto compiute da un individuo istintivo ed esuberante sono apparse convincenti. per questa ragione, del resto in linea con quella che sembra ormai essere la propensione della maggior parte della critica, ho preferito attenermi, per il testo, all'edizione londinese del 1879, ossia alla prima edizione inglese autorizzata da James".
Cosa succede però nell'ultimo capitolo?
Nella prima versione, quella del 1879, Newman decide di parlarne con una gossippara parigina ma brucia il foglietto contenente il segreto, convinto che non ci sia altra strada che dimenticare tutta quella dolorosa faccenda. Newman è presentato come uno sconfitto, ma moralmente integro.
Nella seconda versione invece, del 1907 credo, Newman si reca dalla pettegola, chiede di essere invitato a casa sua. La donna si aspetta tutto il tempo una rivelazione, ma questa non arriva. Newman rimane in silenzio per tutta la cena. Quando tempo dopo si trova in America pensa al perché sia stato in silenzio e non abbia rivelato il segreto, dice a se stesso che era talmente enorme il suo odio per la madre della donna di cui era innamorato, che la vendetta lo avrebbe legato a lei più che la dimenticanza e il perdono.
Trent'anni separano la prima versione dalla seconda.
Trent'anni in cui una azione semplice e lineare diventa segreta ed esoterica.
Trent'anni in cui James diventa definitivamente James, senza che nessun critico se ne accorga.
L’americano del titolo è Christopher Newman, un quarantenne di bell’aspetto, molto facoltoso. il quale va in Europa deciso a trovare la migliore delle mogli. Si innamora, ricambiato, di una donna intelligente appartenente a una famiglia nobile. la famiglia della donna però si oppone a questa unione, poiché vedono Newman come un arricchito (un po' quello che potrebbe succedere alla fidanzata afro-americana del principe Harry con la famiglia reale...). La famiglia pertanto convince la donna a rinunciare a lui, e questa si farà monaca. Tuttavia, veniamo a sapere che Newman entra in possesso di un documento contenente un'infamia che potrebbe distruggere il buon nome della famiglia. A Newman è data la possibilità di vendicarsi di questo torto e questa umiliazione. A questo punto, c'è un ultimo capitolo.
(sorvolo su tutte le chiacchiere a proposito del contrasto America-Europa in James, che tanto amano i critici)
Henry James riscriveva/revisionava i suoi libri, è noto. Uno dei migliori interventi della letteratura è quello che fece su questo romanzo, The American. Purtroppo, la maggior parte dei critici sono concordi nel ritenere superiore la prima versione del romanzo, quella del 1879. Tanto è vero che Piero Pignata, curatore di questa edizione UTET, decide di prendere anche lui posizione a favore di questa versione. Cito le testuali parole: "ma The American è il romanzo di un trentenne, non di un sessantenne: perciò, se da un punto di vista stilistico, i risultati di questa ripulitura sono senz'altro apprezzabili, la trasformazioni di Newman in una persona di sensibilità più raffinata mal si accorda con le sue azioni, che saltato in quanto compiute da un individuo istintivo ed esuberante sono apparse convincenti. per questa ragione, del resto in linea con quella che sembra ormai essere la propensione della maggior parte della critica, ho preferito attenermi, per il testo, all'edizione londinese del 1879, ossia alla prima edizione inglese autorizzata da James".
Cosa succede però nell'ultimo capitolo?
Nella prima versione, quella del 1879, Newman decide di parlarne con una gossippara parigina ma brucia il foglietto contenente il segreto, convinto che non ci sia altra strada che dimenticare tutta quella dolorosa faccenda. Newman è presentato come uno sconfitto, ma moralmente integro.
Nella seconda versione invece, del 1907 credo, Newman si reca dalla pettegola, chiede di essere invitato a casa sua. La donna si aspetta tutto il tempo una rivelazione, ma questa non arriva. Newman rimane in silenzio per tutta la cena. Quando tempo dopo si trova in America pensa al perché sia stato in silenzio e non abbia rivelato il segreto, dice a se stesso che era talmente enorme il suo odio per la madre della donna di cui era innamorato, che la vendetta lo avrebbe legato a lei più che la dimenticanza e il perdono.
Trent'anni separano la prima versione dalla seconda.
Trent'anni in cui una azione semplice e lineare diventa segreta ed esoterica.
Trent'anni in cui James diventa definitivamente James, senza che nessun critico se ne accorga.
May 25, 2012
In the most recent installment of my review of the short story anthology I'm currently reading, I couldn't resist being quite snarkily critical of the (to me) unreadable Henry James selection there, which I noted shows him at his worst. So I thought it only fair to offer a review of a work that shows him at his best (or as far as I can determine that, from my limited reading of his corpus). IMO, his ghost stories exhibit some of his best work; but this mainstream novel (which I read as a high school student, but on my own rather than for a class) also proved to be a pretty good read by my standards. My theory is that he was better at writing in the novel or novella format than in the short story; in the latter, he could get by without offering much in the way of event or plot, and just wallow in character's interior monologues as they intuit things, but at novel-length, neither the readers nor the publishers of that day would tolerate that. :-) Of course, this is based on limited data, since this is the only James novel (unless you count The Turn of the Screw as a novel) that I've actually read; I experienced Washington Square and The Spoils of Poynton as dramatic adaptations. (That's a doubly good way to experience James, since it eliminates exposure to his extremely prolix, dense and ponderous prose narrative style --and that description comes from someone who doesn't mind most 19th-century diction!) Still, those gave me enough idea of the plotting to believe there's something to this theory. James' style here isn't a plus; but at least his prose here DOES go somewhere worth getting to.
