2020年8月28日 星期五

"The American" by Henry James (1877)


 "'Ah, but your poverty is your capital.  Being an American, it is impossible you should remain what you were born, and being born poor - do I understand it? - it was therefore inevitable that you should become rich.  You were in a position that makes one's mouth water; you looked round you and saw a world full of things you had only to step up to and take hold of.'"

American author Henry James is best known for his novels The Portrait of a Lady and The Wings of the Dove.  His literary career began in earnest after he moved to London, and many of his novels reflect on misunderstandings between Americans and Europeans.

Prior to reading The American I attempted one of James' other novels - either The Portrait of a Lady or The Wings of the Dove, I can't remember which.  All I remember is page-long descriptions of personalities, with very little happening in-between.  I suppose that earlier attempt at one of his novels decided me against Henry James, and it wasn't until recently stumbling across The Americans that I decided to give him another try.

In the novel a wealthy American vacationing in Europe courts a member of the French aristocracy.  Her family, viewing him as unsuitable, nevertheless allows his courtship to proceed in the hopes of gaining access to his fortune.  A series of misunderstandings is the inevitable result, all predicated upon the wide gulf between the American's idealistic worldview and the more hidebound, more traditional outlook of the family he strives to marry into.

At times this book reminded me of my own life, given that so much of it has been an attempt to ingratiate myself with various Chinese in-laws.  To be sure, they weren't after my money, but the same differences of opinion are there, as is the same gulf between a younger, more idealistic culture and a more traditional culture beholden to certain behavioral norms.

On the whole I'd have to say The American wasn't nearly as excruciating as my previous experience with Henry James led me to believe, and perhaps one of these days I'll give The Portrait of a Lady or The Wings of the Dove - whichever it was - another try.  James was an insightful writer, and I liked the way this book ended.  I think there's a lot to be said for giving him another look.

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