Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from Henry James, Jr., by William Dean Howells
He was born in New York city in the year 1843, and his first lessons in
life and letters were the best which the metropolis--so small in the
perspective diminishing to that date--could afford. In his twelfth
year his family went abroad, and after some stay in England made a long
sojourn in France and Switzerland. They returned to America in 1860,
placing themselves at Newport, and for a year or two Mr. James was at
the Harvard Law School, where, perhaps, he did not study a great deal
of law. His father removed from Newport to Cambridge in 1866, and
there Mr. James remained till he went abroad, three years later, for
the residence in England and Italy which, with infrequent visits home,
has continued ever since.
It was during these three years of his Cambridge life that I became
acquainted with his work. He had already printed a tale--"The Story of
a Year"--in the "Atlantic Monthly," when I was asked to be Mr. Fields's
assistant in the management, and it was my fortune to read Mr. James's
second contribution in manuscript. "Would you take it?" asked my
chief. "Yes, and all the stories you can get from the writer." One is
much securer of one's judgment at twenty-nine than, say, at forty-five;
but if this was a mistake of mine I am not yet old enough to regret it.
The story was called "Poor Richard," and it dealt with the conscience
of a man very much in love with a woman who loved his rival. He told
this rival a lie, which sent him away to his death on the field,--in
that day nearly every fictitious personage had something to do with the
war,--but Poor Richard's lie did not win him his love. It still seems
to me that the situation was strongly and finely felt. One's pity
went, as it should, with the liar; but the whole story had a pathos
which lingers in my mind equally with a sense of the new literary
qualities which gave me such delight in it. I admired, as we must in
all that Mr. James has written, the finished workmanship in which there
is no loss of vigor; the luminous and uncommon use of words, the
originality of phrase, the whole clear and beautiful style, which I
confess I weakly liked the better for the occasional gallicisms
remaining from an inveterate habit of French. Those who know the
writings of Mr. Henry James will recognize the inherited felicity of
diction which is so striking in the writings of Mr. Henry James, Jr.
The son's diction is not so racy as the father's; it lacks its daring,
but it is as fortunate and graphic; and I cannot give it greater praise
than this, though it has, when he will, a splendor and state which is
wholly its own.
Mr. James is now so universally recognized that I shall seem to be
making an unwarrantable claim when I express my belief that the
popularity of his stories was once largely confined to Mr. Field's
assistant. They had characteristics which forbade any editor to refuse
them; and there are no anecdotes of thrice-rejected manuscripts finally
printed to tell of him; his work was at once successful with all the
magazines. But with the readers of "The Atlantic," of "Harper's," of
"Lippincott's," of "The Galaxy," of "The Century," it was another
affair. The flavor was so strange, that, with rare exceptions, they
had to "learn to like" it. Probably few writers have in the same
degree compelled the liking of their readers. He was reluctantly
accepted, partly through a mistake as to his attitude--through the
confusion of his point of view with his private opinion--in the
reader's mind. This confusion caused the tears of rage which bedewed
our continent in behalf of the "average American girl" supposed to be
satirized in Daisy Miller, and prevented the perception of the fact
that, so far as the average American girl was studied at all in Daisy
Miller, her indestructible innocence, her invulnerable new-worldliness,
had never been so delicately appreciated. It was so plain that Mr.
James disliked her vulgar conditions, that the very people to whom he
revealed her essential sweetness and light were furious that he should
have seemed not to see what existed through him. In other words, they
would have liked him better if he had been a worse artist--if he had
been a little more confidential.
Explanation
This excerpt from William Dean Howells’ essay "Henry James, Jr." (1882) serves as both a biographical sketch and a critical appreciation of the young Henry James, focusing on his early career, stylistic innovations, and the initial public reception of his work. Howells, a prominent realist writer and editor (and a close friend of James), offers a firsthand account of James’ emergence as a literary figure, blending personal anecdote with literary analysis. Below is a detailed breakdown of the passage, emphasizing its themes, literary devices, historical context, and significance, while centering on the text itself.