American born, but long resident in England, James was strongly interested in using his fiction to explore the differences, individual and cultural, between Americans (democratic, forthright, future-oriented, sometimes brash and naive, and convinced that money is a universal problem-solver) and Europeans (aristocratic, tradition-steeped, suavely mannered, sometimes hypocritical and proud to the point of idolatry, and convinced of their own superiority to everyone else). That contrast was never more thoroughly plumbed in fiction than in this tale of a self-made American millionaire, General Newman (whose last name isn't without symbolic significance!), in Paris as a tourist, who sets his heart on marrying the daughter of a widowed noblewoman. The young lady returns his affection; but she can't marry without the consent of her centuries-old, ultra-snobbish --but sorely cash-strapped-- family, and thus the lines of the conflict are drawn. In his preface to the original edition, which was quoted in the introduction to the one I read (not the same as the one pictured above), James describes how the idea for the novel popped into his head on a streetcar ride: "I found myself, of a sudden, considering with enthusiasm, as the theme of a 'story,' the situation, in another country and an aristocratic society, of some robust but insidiously beguiled and betrayed, some cruelly wronged compatriot.... What would he 'do' in that predicament, how would he right himself, or how, failing a remedy, would he conduct himself under his wrong?" That quote suggests something of the verbosity and convolutions of James' way of writing, even without the extra verbiage I elided. (He goes on, in the full preface, to practically provide a spoiler for the ending, so I don't recommend reading that particular preface unless you don't mind that!) But more importantly, it also suggests that the protagonist's central challenge here will be what amounts to a moral decision, a dimension that, for me, always raises the ante in fiction.
While the short Goodreads description above mentions "comedy," that's perhaps an exaggeration; James wasn't an exuberant humorist in the way that his Realist contemporary Mark Twain was. But he did have a real sense of irony and at times a capacity for satire, and he deploys them here; while nothing in the book is laugh-aloud funny, there are some lines here (that I can recall after over 40 years!) that are certainly snicker-worthy. :-) Add in some strong characterizations (likeable or unlikeable) and a plot that includes a REALLY dark family secret, possible blackmail, and a duel, and you have a novel that held my interest, kept me reading, and left me thinking the read was worthwhile!
American born, but long resident in England, James was strongly interested in using his fiction to explore the differences, individual and cultural, between Americans (democratic, forthright, future-oriented, sometimes brash and naive, and convinced that money is a universal problem-solver) and Europeans (aristocratic, tradition-steeped, suavely mannered, sometimes hypocritical and proud to the point of idolatry, and convinced of their own superiority to everyone else). That contrast was never more thoroughly plumbed in fiction than in this tale of a self-made American millionaire, General Newman (whose last name isn't without symbolic significance!), in Paris as a tourist, who sets his heart on marrying the daughter of a widowed noblewoman. The young lady returns his affection; but she can't marry without the consent of her centuries-old, ultra-snobbish --but sorely cash-strapped-- family, and thus the lines of the conflict are drawn. In his preface to the original edition, which was quoted in the introduction to the one I read (not the same as the one pictured above), James describes how the idea for the novel popped into his head on a streetcar ride: "I found myself, of a sudden, considering with enthusiasm, as the theme of a 'story,' the situation, in another country and an aristocratic society, of some robust but insidiously beguiled and betrayed, some cruelly wronged compatriot.... What would he 'do' in that predicament, how would he right himself, or how, failing a remedy, would he conduct himself under his wrong?" That quote suggests something of the verbosity and convolutions of James' way of writing, even without the extra verbiage I elided. (He goes on, in the full preface, to practically provide a spoiler for the ending, so I don't recommend reading that particular preface unless you don't mind that!) But more importantly, it also suggests that the protagonist's central challenge here will be what amounts to a moral decision, a dimension that, for me, always raises the ante in fiction.
While the short Goodreads description above mentions "comedy," that's perhaps an exaggeration; James wasn't an exuberant humorist in the way that his Realist contemporary Mark Twain was. But he did have a real sense of irony and at times a capacity for satire, and he deploys them here; while nothing in the book is laugh-aloud funny, there are some lines here (that I can recall after over 40 years!) that are certainly snicker-worthy. :-) Add in some strong characterizations (likeable or unlikeable) and a plot that includes a REALLY dark family secret, possible blackmail, and a duel, and you have a novel that held my interest, kept me reading, and left me thinking the read was worthwhile!
June 23, 2022
130811: i decided to read henry james one summer a few years ago (decades...) and decided to approach him with one book from each ‘era’: early, middle, and late. this was the early: The American, The Portrait of a Lady , and 'late' The Ambassadors actually an easier read than i thought, i understand it is an early version, a draft, of james’ architectonic and archetypal story: contrasting the innocent, honest, open american, with various layers of corruption of the old world, of europe. some readers really like this motor for the plot and find james as an engaging storyteller, for me, his reputed great ability to understand and reveal the characters' natures did not work. as an early version of this story, i would not have gone on had i not already schemed to. middle james’ was the portrait of a lady, and it was worth the approach...
August 19, 2019
Sinceramente, el señor Newman hubiese ganado quedándose en Estados Unidos.
Una novela curiosa, eso ha sido para mí El americano. No sabía qué esperar y, desde luego, ha sido todo un acierto leerla. Me ha encantado el humor ácido de Henry James, y es que él se nos presenta como el narrador indiscutible de la novela, el mismo que habla de "nuestro héroe" con una mezcla de ironía y apatía que roza lo simpático. Sí, sí, me ha gustado mucho su prosa.
Nos presenta una sociedad parisina muy centrada en el consabido qué dirán, la misma que vive por y para la cantidad de títulos nobiliarios que puedan soportar sobre sus espaldas. Lo más gracioso del libro, sin embargo, es la oscuridad que se cierne sobre la trama. Me explico. Si bien es cierto que París queda más que retratada como la ciudad de las luces; cada escenario que pisa Newman tiene un halo gris de decadencia que no pasa desapercibido. Y es que las visitas a la casa de los Bellagarde son, cuánto menos, dantescas. Una casa enorme sumida en las sombras, con ese runrún que parece inundarlo todo, el mismo que susurra "hay algo que no cuadra". ¡Y hasta ahí puedo leer!
Os recomiendo que le deis una oportunidad. Yo no había leído nada del autor, ¡y he quedado encantada!
Una novela curiosa, eso ha sido para mí El americano. No sabía qué esperar y, desde luego, ha sido todo un acierto leerla. Me ha encantado el humor ácido de Henry James, y es que él se nos presenta como el narrador indiscutible de la novela, el mismo que habla de "nuestro héroe" con una mezcla de ironía y apatía que roza lo simpático. Sí, sí, me ha gustado mucho su prosa.
