Success and Tragedy in the Novels of Henry James

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the miserable characters in Henry James' novels "The Beast in the Jungle", "The Jolly Corner", and "Portrait of a Lady" as contrasted with the alone but happy character of Nick Dormer in "The Tragic Muse".

From the Paper:

"In contrast, Portrait of a Lady presents Ralph as an invalid who lives vicariously through a woman named Isabel Archer whom he leads to doom. He bestows upon her a large sum of money, despite his father's warning that fortune hunters will target her for it. Ralph replies, "That's a risk, and it has entered into my calculation I'm prepared to take it" (p. 161). Ralph is financially generous to Isabel not out of love but out of a morbid fascination. He wants to see what she will do with it. When Isabel marries a gold-digger, she fulfills the victim role that Ralph's father had feared. Ralph's fascination with Isabel's life overcomes any concern he might have had for her welfare."

More papers on Success and Tragedy in the Novels of Henry James:

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• Analytical Essay # 134388 : "Death and Silence in "The Turn of the Screw"

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