1. Context of the Excerpt
Source & Authorial Perspective: The essay was published in The Century Magazine (1882) as part of a series on contemporary American writers. Howells, then a leading literary arbiter (and editor of The Atlantic Monthly), writes with authority, intimacy, and defensive admiration for James, whose work was still polarizing. His tone is part memoir, part critique, reflecting his role in shaping James’ early career.
Henry James’ Career Stage: At this point (1882), James was 39 years old and had published Daisy Miller (1878), The Europeans (1878), and Washington Square (1880), but his masterpieces (The Portrait of a Lady, The Wings of the Dove) were yet to come. Howells’ essay captures James in transition: no longer a novice but not yet the undisputed master of psychological realism.
2. Themes in the Excerpt
A. The Formation of a Cosmopolitan Artist
The opening paragraph traces James’ transnational upbringing—New York, Europe, Harvard—as foundational to his literary sensibility. Key details:
- "First lessons in life and letters" in a "metropolis... small in the perspective": The phrase "small in the perspective" suggests ironic diminishment: 1840s New York was culturally limited compared to Europe, where James’ education truly flourished. His expatriate childhood (England, France, Switzerland) and later self-imposed exile (1869 onward) shaped his outsider’s perspective on American and European society—a theme central to his fiction (e.g., The Ambassadors).
- "Infrequent visits home": James’ permanent expatriation (he died in England in 1916) was controversial. Howells subtly defends it by framing it as a natural extension of his upbringing, not a rejection of America.
B. The Discovery of a Literary Prodigy
Howells recounts his editorial role in James’ early career, emphasizing:
- "Would you take it? Yes, and all the stories you can get": This decisive endorsement highlights James’ immediate recognition by literary gatekeepers (Howells, Fields) despite public resistance. The anecdote underscores Howells’ prescience—he trusted James’ talent before it was widely accepted.
- "One is much securer of one’s judgment at twenty-nine than at forty-five": A self-deprecating joke about youthful confidence, but also a defense of James’ early work. Howells implies that his initial enthusiasm was not naive—time proved him right.
C. James’ Stylistic Originality
Howells praises James’ prose as an art form, focusing on:
- "Finished workmanship... no loss of vigor": James’ precision and control—his ability to balance aesthetic refinement with emotional intensity—is celebrated. This contrasts with the looser, more colloquial style of American realists like Mark Twain.
- "Luminous and uncommon use of words... occasional gallicisms": James’ European-inflected diction (e.g., French syntax, latent phrases) was unusual for American literature. Howells admires this hybridity, seeing it as a strength, not a flaw. The "gallicisms" reflect James’ cosmopolitanism and his resistance to purely "American" linguistic norms.
- "Splendor and state which is wholly its own": A nod to James’ baroque, psychologically dense prose—later fully realized in The Golden Bowl—which Howells contrasts with his father’s (Henry James Sr.) more philosophical, abstract style.
D. Public Misunderstanding and Artistic Integrity
The most contentious section addresses the initial rejection of James’ work, particularly Daisy Miller:
- "The flavor was so strange... they had to 'learn to like' it": James’ unconventional themes (American innocence abroad, moral ambiguity) and narrative indirectness alienated readers accustomed to moral clarity (e.g., Dickens) or sentimentalism (e.g., Harriet Beecher Stowe). Howells frames this as a testament to James’ originality, not a failure.
- "Confusion of his point of view with his private opinion": Readers misread James’ irony as personal disdain. For example, Daisy Miller’s critique of American provincialism was seen as an attack on Daisy herself, when in fact James sympathized with her while exposing the hypocrisy of European and American judgment.
- "They would have liked him better if he had been a worse artist": A scathing indictment of readers who preferred moralizing over artistic complexity. Howells argues that James’ refusal to simplify (e.g., by making Daisy purely virtuous or corrupt) was necessary for his realism.