Nos presenta una sociedad parisina muy centrada en el consabido qué dirán, la misma que vive por y para la cantidad de títulos nobiliarios que puedan soportar sobre sus espaldas. Lo más gracioso del libro, sin embargo, es la oscuridad que se cierne sobre la trama. Me explico. Si bien es cierto que París queda más que retratada como la ciudad de las luces; cada escenario que pisa Newman tiene un halo gris de decadencia que no pasa desapercibido. Y es que las visitas a la casa de los Bellagarde son, cuánto menos, dantescas. Una casa enorme sumida en las sombras, con ese runrún que parece inundarlo todo, el mismo que susurra "hay algo que no cuadra". ¡Y hasta ahí puedo leer!
Os recomiendo que le deis una oportunidad. Yo no había leído nada del autor, ¡y he quedado encantada!
November 23, 2018
Strangest book I have read by Henry James thus far.
Was he trying to create a commercial success with a contemporary gothic novel?
Lots of plot. Ending saved it. Udolpho vibes.
Was he trying to create a commercial success with a contemporary gothic novel?
Lots of plot. Ending saved it. Udolpho vibes.
August 13, 2011
My first introduction to Henry James was having to read THE AMBASSADORS for a course in college. I wouldn't recommend starting his novels with that one. It's an exceedingly difficult book; thick prose with many clauses and asides, swimming in commas and dashes, to the point that one is easily frustrated and lost. You know it's supposed to be a classic, but who the hell cares anymore. Thankfully, years later, I decideded to give THE AMBASSADORS another read and actually enjoyed it. I then read THE GOLDEN BOWL, knowing what I was in for. After that was THE TURN OF THE SCREW and I decided that, okay, I could finally call myself a Henry James fan, and understood why all my professors raved about him so.
This novel is from James' early period. In it, James describes the events surrounding Christopher Newman's courtship and marriage proposal to French aristocratic Claire de Bellegarde. Newman has made a commercial success of himself in the states and arrives to Europe with thoughts of enjoying his wealth, experiencing the culture and, hopefully, finding the perfect woman to become his wife. Claire de Bellegarde had been previously married to a much older aristocrat who had the grace to die quickly on her. Newman's plans for marrying Claire move along accordingly until her family suddenly and publically reject his intentions. Newman, stung by the public humiliation, embarks on a path of revenge.
In spite of its length, this novel moves at a brisk pace. The contrast between the brash, somewhat overly confident American and his European counterparts provides James plenty of room for both comedic and melodromatic turns. It's a great place to start enjoying Henry James' novels.
This novel is from James' early period. In it, James describes the events surrounding Christopher Newman's courtship and marriage proposal to French aristocratic Claire de Bellegarde. Newman has made a commercial success of himself in the states and arrives to Europe with thoughts of enjoying his wealth, experiencing the culture and, hopefully, finding the perfect woman to become his wife. Claire de Bellegarde had been previously married to a much older aristocrat who had the grace to die quickly on her. Newman's plans for marrying Claire move along accordingly until her family suddenly and publically reject his intentions. Newman, stung by the public humiliation, embarks on a path of revenge.
In spite of its length, this novel moves at a brisk pace. The contrast between the brash, somewhat overly confident American and his European counterparts provides James plenty of room for both comedic and melodromatic turns. It's a great place to start enjoying Henry James' novels.
April 19, 2019
https://misgrandespasiones-rosa.blogs...
Aunque yo voté por Naná de Émile Zolá, principalmente porque ya tenía el ejemplar, para la lectura de este bimestre en el Club Pickwick, esta novela de Henry James se ha ganado un lugar de honor en mi Olimpo de lecturas. En particular su protagonista, el señor Christopher Newman, un americano de treintaitantos, acaudalado y hecho a sí mismo. Un hombre de negocios, que tras una especie de epifanía, decide dejarlo todo e ir a disfrutar de su fortuna haciendo el Grand Tour por Europa (muy de moda en la época e indispensable para la formación de los jóvenes de clase alta).
Lo conocemos en el museo del Louvre, en París, mientras contempla con moderada admiración las obras maestras que se encuentran expuestas para el deleite de sus visitantes. En ese momento llama su atención una hermosa joven que se encuentra pintando una copia de un cuadro de Murillo. Newman se acerca a hablar con ella, atraído por su vivacidad y hermosura, más que por la calidad de su obra.La llegada del padre de ésta, monsieur Nioche, y la evidencia de su situación de necesidad, conmueve a Newman que para ayudar a padre e hija le compra por un precio muy elevado la copia que está realizando. Este será el comienzo de una relación de Newman con esta pareja tan sigular, que correrá paralela a la estancia de Newman en Europa, y será determinante en el devenir de la historia.
Ese mismo día y en ese mismo lugar Newman coincide con un paisano y amigo, el señor Tristam, que vive con su esposa en París. La posterior visita a la casa de ambos marcará el inicio del periplo amoroso en el que Newman se verá inmerso. Porque aunque éste ha ido a Europa a hacer turismo, también cree que es momento de sentar la cabeza, y su nueva amiga, la señora Tristam, dice tener a la candidata idónea para futura señora Newman. Madame de Cintré, antigua compañera de estudios de la señora Tristam, es una joven condesa viuda, perteneciente a una familia de rancio abolengo, cuya hermosura y carácter encandilarán a Newman, que caerá rendidamente enamorado de ella, y tendrá que superar numerosos obstáculos para intentar llegar a su corazón.
"<>. Y entonces empezó a mirarme a mí, y al cabo dijo: <>. Me entraron ganas de decirle que fabricaba escobas para que las monten brujas viejas, pero Lizzie se me adelantó. <>. Con tal de atizar a la vieja, poco le importaba adónde me arrojaba a mí. <<¡Santo cielo! -dijo la marquesa-. Todos tenemos nuestras obligaciones>>. <>, dijo Lizzie. Y nos marchamos sin ceremonias. Pero, en fin, tiene usted una suegra, en el sentido más fuerte del término."
