An analysis of the psychological and philosophical dimensions of two central symbols of Henry James's later work, the Maltese cross of The Spoils of Poynton (1897) and the golden bowl of The Golden Bowl (1904), reveals that by 1903 James had assimilated from the late nineteenth century Zeitgeist the essential features of Darwinism, psychic determinism, fin de siècle romanticism, Bergson's élan vital, Henry Adams' equation of spiritual with physical energy or force, and William James's pragmatism. The complex symbolism of the Maltese cross and the golden bowl mainly expresses the destructive potential of romantic idealism and ethical absolutism; hence I conclude that James unconsciously shared Ibsen's attitude toward ideals and idealism, as interpreted by Shaw in The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891). Two visions of man underlie these novels: (1) the Darwinism-inspired view of man as a being whose animal nature must be sternly repressed by that conscience T. H. Huxley termed "the watchman of society" before either psychic evolution or amelioration of man's general condition could be achieved; (2) the ancient doctrine of man as microcosm and the ethical goal of psychic harmony from which the animal nature is not excluded. The former is ultimately rejected in favor of the latter, as James dramatizes the problem of the ethically sensitive person who is involved in a struggle to fulfil his life-potential. In The Spoils of Poynton, in his presentation of Fleda Vetch, James implicitly rejects renunciation of life for the sake of honor as a valid mode of conduct. In The Golden Bowl, in his presentation of Maggie Verver, he in effect offers a solution to the problem of how the individual should react to evil. James's treatment of the problem of self-fulfilment in these two novels implies his gradual, and to a large extent unconscious, conversion to an ethical pragmatism similar to that advocated by William James. The totally destructive practice of self-sacrifice on the part of the heroine of the first novel gives way in the second novel to a partial self-sacrifice that is not only compatible with self-fulfilment but necessary for psychic development. As static ideals are found to inhibit psychic evolution, the corresponding philosophical change is an implicit reorientation from belief in the validity of immutable ideals to a final intuition that ultimate reality lies in the dynamic archetypes of psychic life. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

James's profound pessimism about the lives of the vast majority of the characters whom he chooses to portray in his fiction has been somewhat under emphasized by the critics. James considers a life successful only when the individual in question realizes his inner potential and thus achieves a sense of self-fulfilment. Yet the reader's cumulative impression of James's fiction is that his characters almost invariably fail to achieve this desirable state, and that they are doomed to disappointment and heartache. This unhappiness almost invariably arises from the relation between the sexes. James considers several major categories of people, but all but one group, the artists, fall short of the objective. For example, James's young female characters (whether European, English, or American), are under constant pressure to "marry well"—to seize the nearest man and the largest fortune. Yet James portrays marriage as the most inhumane of institutions; as one in which women immure themselves and sacrifice all their individuality. Similarly, James's male characters are never happy or fulfilled either in marriage or in business, for in marriage they tend to be brutal or insensitive, while in business they subjugate their moral and aesthetic senses to acquisitive ones. Such debased values are detrimental to the man himself and to all those with whom he lives. Nor are the rare sensitive men in James's fiction successful in life, for they tend to base their own happiness on the actions of other people—a precarious foundation. James believes only one sort of happiness is worthwhile and lasting, and that possession of it constitutes success in life. Only the artist can achieve this perfect happiness but he can enjoy it only on the most difficult terms: he must commit himself absolutely to his art. The artist must be a man or woman unlike others, sacrificing all earthly vanities to his one ideal vision. He cannot permit himself to be overwhelmed by the ordinary concerns of daily life. He must remove himself as much as possible from the world of getting and spending, loving and marrying. Only by making this absolute commitment can he achieve the happiness which consists of knowing that he has done the best work that is in him. This sense of consummate achievement constitutes happiness for James's artist characters. They consider it worth the price they pay. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (M.A. in English)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2006. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Texte remanié de: Dissertation Ph. D.--Ramat-Gan--Bar-Ilan university, 1992. Titre de soutenance : The dangers of interpretation : art and artists in the works of Henry James and Thomas Mann. / Bibliogr. p. 293-308.

No description available.

Texte remanié de: Ph. D. Th.--Evanston (Ill.)--Northwestern university, 1986.

Kingston, Ontario, Queen's University, Diss., 1999.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a general introduction to the study of James' art criticism, to establish his aesthetic criteria and to indicate the relationship between his theory of art and the themes of his fiction. First, I have included an analysis of three stories concerning the artist and his craft: "The Madonna of the Future," "The Liar," and "The Real Thing." Drawing certain conclusions as to James’ view of the nature of art and the nature and function of the artist, I have then proceeded to examine his most important statements on nineteenth century painting. Although this is only a small portion of his many comments on not only the art of painting but all the Fine Arts, I have limited my discussion to painting for the sake of brevity and clarity, and to the nineteenth century because James is a nineteenth century novelist. I have attempted to show his amazing perception of the various aesthetic movements of his time and his sympathetic attitude towards the many pitfalls into which the artists of the nineteenth century fell. I have also tried to indicate briefly where James differed from the major art critics of the time, such as Ruskin, Pater and Baudelaire. I feel that certain conclusions can be drawn from a study of James' art criticism: one, that it is important to any serious study of his novels; two, that it is closely linked to certain twentieth century attitudes towards the nature of art; and three, that the aesthetic theory out of which James is working has a direct relation to both the form and content of his novels. His characters are acting out his own struggle for a compromise between the Real and the Ideal, and his theory of art and theory of life being one and the same, he feels that one should, in a certain sense, make of one's life a work of art. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Was Henry James a religious man? There is today no debate among serious critics that moral crises are the central concern of James's fiction, but the obviously related question of the religious base of James's moral universe remains unexamined. In the course of this present study, it has been necessary to raise this question, and it has been possible to offer an answer to it. If by "religious" one means "adhering to a theologi cal credal construct," James was not a religious man; but if one means by the term, a man who denies materialism and aff irms not only the value but the reality of the spiritual realm, the super-natural realm, then Henry James was indeed a religious man. Furthermore, as this dissertation shows, his view of human nature approves the orthodox Christian perspective. And in his evaluation of the results of the dis integration of the religious center of Puritanism, James offered a critique of the modern a religious and irreligious mind as severe as that of his theologically oriented religious contemporaries [TRUNCATED] / 2999-01-01