In fact, tonight, for this reason I’ve resolved never to attempt another of his later novels again. Tonight, after re-dipping deeply into Henry James’ convoluted introspections in this novel again - the first time in fifty years, for I read it once academically - I’ve come to the sad conclusion that his late novels can be toxic to postmodern souls. So, impelled by his own tumultuous and impetuous cravings - the cravings that comprised his inner Daemon - he was driven “down, down - to a sunless sea:” the world of deep and dangerous introspection. The overarching priority of Being over Becoming meant little to him, as a truth he could hold on to. In other words, he remained throughout his life a Seeker.
His theatrical work is thought to have profoundly influenced his later novels and tales. An extraordinarily productive writer, in addition to his voluminous works of fiction he published articles and books of travel writing, biography, autobiography, and criticism,and wrote plays, some of which were performed during his lifetime with moderate success. His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and unreliable narrators in his own novels and tales brought a new depth and interest to realistic fiction, and foreshadowed the modernist work of the twentieth century. James insisted that writers in Great Britain and America should be allowed the greatest freedom possible in presenting their view of the world, as French authors were. His method of writing from the point of view of a character within a tale allowed him to explore the phenomena of consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting. His plots centered on personal relationships, the proper exercise of power in such relationships, and other moral questions. He is primarily known for a series of major novels in which he portrayed the encounter of America with Europe. He spent much of his life in England and became a British subject shortly before his death.
Henry James, OM (1843-1916), son of theologian Henry James Sr., brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James, was an American-born author, one of the founders and leaders of a school of realism in fiction.
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