Como he dicho antes, para mí lo mejor de esta novela es el protagonista. James lo perfila a la perfección, y le da todos los atributos que cree que debe tener el hombre moderno (hasta en el apellido): hecho a sí mismo, sin prejuicios de clase, amable con todos, espontáneo, gentil, optimista y con confianza en sí mismo y el mundo que lo rodea. Así pinta el autor a los hombres del nuevo mundo, hombres mejores, más pegados a la realidad y con menos aires de grandeza. Esto lo contrapone con la familia de madame de Cintré, que viven encaramados a sus altos orígenes, que se remontan a siglos atrás y a los cuales veneran como si fuesen sagrados. Representan las rancias reglas del juego social del antiguo mundo. El hermano mayor, y cabeza de familia, de madame de Cintré es todo lo opuesto a Newman: es altivo, distante, no demuestra sus sentimientos, desprecia todo lo que no esté a su altura y no trabaja porque eso es indigno e impropio de su posición, y por consecuencia desprecia a todos los que lo hacen.
"Hasta ahora, Newman nunca se había enfrentado a una encarnación semejante del arte de tomarse a uno mismo en serio, sintió una especia de impulso de dar un paso atrás, como cuando se busca una perspectiva de una gran fachada."
Estas diferencias serán el principal escollo que Newman tratará de salvar a base de poderío económico e intentando ser amable con todos, aún recibiendo pocas atenciones por parte de los Bellegarde, ya que aunque de alta alcurnia éstos disponen de escasos recursos económicos.
"Realmente, no podían soportarle más. Habían sobreestimado su propio coraje. Debo admitir, para hacer honor a la verdad, que hay algo bastante exquisito en todo esto. Lo que no podían tragar era su aspecto mercantil en abstracto. Eso es verdaderamente aristocrático. Querían su dinero, pero han renunciado a usted por una idea."
Es una novela entretenida, muy bien escrita, con grandes y maravillosos diálogos, que va dosificando la acción para mantener la atención del lector donde seremos testigos de secretos, traiciones, escándalos y de hasta duelos de honor. Se le nota que fue publicada orignalmente por entregas, ya que el autor es profuso es sus descripciones y disertaciones, y es por este motivo, lo que a veces hace un tanto pesada la lectura. Por eso no le dí un diez al libro, porque por lo demás se merecía la máxima puntuación.
Mención especial merece el final, que me dejó bastante tocada y me recordó a cierto autor, al que no quiero nombrar para no hacer spoiler, y al que curiosamente siempre he confundido con Henry James (son cosas mías jeje).
Un clásico de esos que se merecen estar incuídos entre los mejores y que para mí es lo mejor que he leído de Henry James hasta el momento (aún me queda mucho por leer y disfrutar de su obra, afortunadamente).
"-Soy un buen trabajador -siguió Newman-, pero tiendo a pensar que soy un mal gandul. He venido al extranjero a distraerme, pero tengo dudas de saber hacerlo."
Aunque yo voté por Naná de Émile Zolá, principalmente porque ya tenía el ejemplar, para la lectura de este bimestre en el Club Pickwick, esta novela de Henry James se ha ganado un lugar de honor en mi Olimpo de lecturas. En particular su protagonista, el señor Christopher Newman, un americano de treintaitantos, acaudalado y hecho a sí mismo. Un hombre de negocios, que tras una especie de epifanía, decide dejarlo todo e ir a disfrutar de su fortuna haciendo el Grand Tour por Europa (muy de moda en la época e indispensable para la formación de los jóvenes de clase alta).
Lo conocemos en el museo del Louvre, en París, mientras contempla con moderada admiración las obras maestras que se encuentran expuestas para el deleite de sus visitantes. En ese momento llama su atención una hermosa joven que se encuentra pintando una copia de un cuadro de Murillo. Newman se acerca a hablar con ella, atraído por su vivacidad y hermosura, más que por la calidad de su obra.La llegada del padre de ésta, monsieur Nioche, y la evidencia de su situación de necesidad, conmueve a Newman que para ayudar a padre e hija le compra por un precio muy elevado la copia que está realizando. Este será el comienzo de una relación de Newman con esta pareja tan sigular, que correrá paralela a la estancia de Newman en Europa, y será determinante en el devenir de la historia.
Ese mismo día y en ese mismo lugar Newman coincide con un paisano y amigo, el señor Tristam, que vive con su esposa en París. La posterior visita a la casa de ambos marcará el inicio del periplo amoroso en el que Newman se verá inmerso. Porque aunque éste ha ido a Europa a hacer turismo, también cree que es momento de sentar la cabeza, y su nueva amiga, la señora Tristam, dice tener a la candidata idónea para futura señora Newman. Madame de Cintré, antigua compañera de estudios de la señora Tristam, es una joven condesa viuda, perteneciente a una familia de rancio abolengo, cuya hermosura y carácter encandilarán a Newman, que caerá rendidamente enamorado de ella, y tendrá que superar numerosos obstáculos para intentar llegar a su corazón.
"<>. Y entonces empezó a mirarme a mí, y al cabo dijo: <>. Me entraron ganas de decirle que fabricaba escobas para que las monten brujas viejas, pero Lizzie se me adelantó. <>. Con tal de atizar a la vieja, poco le importaba adónde me arrojaba a mí. <<¡Santo cielo! -dijo la marquesa-. Todos tenemos nuestras obligaciones>>. <>, dijo Lizzie. Y nos marchamos sin ceremonias. Pero, en fin, tiene usted una suegra, en el sentido más fuerte del término."
Como he dicho antes, para mí lo mejor de esta novela es el protagonista. James lo perfila a la perfección, y le da todos los atributos que cree que debe tener el hombre moderno (hasta en el apellido): hecho a sí mismo, sin prejuicios de clase, amable con todos, espontáneo, gentil, optimista y con confianza en sí mismo y el mundo que lo rodea. Así pinta el autor a los hombres del nuevo mundo, hombres mejores, más pegados a la realidad y con menos aires de grandeza. Esto lo contrapone con la familia de madame de Cintré, que viven encaramados a sus altos orígenes, que se remontan a siglos atrás y a los cuales veneran como si fuesen sagrados. Representan las rancias reglas del juego social del antiguo mundo. El hermano mayor, y cabeza de familia, de madame de Cintré es todo lo opuesto a Newman: es altivo, distante, no demuestra sus sentimientos, desprecia todo lo que no esté a su altura y no trabaja porque eso es indigno e impropio de su posición, y por consecuencia desprecia a todos los que lo hacen.
