Henry James Goes to Paris: The Ambassadors, section 1
Rhoda Flaxman
October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12
Tuesday, 2pm - 4pm, on ZOOM
“Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.”
This “germ” from The Ambassadors is a key moment of revelation for Strether, the main character, and for us. The theme of this novel-what has the main character, Strether, missed, in fact?—was particularly congenial to James as he explores the many facets of character in this beautiful novel. Strether must discover the orientation to correct vision, and so must we.
The year James spent in Paris as a young man (1875-6) resurfaces years later in this novel's meditation on the most magical of cities. His personal favorite, The Ambassadors brings together threads of nineteenth-century scenic realism and the modernism for which he was theoretician and path-breaker in his important “The Art of Fiction.” James was one of the first writers to create a body of theory about form and point of view in the novel. He showed us the importance of perspective in the analysis of character. In other words, what is it we “see” when we get to know another person? Is it a valid perspective? James explores this theme throughout The Ambassadors.
The meaning of Paris, too, has many aspects in this novel, from its purely aesthetic beauty to its seductive dangers. Here, too, the centrality of correct vision balances the pure pleasure of being there as Strether experiences it. We watch him negotiate the mysteries of that most seductive of cities as he explores the centrality of correct vision and the difference between innocence and experience. His walk through the city is one of the great pleasures of this novel.
James explores the symbolic meanings of place, as Strether thinks back on his life in America, enabling James to explore the theme of Americans abroad and the international theme of cosmopolitanism, with its two extremes of innocence and experience. He also gives us incisive depictions of the men and women around Strether and the fairly rigid gender roles attached to each.
As is true in all my courses, this one will operate as a combination of short lecture to set the context for the day’s discussion, and an exploration of discussion questions sent before the class. If possible, please do a first reading of the novel in the Penguin Classic Edition before class begins.
Week I: Books I and II (pp. 21-90)
Week 2: Books III, IV, and V (pp. 93-191)
Week 3: Books VI-VIII (pp. 195-306)
Week 4: Books IX and X (pp. 309-379)
Week 5: Books XI and XII (383-470).
Rhoda Flaxman
October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12
Tuesday, 2pm - 4pm, on ZOOM
“Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.”
This “germ” from The Ambassadors is a key moment of revelation for Strether, the main character, and for us. The theme of this novel-what has the main character, Strether, missed, in fact?—was particularly congenial to James as he explores the many facets of character in this beautiful novel. Strether must discover the orientation to correct vision, and so must we.
The year James spent in Paris as a young man (1875-6) resurfaces years later in this novel's meditation on the most magical of cities. His personal favorite, The Ambassadors brings together threads of nineteenth-century scenic realism and the modernism for which he was theoretician and path-breaker in his important “The Art of Fiction.” James was one of the first writers to create a body of theory about form and point of view in the novel. He showed us the importance of perspective in the analysis of character. In other words, what is it we “see” when we get to know another person? Is it a valid perspective? James explores this theme throughout The Ambassadors.
The meaning of Paris, too, has many aspects in this novel, from its purely aesthetic beauty to its seductive dangers. Here, too, the centrality of correct vision balances the pure pleasure of being there as Strether experiences it. We watch him negotiate the mysteries of that most seductive of cities as he explores the centrality of correct vision and the difference between innocence and experience. His walk through the city is one of the great pleasures of this novel.
James explores the symbolic meanings of place, as Strether thinks back on his life in America, enabling James to explore the theme of Americans abroad and the international theme of cosmopolitanism, with its two extremes of innocence and experience. He also gives us incisive depictions of the men and women around Strether and the fairly rigid gender roles attached to each.
As is true in all my courses, this one will operate as a combination of short lecture to set the context for the day’s discussion, and an exploration of discussion questions sent before the class. If possible, please do a first reading of the novel in the Penguin Classic Edition before class begins.
Week I: Books I and II (pp. 21-90)
Week 2: Books III, IV, and V (pp. 93-191)
Week 3: Books VI-VIII (pp. 195-306)
Week 4: Books IX and X (pp. 309-379)
Week 5: Books XI and XII (383-470).
Rhoda Flaxman
October 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12
Tuesday, 2pm - 4pm, on ZOOM
“Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.”
This “germ” from The Ambassadors is a key moment of revelation for Strether, the main character, and for us. The theme of this novel-what has the main character, Strether, missed, in fact?—was particularly congenial to James as he explores the many facets of character in this beautiful novel. Strether must discover the orientation to correct vision, and so must we.
The year James spent in Paris as a young man (1875-6) resurfaces years later in this novel's meditation on the most magical of cities. His personal favorite, The Ambassadors brings together threads of nineteenth-century scenic realism and the modernism for which he was theoretician and path-breaker in his important “The Art of Fiction.” James was one of the first writers to create a body of theory about form and point of view in the novel. He showed us the importance of perspective in the analysis of character. In other words, what is it we “see” when we get to know another person? Is it a valid perspective? James explores this theme throughout The Ambassadors.
The meaning of Paris, too, has many aspects in this novel, from its purely aesthetic beauty to its seductive dangers. Here, too, the centrality of correct vision balances the pure pleasure of being there as Strether experiences it. We watch him negotiate the mysteries of that most seductive of cities as he explores the centrality of correct vision and the difference between innocence and experience. His walk through the city is one of the great pleasures of this novel.
James explores the symbolic meanings of place, as Strether thinks back on his life in America, enabling James to explore the theme of Americans abroad and the international theme of cosmopolitanism, with its two extremes of innocence and experience. He also gives us incisive depictions of the men and women around Strether and the fairly rigid gender roles attached to each.
As is true in all my courses, this one will operate as a combination of short lecture to set the context for the day’s discussion, and an exploration of discussion questions sent before the class. If possible, please do a first reading of the novel in the Penguin Classic Edition before class begins.
Week I: Books I and II (pp. 21-90)
Week 2: Books III, IV, and V (pp. 93-191)
Week 3: Books VI-VIII (pp. 195-306)
Week 4: Books IX and X (pp. 309-379)
Week 5: Books XI and XII (383-470).