Henry James - "The Master"

Henry James: a brief history and inspiration for writing "The Portrait of a Lady"

“James is considered one of the greatest American writers. He was known for his sophisticated style, precise language, and innovative approach to the novel form.”This proves to be true if you engage with any information from or about Henry James, from intriguing dialogue within sentences of his books, to his enticing descriptions and engaging scenarios.

Henry James was born April 14, 1843, in New York, New York to Henry James Sr. and Mary Robertson Walsh. 1843 was the year “The Tell-Tale Heart” (Edgar Allan Poe) and A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) were published. James was inspired by both authors. (If life had foreshadowing, this would be a prime example of it). Henry James was born into a wealthy, loving family and was the second boy of four children. He lived in and out of America and Europe; he first left America at the age of twelve (1855) and traveled to London, Paris, Geneva, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Bonn where he began his studies.

In 1860, at the age of seventeen, James returned to America. The following year, in 1861, he enrolled in Harvard University to study law. Before long into his college career, however, James discovered his zeal for literature (for time reference, Abraham Lincoln had been president for about a year at this point).

As James entered adulthood, he published his first piece, A Tragedy of Error (1864 - published anonymously), a play about people finding themselves in emotionally confusing situations, which leads to problem solving and resolution of issues. This alludes to James’s interest in human sentiment and understanding of insightful complexities. Around the same year, James met William Dean Howells, a friend of Mark Twain, who was an American author, critic and editor at the newspaper that regularly published James’s work. They admired each other's style and contributions to American literature. They frequently talked, and exchanged ideas that had a major impact on literary realism in America. In the late 19th century, Henry James met Charles Eliot Norton, an educator and scholar, who promoted art and literature at Harvard University. Norton helped James look for a house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and developed a friendship over literature, art and culture.

Although James was never married, he did have deep feelings for Minnie Temple, his cousin. Over the span of fifty-two years, Henry James wrote twenty novels, including; The Portrait of a Lady, The Turn of the Screw, The Wings of the Dove, and Daisy Miller, 112 short stories/novellas including A Figure in the Carpet, In The Cage, and The Jolly Corner along with twelve plays (some of which are adaptations of his books) including The Outcry, The Other House, The American, and Wings of the dove.

In 1869, James traveled to Europe for the first time (since his childhood studies) as an adult, where he studied art in Paris and developed his literary voice. The experiences he had during this time shaped his ideas on social class and perspective on relationships that played major roles in how he executed his novels and stories. In January of 1882, James’ mother died; He comforted his father and wrote a diary entry about what kind of mother she was, saying she was “Our life, she was the house, she was the keystone of the arch,” and described the loss of a mother as “One of the sharpest daggers of loss” and “hours of exquisite pain.” Later the same year in December, his father died of heart failure. He wrote, “Such then is the circle of my commemoration and so much these free and copious notes a labor of love and loyalty.” He also said this about Mary “Minnie” Temple, his inspiration for many characters and overall ideas in his books.

The Portrait of a Lady is the most well-known work of Henry James. This could be the outcome of its captivating dialogue, illustrative scenery and an engaging plot. But this story comes from something much deeper than just the creativity of James’s mind. In Portrait of a Lady, Isabell Archer (the main character) is not just a girl James imagined and gave a story to, she depicts James’s idea of the late Minnie Temple (he basically used his literature as his version of her eulogy). Minnie was born on December 7, 1845 and was characterized as “a most honest little phenomenon” by James’ older brother (William) “an asker of infinite questions” and “absolutely afraid of nothing…” by James himself. Isabell Archer was what James considered Minnie’s life could have been if she lived past the age of twenty-four. James wrote a letter, on November 17, 1915 to William Dean Howelles, and in it he mentioned his affection and adoration and how he thought of Minnie often. Many people believe the reason James never married was because he felt such a profound loss over Minnie, and felt as a widower would.

He is considered one of the greatest American authors, and for good reason as well. Although sometimes James’s work is not the most easily interpreted or the most transparent, you really get a feel for how knowledgeable, experienced, and clever he is; and not just “smart” as in just puts good words in a good order for a story. He really felt and understood the stories he told. “We work in the dark - we do what we can - we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.” - Henry James

Works Cited

Collins, Philip. “Charles Dickens | Biography, Facts, & Analysis.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 3 Oct. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Dickens-British-novelist.

Gale, Robert L. “Henry James | Databases Explored.” Www.gale.com, 1988, www.gale.com/intl/databases-explored/literature/henry-james.

Goodman, Susan . “Henry James and the American Idea.” National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/julyaugust/feature/henry-james-and-the-american-idea.

“Henry James.” The Poetry Foundation, 2024, www.poetryfoundation.org/people/henry-james.

“Henry James (1843-1916) - Annenberg Learner.” Annenberg Learner, 22 Oct. 2019, www.learner.org/series/american-passages-a-literary-survey/social-realism/henry-james-1843-1916/.

mansionmusings, and Margaret Highland. “Just up the Road: Henry James’s Cousin Minny Temple.” Mansion Musings, 30 Mar. 2020, mansionmusings.wordpress.com/2020/03/30/just-up-the-road-henry-jamess-cousin-minny-temple/.

Menand, Louis. “The Late Late Phase.” The New Yorker, 21 July 2016, www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/henry-james-late-phase. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

Posner, Eric. “The Hardship of Henry James - New Rambler Review.” Newramblerreview.com, 2016, newramblerreview.com/book-reviews/fiction-literature/the-hardship-of-henry-james. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Sohier, Jacques. “Henry James’s the Portrait of a Lady: The Figure of the Lady between Surplus Value and Surplus Enjoyment.” Miranda, no. 11, 7 June 2015, https://doi.org/10.4000/miranda.7229.

“The Wings of the Dove: Classic Henry James as Film Noir - Library of America.” Library of America, 17 Oct. 2023, www.loa.org/news-and-views/1218-the-wings-of-the-dove-classic-henry-james-as-film-noir/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

TIMESOFINDIA.COM. “The Portrait of a Lady: First Line Establishes a Tone of Leisure and Social Ritual.” The Times of India, Times Of India, 8 Sept. 2023, timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/features/the-portrait-of-a-lady-first-line-establishes-a-tone-of-leisure-and-social-ritual-/articleshow/103508955.cms. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

Updike, John. “On “the Portrait of a Lady” | John Updike.” The New York Review of Books, 25 Aug. 2020, www.nybooks.com/articles/1999/12/02/on-the-portrait-of-a-lady/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.