"Hasta ahora, Newman nunca se había enfrentado a una encarnación semejante del arte de tomarse a uno mismo en serio, sintió una especia de impulso de dar un paso atrás, como cuando se busca una perspectiva de una gran fachada."
Estas diferencias serán el principal escollo que Newman tratará de salvar a base de poderío económico e intentando ser amable con todos, aún recibiendo pocas atenciones por parte de los Bellegarde, ya que aunque de alta alcurnia éstos disponen de escasos recursos económicos.
"Realmente, no podían soportarle más. Habían sobreestimado su propio coraje. Debo admitir, para hacer honor a la verdad, que hay algo bastante exquisito en todo esto. Lo que no podían tragar era su aspecto mercantil en abstracto. Eso es verdaderamente aristocrático. Querían su dinero, pero han renunciado a usted por una idea."
Es una novela entretenida, muy bien escrita, con grandes y maravillosos diálogos, que va dosificando la acción para mantener la atención del lector donde seremos testigos de secretos, traiciones, escándalos y de hasta duelos de honor. Se le nota que fue publicada orignalmente por entregas, ya que el autor es profuso es sus descripciones y disertaciones, y es por este motivo, lo que a veces hace un tanto pesada la lectura. Por eso no le dí un diez al libro, porque por lo demás se merecía la máxima puntuación.
Mención especial merece el final, que me dejó bastante tocada y me recordó a cierto autor, al que no quiero nombrar para no hacer spoiler, y al que curiosamente siempre he confundido con Henry James (son cosas mías jeje).
Un clásico de esos que se merecen estar incuídos entre los mejores y que para mí es lo mejor que he leído de Henry James hasta el momento (aún me queda mucho por leer y disfrutar de su obra, afortunadamente).
"-Soy un buen trabajador -siguió Newman-, pero tiendo a pensar que soy un mal gandul. He venido al extranjero a distraerme, pero tengo dudas de saber hacerlo."
February 2, 2014
The most prominent difference between the early and the late works of Henry James is, I think, subtlety. Not only did his writing style become more subtle, to the point that some passages require multiple rereadings just to figure out what he's driving at, his characters and stories became subtler, with more nuance in the former and less open conflict in the latter. "The American" is a quite early Henry James novel (either his second or his third, depending on whether you refuse, as James did later in life, to count "Watch and Ward"), and as such is not subtle at all. The story is one of American archetypes colliding with European ones, so the title character must be as American as you can get, and James doesn't hold back, telling us right away that the character is an American stereotype: "an observer might have felt a certain humorous relish of the almost ideal completeness with which he filled out the national mold." Our American is tall (he is always stretching out his legs), laconic, good-humored, unsubtle, difficult to snub, defiantly class-less (mostly in the sense of social class, though also somewhat lacking in refinement), and self-made, a Western (from San Francisco, as far west as you can get) millionaire. Since he is a new man, from the New World, James, with a directness that not even Dickens would have been likely to adopt, names him Newman. His European counterparts are the Bellegardes, a blend of the old aristocracy of England and the even older aristocracy of France, who have not just old names but old opinions: the Marquis believes that Henri V (the last Bourbon pretender) is the divinely ordained ruler of France, while his younger brother Valentin fought for the Pope in the wars of Italian unification. The Marquis and the dowager Marquise are caricatures of aristocratic pride, while Valentin is mostly a standard-issue playboy. We are also given Mlle. Noemie, a caricature of a social-climbing gold-digger, and Lord Deepmere, a caricature of a weak-minded British lord (he could have stepped out of the Drones club, if such a thing existed in the late 1860s). Mme. de Cintre, Newman's love-interest (the Marquis de Bellegarde's widowed younger sister), is at least a cardboard cutout of a more standard kind, a typical Victorian-era heroine who is so good that she can't actually do anything. The only character of any interest is the American expatriate Mrs. Tristram, who is also, by no coincidence, the only character one can imagine appearing in one of James's later novels.
As befits such characters, the story is mostly melodrama. Some passages, mainly those in which Newman converses with Mrs. Tristram, are fairly Jamesian, but much of the plot seems to have wandered in from other books. The family secret known only to the old servant is straight out of Wilkie Collins, while the Bellegardes themselves are too old-fashioned to belong to a novel set in the 19th century and instead behave more like characters from Dumas, with Valentin dying in a duel and Mme. de Cintre, after having been bullied out of marrying the man she loves by her family, immuring herself in a convent. The continuing adventures of Mlle. Noemie also seem a bit out of place, not so much because they're not Jamesian (though they do have a tinge of Dickens or Thackeray) as because they mostly just don't have much to do with the rest of the story. The moral is that Americans and Europeans are fundamentally incompatible, unless said Americans are strange, like Mrs. Tristram, or fools, like her husband. This is a somewhat ridiculous notion, but it might not be a problem for the book except that James insists on hitting you over the head with it. Over and over again, we are told that Newman doesn't understand: he is constantly being told that he can't comprehend how a Bellegarde feels, or asking to have their jokes and remarks explained to him, or trying, to no avail, to persuade Valentin or Mme. de Cintre of a course of action that seems obvious to him (and to the reader, for that matter). And when Valentin and Mme. de Cintre do make an effort to become more American, Mme. de Cintre by marrying Newman and Valentin by at least considering allowing Newman to set him up in business in America, they are both efficiently and permanently slapped down: they are Europeans and simply can't be anything else. (How James squared this attitude with ongoing European immigration to America is beyond me.) The book ends with Newman determined to quite Paris, and probably Europe, for ever: as an American, he just doesn't belong there.
In the end, the lack of subtlety dooms "The American" to be a lesser work. It's still a good read (though, as anybody familiar with James will not be surprised to hear, it lacks a happy ending), but if you want a Henry James novel where an American takes on Paris and the French, "The Ambassadors" is considerably superior.
