Ross Posnock Henry James Essay Example For Students

Ross Posnock Henry James Essay In Daisy the narrator emphasises a description from the outside, only taking into account the opinion and the thoughts of the rest of characters but not Daisy in itself. When faced with a problem, Catherines preference is to solve it internally, as illustrated in a conversation between her father and Aunt Almond: And, meanwhile, how is Catherine taking it? As she takes everything -as a matter of course. Doesnt she make a noise? Hasnt she made a scene? She is not scenic. Moreover, the readers are inevitably waiting for her to start standing up for herself. The author moves us to this feeling of expectation. Perhaps to contribute to this purpose scenes are perceived through the perspective of many different characters. On of the most powerful scenes is the scene during the conflict between Mrs. Penniman and Catherine. The narrator seems to show the scene through Catherines point of view, giving the reader insights to her toughts and feelings: when a separation has been agreed upon, the farther away he goes the better. She speaks with determination and maybe also with frustration. Then she goes on to accuse Aunt Penniman of being the one that has made Morris change his mind about marrying her, and yelling at her with growing vehemence, pouring out the bitterness and in the clairvoyance of her passion. This scene is significant because it is the first in which the reader gets a real insight into the inner turmoil and anger that Catherine is suffering through her conflict with Morris. Through the narration of this scene, Henry James shows that Catherine has grown in the past year. She has gone from a quiet and timid girl who was afraid to stand up for herself to being a young woman who is much more assertive and who is not hesitant to speak her mind or defend herself. In Washington Square we are not presented a doubtful narrator as in Daisy Miller. In Daisy Miller sometimes the narrator is not sure about something in relation to Daisy but this is mainly due to the fact that the story is told from the point of view of Winterbourne. In Washington Square, on the contrary, the development of Catherine takes place at the same time that we, the readers, are provided her thoughts and feelings towards her internal struggle. It can be said that essential to Washington Square is James use of point of view. Because there is little action in the story, the reader has few opportunities to judge characters by their responses to changes in plot. There is much dialogue, but the characters true feelings often belie their words to each other. Therefore, the only way that we may understand the desires and motives of characters is through change in point of view. An important example of such technique influencing our understanding of the story can be found in chapter 20 when Morris and Catherine discuss the conflict with her father. In this section we see the action largely through Catherines perspective. Her action, or inaction, has indicated that she is apathetic to both Morris and her father. So Henry provides a story in which the female heroine, Catherine, grows up through the story advances. She is able to acknowledge her independence from her father to reject his money and also to decide about becoming an old maid. She can choose. We are provided a process of growing up, we can observe how her feelings change into something new. In conclusion, Henry James decided to write about to female heroines that has a lot of features in common: they both have to face oppresive forces (the father in Catherines case and social prejudices in Daisys story). But the fact is that the aesthetic result is completely different from one story to another because the author enables the reader to go inside the character in one case but not in the other so the literary work becomes highly different. .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 , .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .postImageUrl , .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 , .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5:hover , .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5:visited , .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5:active { border:0!important; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5:active , .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5 .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uab87215249fc1f6ea690d3c10cb791c5:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Love Poems date back excuse the pun over 100's and 100's of years EssayBIBLIOGRAPHY 1. New essays on Daisy Miller and the Turn of the screw, edited by Vivian R.Pollak. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993 1. Henry James in context, edited by David McWhirter. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 1. Walton, Priscilla L. The disruption of the feminine in Henry James. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, cop. 1992 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our University Degree Other Authors section.