Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The books
I think the only Henry James works I've read are "The Turn of the Screw" and "The Aspern Papers," but it was still fascinating to read about the supposed inspirations for his work during this time period. Did any particularly strike you as interesting? Did it start to sound as though he never had any original ideas since he seemed to be copying all his characters and situations from real life?
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I guess I didn't think of it as copying so much as being inspired by, kind of like how Shakespeare worked with existing stories to create his plays. The genius seems to be less in the plot than in the details of dialogue and setting and tone. I'd think James did do some camouflaging — for example, with "The Aspern Papers" — to hide the original source.
I was really struck by his discussion of "Portrait of a Lady" with his niece. She asked him why he chose that particular ending and eventually he said that he wrote that book 20 years ago and didn't really remember it. I don't know if he was just saying that to be evasive, but it seemed sincere. Whatever the case, I found that to be a wonderful notion: that writers eventually forget what they wrote! Of course they must. Especially if they've written a zillion things since then. But it's so weird to think of a book that is universally admired and regarded as one of the greatest American novels — Scholars endlessly study it! — and its own author, seemingly genuinely, says he doesn't really remember it. It made me wonder whether Shakespeare could have discussed the meaning of Hamlet 20 years after he wrote it, or whether, you know, he'd have to reread it and get back to you.
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