As befits such characters, the story is mostly melodrama. Some passages, mainly those in which Newman converses with Mrs. Tristram, are fairly Jamesian, but much of the plot seems to have wandered in from other books. The family secret known only to the old servant is straight out of Wilkie Collins, while the Bellegardes themselves are too old-fashioned to belong to a novel set in the 19th century and instead behave more like characters from Dumas, with Valentin dying in a duel and Mme. de Cintre, after having been bullied out of marrying the man she loves by her family, immuring herself in a convent. The continuing adventures of Mlle. Noemie also seem a bit out of place, not so much because they're not Jamesian (though they do have a tinge of Dickens or Thackeray) as because they mostly just don't have much to do with the rest of the story. The moral is that Americans and Europeans are fundamentally incompatible, unless said Americans are strange, like Mrs. Tristram, or fools, like her husband. This is a somewhat ridiculous notion, but it might not be a problem for the book except that James insists on hitting you over the head with it. Over and over again, we are told that Newman doesn't understand: he is constantly being told that he can't comprehend how a Bellegarde feels, or asking to have their jokes and remarks explained to him, or trying, to no avail, to persuade Valentin or Mme. de Cintre of a course of action that seems obvious to him (and to the reader, for that matter). And when Valentin and Mme. de Cintre do make an effort to become more American, Mme. de Cintre by marrying Newman and Valentin by at least considering allowing Newman to set him up in business in America, they are both efficiently and permanently slapped down: they are Europeans and simply can't be anything else. (How James squared this attitude with ongoing European immigration to America is beyond me.) The book ends with Newman determined to quite Paris, and probably Europe, for ever: as an American, he just doesn't belong there.
In the end, the lack of subtlety dooms "The American" to be a lesser work. It's still a good read (though, as anybody familiar with James will not be surprised to hear, it lacks a happy ending), but if you want a Henry James novel where an American takes on Paris and the French, "The Ambassadors" is considerably superior.
February 25, 2017
The novel summary does not capture this: of course it is CLASS that divides the New-Man from his aristocratic innamorata and her 800 year French family. Bellegarde confides that occasionally the men in the family descended to marrying down, bourgeoisie--"lawyers' daughters." Newman offers, "that's very bad, is it?"(Buccaneer, 99)
And now we are trying to institute class in America, with money = class. But it assuredly does not. Many European aristocrats are now, as they were a century ago in James's novels, nearly penniless. Money may be the very opposite of class, despite the indebted president-elect's proclamations. Granted, we concede money can lower businessmen to act on the level of aristocrats; it can lead to murders, within and without familes, as in the Family Secret of the aristocrats like the Bellegardes here. Haven't heard of it causing duels recently, though perhaps certain suicides are the modern version of a duel, at least the duel that Newman's friend undertakes in Switzerland.
Newman cannot but feel himself "a good fellow wronged," but unlike in Dickens' endings with the moral gratulations of the "good few," Newman has no society to appeal to. His failure to achieve his goals is not as in Dickens a flaw in the social system, for Newman's appeal is to another society. The book ends, but it doesn't conclude.
All of James's novels confront the New World, with its men of "good nature", versus the Old World and its class and assumed distinctions. Perhaps this lasted till the 50's, perhaps only to the Depression? New-man, for instance, assumes that he is "noble," and Bellegarde pursues, "I did not know you had a title." To which, Newman, "A duke, a marquis? I don't know anything about that...But it's a fine word [noble] and I put a claim to it."
As Mrs Tristram sums it up, "Their [foreign] confidence, after counsel taken of each other, was not in their innocence, nor in their talent for bluffing things off; it was in your remarkable good nature. You see they were right."
And now we are trying to institute class in America, with money = class. But it assuredly does not. Many European aristocrats are now, as they were a century ago in James's novels, nearly penniless. Money may be the very opposite of class, despite the indebted president-elect's proclamations. Granted, we concede money can lower businessmen to act on the level of aristocrats; it can lead to murders, within and without familes, as in the Family Secret of the aristocrats like the Bellegardes here. Haven't heard of it causing duels recently, though perhaps certain suicides are the modern version of a duel, at least the duel that Newman's friend undertakes in Switzerland.
Newman cannot but feel himself "a good fellow wronged," but unlike in Dickens' endings with the moral gratulations of the "good few," Newman has no society to appeal to. His failure to achieve his goals is not as in Dickens a flaw in the social system, for Newman's appeal is to another society. The book ends, but it doesn't conclude.
All of James's novels confront the New World, with its men of "good nature", versus the Old World and its class and assumed distinctions. Perhaps this lasted till the 50's, perhaps only to the Depression? New-man, for instance, assumes that he is "noble," and Bellegarde pursues, "I did not know you had a title." To which, Newman, "A duke, a marquis? I don't know anything about that...But it's a fine word [noble] and I put a claim to it."
As Mrs Tristram sums it up, "Their [foreign] confidence, after counsel taken of each other, was not in their innocence, nor in their talent for bluffing things off; it was in your remarkable good nature. You see they were right."
April 8, 2019
'El americano' fue la lectura elegida en el club Pickwick para el mes de marzo. Del autor sólo había leído 'Otra vuelta de tuerca' que por cierto me encantó y ese final me dejó loca, y tenía curiosidad por saber cómo serían sus otras obras. Esta novela no tiene nada que ver con aquella, el estilo me resultó mucho más asequible y menos recargado, más fluido, y me sorprendió el humor que impregnaba cada página. Henry James tiene aquí mucha retranca, y se rie tanto del protagonista americano y bonachón (aunque claramente desde el cariño) como de la sociedad parisina y la vieja Europa, tan absurda y anclada en el pasado. En esta novela vemos con detalle varios estratos sociales, y la forma en que se relacionan (o más bien no se relacionan) entre ellos. Aunque no tenía ganas locas de coger el libro cada día, sí que disfrutaba cada vez que me ponía a leer, y en el tercio final la historia se precipita y hay más acción. El final no era lo que esperaba, pero quizás esto es también porque al haber leído 'Otra vuelta de tuerca' estaba esperando un final que me dejara boquiabierta. En resumen, la novela en sí me ha resultado entretenida aunque no me ha maravillado, pero el autor me ha sorprendido por su versatilidad, y tengo mucha curiosidad por seguir leyendo más obras suyas.