3. Literary Devices
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Irony | "so small in the perspective diminishing to that date" | Undercuts the grandeur of 1840s New York, highlighting its cultural limitations. |
| Anecdote | Howells’ memory of reading "Poor Richard" in manuscript | Humanizes the critical analysis; positions Howells as a witness to genius. |
| Paradox | "finished workmanship... no loss of vigor" | Captures James’ ability to be both precise and passionate. |
| Metaphor | "tears of rage which bedewed our continent" | Hyperbolic image of national outrage over Daisy Miller, framing it as a cultural moment. |
| Litotes | "I am not yet old enough to regret it" | Understated humor that reinforces confidence in his judgment. |
| Contrast | James’ diction vs. his father’s ("lacks its daring, but is as fortunate") | Positions James as inheriting but refining his father’s intellectual legacy. |
4. Significance of the Excerpt
A. Historical
- Early Defense of James: Howells’ essay was one of the first major critical validations of James, who was still controversial in the 1880s. It helped shift perception from "difficult eccentric" to "serious artist."
- Realism vs. Romanticism: The debate over James’ reception reflects the larger tension in 19th-century American literature between realist complexity (James, Howells) and romantic/moralistic expectations (readers who wanted clear heroes/villains).
B. Biographical
- James’ Expatriation: Howells normalizes James’ life abroad, countering critics who saw it as unpatriotic. This aligns with James’ own view that art transcends nationality.
- Father-Son Legacy: The comparison to Henry James Sr. (a philosopher-theologian) frames the younger James as both heir and innovator, blending intellectual depth with narrative artistry.
C. Literary-Critical
- Style as Substance: Howells elevates prose style to a moral and aesthetic virtue, arguing that James’ linguistic precision is inseparable from his psychological insight. This foreshadows modernist praise for James (e.g., by T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf).
- Reader Responsibility: The essay challenges readers to meet James halfway—to tolerate ambiguity and appreciate craft. This anticipates 20th-century theories of reader-response criticism.
5. Key Passages Explained
"Poor Richard" Analysis:
- The story’s premise—a man lies to eliminate a rival, but the lie fails to bring happiness—exemplifies James’ moral complexity. Howells notes that pity aligns with the liar, subverting traditional moral binaries.
- The Civil War setting ("nearly every fictitious personage had something to do with the war") reflects how James used contemporary crises to explore psychological conflict.
Daisy Miller Controversy:
- Howells’ claim that James appreciated Daisy’s "indestructible innocence" is crucial. Many readers saw the novella as mocking American girls, but Howells insists James critiqued the societies judging her (both European snobbery and American prudery).
- The phrase "existed through him" suggests that Daisy’s essential self is revealed by James’ art, not distorted by it.
"They would have liked him better if he had been a worse artist":
- This cutting remark encapsulates the central tension in James’ reception: artistic integrity vs. popular appeal. Howells implies that compromising (e.g., by moralizing) would have betrayed James’ vision.
6. Connection to James’ Wider Work
- Expatriation & Cultural Critique: James’ transatlantic themes (The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors) stem from his biography, as Howells’ opening paragraph suggests.
- Psychological Realism: The focus on "conscience" in "Poor Richard" foreshadows James’ obsession with inner conflict (e.g., The Beast in the Jungle).
- Narrative Ambiguity: Howells’ defense of James’ refusal to simplify aligns with James’ later experimental techniques (e.g., unreliable narrators in The Turn of the Screw).
7. Conclusion: Why This Excerpt Matters
Howells’ essay is more than a biography—it’s a manifestation of the cultural shift James represented. By championing complexity over simplicity, artistry over moralizing, and cosmopolitanism over provincialism, Howells positions James as a harbinger of literary modernity. The excerpt also reveals Howells’ own role as a bridge between 19th-century realism and 20th-century modernism, using his editorial platform to nurture a genius before the world was ready.
In essence, this passage is both a love letter and a battle cry—a defense of an artist who would later be recognized as one of the greatest novelists in English, but who, in 1882, still needed a few brave advocates.