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May 24, 2024One of Ernest Hemingway's Recommneded 16 Novels for Young Writers: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/ernest-h...
February 1, 2023
4.5 stars
James makes great headway from Roderick Hudson, where he really begins to hone his dialogue; here, in The American, one almost feels the influence of Trollope on the first half of the novel—the society scenes, the scenes of being lost in crowds, the dialogue that is suggestive rather than overt—all while making Paris come alive for the reader in such a way that we’re able to see it through Christopher Newman’s eyes as a privileged, hard-working, status-obsessed American who’s earned his millions and is taking the Continental tour. Love and Old World tradition sidetrack him, as do a few well-drawn characters who come and go at literally just the right times: in other hands, these characters would be mere caricatures, but in James’s hands, the balance is struck and the bell tolls, tolls, tolls.
This novel sees him much more masterful with his dialogue measured equally with the interiority/figural narratives that place us inside (mostly) Newman’s head as he navigates the Old—but new-to-him—World of tradition, religion, society, and a pride he can’t wholly fathom. The scenes in the Louvre are some of the most breathtaking scenes in James’s work thus far—as I begin to re-read his novels in order, as this mad project of mine—and the countryside of France comes alive, too, in a suffocating, claustrophobic manner that suits the plot and the theme of The American to the letter.
And that ending! What perfection, with the mise-en-scène and the dialogic build-up! And there is a kind of behind-the-curtains duel! And nuns! And backstabbing aplenty… but the latter is James for you, almost across the board. James begins his ambiguity here, in part, and his fascination with a particular classical element that figures heavily in much of his novels and short fiction.
On to The Europeans which I recall feeling was one of his weaker earlier novels (it is, after all, subtitled A Sketch), but perhaps my mind will change after many years away from it, and on the heels of his previous three novels—yes, I count Watch and Ward, though James later disowned it.
James makes great headway from Roderick Hudson, where he really begins to hone his dialogue; here, in The American, one almost feels the influence of Trollope on the first half of the novel—the society scenes, the scenes of being lost in crowds, the dialogue that is suggestive rather than overt—all while making Paris come alive for the reader in such a way that we’re able to see it through Christopher Newman’s eyes as a privileged, hard-working, status-obsessed American who’s earned his millions and is taking the Continental tour. Love and Old World tradition sidetrack him, as do a few well-drawn characters who come and go at literally just the right times: in other hands, these characters would be mere caricatures, but in James’s hands, the balance is struck and the bell tolls, tolls, tolls.
This novel sees him much more masterful with his dialogue measured equally with the interiority/figural narratives that place us inside (mostly) Newman’s head as he navigates the Old—but new-to-him—World of tradition, religion, society, and a pride he can’t wholly fathom. The scenes in the Louvre are some of the most breathtaking scenes in James’s work thus far—as I begin to re-read his novels in order, as this mad project of mine—and the countryside of France comes alive, too, in a suffocating, claustrophobic manner that suits the plot and the theme of The American to the letter.
And that ending! What perfection, with the mise-en-scène and the dialogic build-up! And there is a kind of behind-the-curtains duel! And nuns! And backstabbing aplenty… but the latter is James for you, almost across the board. James begins his ambiguity here, in part, and his fascination with a particular classical element that figures heavily in much of his novels and short fiction.
On to The Europeans which I recall feeling was one of his weaker earlier novels (it is, after all, subtitled A Sketch), but perhaps my mind will change after many years away from it, and on the heels of his previous three novels—yes, I count Watch and Ward, though James later disowned it.
May 13, 2018
From BBC radio 4 - Drama:
Love Henry James: The American Ep1/2
Dramatised by Lavinia Murray
Humour and heartache collide in this early James novel. When Christopher Newman, an American and self-made millionaire businessmen arrives in Paris he falls in love with Claire de Cintre. A wife from an aristocratic French Family is exactly what he's looking for, but he's unaware of the dark mystery surrounding her family, and the misery and mayhem they have yet to cause.
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b1...
4* Daisy Miller
3* Washington Square
4* The Ambassadors
4* The Turn of the Screw
4* The Wings of the Dove
4* The Portrait of a Lady
2* The Bostonians
2* The Real Thing
4* The Aspern Papers
3* What Maisie Knew
4* A Little Tour in France
3* The Madonna of the Future
2* Lady Barbarina and Other Tales
4* The Beast in the Jungle
3* The Jolly Corner
3* The Art of Fiction
3* Roderick Hudson
3* Henry James: A Life in Letters
4* The American
TR The Tragic Muse
TR The Pupil
TR The Other House
TR The Spoils of Poynton
TR The Princess Casamassima
TR Hawthorne
TR The Great Good Place
TR The Art of the Novel
TR The Middle Years
TR The Golden Bowl
TR Nona Vincent
TR Italian Hours
TR The Ivory Tower
TR Ghost Stories
TR The Outcry
TR Collected Travel Writings: The Continent
About Henry James:
3* The Real Henry James by Philip Horne
3* Henry James at Work by Theodora Bosanquet
TR Portraits from life by Ford Madox Ford
TR The Great Tradition: George Eliot, Henry James, Joseph Conrad by F.R. Leavis
TR The Realists: Eight Portraits: by C.P. Snow
TR A Private Life of Henry James: Two Women & His Art by Lyndall Gordon
Love Henry James: The American Ep1/2
Dramatised by Lavinia Murray
Humour and heartache collide in this early James novel. When Christopher Newman, an American and self-made millionaire businessmen arrives in Paris he falls in love with Claire de Cintre. A wife from an aristocratic French Family is exactly what he's looking for, but he's unaware of the dark mystery surrounding her family, and the misery and mayhem they have yet to cause.
Produced and directed by Pauline Harris.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b1...
4* Daisy Miller
3* Washington Square
4* The Ambassadors
4* The Turn of the Screw
4* The Wings of the Dove
4* The Portrait of a Lady
2* The Bostonians
2* The Real Thing
4* The Aspern Papers
3* What Maisie Knew
4* A Little Tour in France
3* The Madonna of the Future
2* Lady Barbarina and Other Tales
4* The Beast in the Jungle
3* The Jolly Corner
3* The Art of Fiction
3* Roderick Hudson
3* Henry James: A Life in Letters
4* The American
TR The Tragic Muse
TR The Pupil
TR The Other House
TR The Spoils of Poynton
TR The Princess Casamassima
TR Hawthorne
TR The Great Good Place
TR The Art of the Novel
TR The Middle Years
TR The Golden Bowl
TR Nona Vincent
TR Italian Hours
TR The Ivory Tower
TR Ghost Stories
TR The Outcry
TR Collected Travel Writings: The Continent
About Henry James:
3* The Real Henry James by Philip Horne
3* Henry James at Work by Theodora Bosanquet
TR Portraits from life by Ford Madox Ford
TR The Great Tradition: George Eliot, Henry James, Joseph Conrad by F.R. Leavis
TR The Realists: Eight Portraits: by C.P. Snow
TR A Private Life of Henry James: Two Women & His Art by Lyndall Gordon
August 21, 2009
This was a reread, I think the third time, but I haven’t read it since the mid-Seventies at the latest. Rereading, I must say, was a huge enjoyment. This is James at the best of his earlier period, where he was exploring the naïve American in Europe, packing enormous meaning in every sentence, but before he began with the super subtle detail and very long and complex sentences that characterize his later masterpieces like A Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl. [By the way, the difference between James’ long sentence and Faulkner’s is simple: James are architected sentences that depend on intricacies of English syntax while Faulkner’s sentences are not so complex as they are conversational and accretive, where he adds and modifies rather than subordinates.]
The story is of Christopher Newman (new man, right? Not only from “the new world” but from “the West”, practically a hero riding on a white horse) who left school very early somewhere in the East and by 35 had made himself a millionaire businessman in California. He wakes up one morning and thinks there must be more to life. Like other Americans of his generation who can afford it he heads for Europe to learn about the rest of life. In Paris—for James always the center of European culture—one of the first things he does is order several paintings from a beautiful young girl copying paintings in the Louvre—always supervised by her father. We gradually come to realize that Mlle. Noiche is a very bad painter. Later she plays a more sinister role in the plot but early on Newman’s business relationship with her and her father (who teaches him some conversational French) helps to establish Newman’s naiveté.
Newman thinks he will look for a wife in Paris and an ambitious American ex-patriot rather mischievously suggests Madame de Cintré, widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Her family is 1000 years old. Her older brother, the present Marquis, declares his loyalty to the Bourbons and refuses to go to the Napoleonic Court. Claire de Cintré, it is clear, was married young to an old man chosen by her family who has mercifully died before the story begins. She is beautiful, delicate, shy and completely under the thumb of her family. Nevertheless she is drawn to Newman and for whatever reasons after some initial insults her mother and brother agree to the marriage. While you must have the patience to wait for James to set the scene, the novel contains a full measure of suspense so I’ll not give away the plot, except to suggest that aristocratic French families have traditionally looked down their noses at "commercial men".
Finally, I was struck by how completely and effectively James followed his own theory of narrative point of view in The American. All readers recognize that novels are most often told from the point of view of a third person narrator (often not even identifiable as a person) who “knows everything” or from the point of view of one person, in which case the author has to work hard to give the reader knowledge that the narrator doesn’t have. James thought there was a better way. He called it “centre of consciousness” and it’s so familiar now we rarely single it out, but James used it to radically change narrative from the 19th century “dear reader” style to something much more subtle. James described it as the narrator looking through the back of the character's head, seeing what he sees, though described from the larger experience of the invisible narrator. It combines the virtues of the omnipotent narrator and the first person narrator. Here James uses detail brilliantly to characterize both Newman and the people he interacts with, always telling the reader far more than Newman understands, but rarely revealing who’s telling the story.
The story is of Christopher Newman (new man, right? Not only from “the new world” but from “the West”, practically a hero riding on a white horse) who left school very early somewhere in the East and by 35 had made himself a millionaire businessman in California. He wakes up one morning and thinks there must be more to life. Like other Americans of his generation who can afford it he heads for Europe to learn about the rest of life. In Paris—for James always the center of European culture—one of the first things he does is order several paintings from a beautiful young girl copying paintings in the Louvre—always supervised by her father. We gradually come to realize that Mlle. Noiche is a very bad painter. Later she plays a more sinister role in the plot but early on Newman’s business relationship with her and her father (who teaches him some conversational French) helps to establish Newman’s naiveté.
Newman thinks he will look for a wife in Paris and an ambitious American ex-patriot rather mischievously suggests Madame de Cintré, widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Her family is 1000 years old. Her older brother, the present Marquis, declares his loyalty to the Bourbons and refuses to go to the Napoleonic Court. Claire de Cintré, it is clear, was married young to an old man chosen by her family who has mercifully died before the story begins. She is beautiful, delicate, shy and completely under the thumb of her family. Nevertheless she is drawn to Newman and for whatever reasons after some initial insults her mother and brother agree to the marriage. While you must have the patience to wait for James to set the scene, the novel contains a full measure of suspense so I’ll not give away the plot, except to suggest that aristocratic French families have traditionally looked down their noses at "commercial men".
Finally, I was struck by how completely and effectively James followed his own theory of narrative point of view in The American. All readers recognize that novels are most often told from the point of view of a third person narrator (often not even identifiable as a person) who “knows everything” or from the point of view of one person, in which case the author has to work hard to give the reader knowledge that the narrator doesn’t have. James thought there was a better way. He called it “centre of consciousness” and it’s so familiar now we rarely single it out, but James used it to radically change narrative from the 19th century “dear reader” style to something much more subtle. James described it as the narrator looking through the back of the character's head, seeing what he sees, though described from the larger experience of the invisible narrator. It combines the virtues of the omnipotent narrator and the first person narrator. Here James uses detail brilliantly to characterize both Newman and the people he interacts with, always telling the reader far more than Newman understands, but rarely revealing who’s telling the story.
December 25, 2022
Si sente la scrittura ancora acerba e molto accessibile rispetto alle opere successive, comunque un romanzo interessante ed elegantemente frivolo a tratti, i momenti di confronto tra le due culture (americana ed europea) sono un caposaldo della produzione di James.
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