Lecture 4 The Awkward AgeWord格式.docx
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Lecture 4 The Awkward AgeWord格式.docx
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HenryJames:
TheAwkwardAge
Inlastweek’slecture,ImentionedJames’s1884essay‘TheArtofFiction’.AsIsaidlasttime,inthatessay,Jameswaskeentopresentnovel-writingasoneofthefinearts,andhedidthat,inpart,byusingtheanalogyofpainting.Throughthisanalogywithpainting,Jameswasabletomakeclaimsforthenovelandforaseriousconsiderationoftheaestheticsofthenovel.Thus,henotesatonepoint,‘itisnotexpectedofthepicturethatitwillmakeitselfhumbleinordertobeforgiven’,implying,ofcourse,thatthenovelistisexpectedtoadoptthisposture.Hebeginstheessayinquitetheoppositevein.
Heobservesatthestart:
‘OnlyashorttimeagoitmighthavebeensupposedthattheEnglishnovelwasnotwhattheFrenchcalldiscutable’.Thenheexplainswhathemeansbythisterm:
‘Ithadnoairofhavingatheory,aconviction,aconsciousnessofitselfbehindit–ofbeingtheexpressionofanartisticfaith’.Jamesisclearlyaimingtoremedythislack.AgainitisworthnotinginpassingtheindebtednesstoFrenchliterature:
howFrenchliterarycultureisprovidingaprecedentforthisseriousengagementwiththeartofthenovel.ItisworthrememberingalsothatoneofJames’searliestpublicationswasacriticalbook,FrenchPoetsandNovelists,publishedin1878,inwhich,throughaseriesofessaysinvestigatingthepracticeofarangeofcontemporaryFrenchpoetsandnovelists,hecanbeseendevelopinghisowncriticalpositiononthenatureandartofthenovel.Hegoeson:
‘Artlivesupondiscussion,uponcuriosity,uponvarietyofattempt,upontheexchangeofviewsandthecomparisonofstandpoints’.And,inthisspirit,heoffershisowncontributiontotheon-goingdiscussion.
Imentionedlasttime,James’sassertionofthefreedomofart,thefreedomofthenovel,initschoiceofsubjectanditstreatmentofthatsubject.Heaffirms:
‘Theonlyobligationtowhichinadvancewemayholdanovel…isthatitbeinteresting’.Heelaboratesonthislaterintheessay:
‘Wemustgranttheartisthissubject,hisidea,hisdonnee:
ourcriticismisappliedonlytowhathemakesofit’.Atthesametime,againstBesant’sattempttolaydownlawsforthenovel,Jamesasserts:
‘Thewaysinwhichitisatlibertytoaccomplishthisresult(ofinterestingus)strikemeasinnumerable…Theyareasvariousasthetemperamentofman,andtheyaresuccessfulinsofarastheyrevealaparticularmind’.ThisinsistenceonthetemperamentofthewriterisderivedpartlyfromdiscourseaboutthenovelinFrance,butitalsoechoeswhatwehaveseeninPater.
InhisessayJamesworkssystematicallythroughthevariouspointsthatBesantmadeinhislecture.Thus,JamesalsoquestionsBesant’sassertionthatthenovelistmustwritefromexperiencebyinterrogatingthatword‘experience’.Heobserves:
‘Experienceisneverlimited,anditisnevercomplete;
itisanimmensesensibility,akindofhugespider-webofthefinestsilkenthreadssuspendedinthechamberofconsciousness,andcatchingeveryairborneparticleinitstissue’.Whatisinterestinginthisimageishowitmovesfromexperiencetothesensibilityofthepersonexperiencing.Jamesgivesanexampletointerrogatefurtherthenotionof‘experience’:
Thackeray’sdaughter,AnneRitchieThackeray,wroteanovelaboutFrenchProtestantyouth;
theexperiencefromwhichshewrotethenovelwastheglimpseofagroupofyoungProtestantmenseatedattableinahouseinParis.Jamesobserves:
‘Theglimpsemadeapicture;
itlastedonlyamoment,butthatmomentwasexperience’.‘Experience’,fortheartist,dependsuponthis‘powertoguesstheunseenfromtheseen,totracetheimplicationofthings,tojudgethewholepiecebythepattern’.SoJames’sadvicetotheyoungartistis‘’Trytobeoneofthepeopleonwhomnothingislost!
’
JamesalsopicksuponBesant’soppositionofdescriptionanddialoguetoargueinsteadfororganicform.Henotes:
‘Icannotimaginecompositionexistinginaseriesofblocks,norconceive,inanynovelworthdiscussingatall,ofapassageofdescriptionthatisnotinitsintentionnarrative,apassageofdialoguethatisnotinitsintentiondescriptive’’.AswewillseeinTheAwkwardAge,thisbecomeswhatJamescalls‘reallyconstructivedialogue’.Insimilarveinhegoesoninhisessaytochallengeanotherdistinction–‘betweenthenovelofcharacterandthenovelofincident’.Heargues:
‘Whatischaracterbutthedeterminationofincident?
Whatisincidentbutthedeterminationofcharacter?
’WemightproductivelyaddressthesequestionstoTheSpoilsofPoynton.
Finally,hereturnstothatquestionofthefreedomoftheartist.Heassertsthat‘theprovinceofartisalllife,allfeeling,allobservation,allvision’.HechallengesBesant’sassertionthatarthastohavea‘consciousmoralpurpose’andcounterswiththeassertionthat‘questionsofartarequestions(inthewidestsense)ofexecution;
questionsofmoralityarequiteanotheraffair’.Inotherwords,itistheartist’stechnicaldecisionsintheirtreatmentofthesubjectthataretheproperobjectforcriticalattention.Notonlydoesthenovelnothavetohavea‘consciousmoralpurpose’;
itshouldnotbeexpectedtoconformtoconventionalmoralvalues.Fromthisposition,hegoesontoattack‘themoraltimidityoftheusualEnglishnovelist;
withhis(orher)aversiontofacethedifficultieswithwhichoneverysidethetreatmentofrealitybristles’.Ashenotes,thisleadsto‘acautioussilenceoncertainsubjects’–subjects,ofcourse,whichJamescan’tmentionexplicitly.Instead,heobservesthat‘thereisatraditionaldifferencebetweenthatwhichpeopleknowandthatwhichtheyagreetoadmitthattheyknow,thatwhichtheyseeandthatwhichtheyspeakof,thatwhichtheyfeeltobeapartoflifeandthatwhichtheyallowtoenterintoliterature’.Asthissuggests,therewere,innineteenth-centuryEnglandandAmericaconstraintsonwhatcouldbesaidandwhatcouldbesaidinliterature.Asthisalsosuggests,theseconstraintsalsoproduceanallusivestyle(asinthesepassages)whereallthose‘intheknow’knowexactlywhatisbeingalludedto,whilethosenotintheknowarekeptinthedark.Jamesinhisfiction,aswesawwithsomeofhisshortstoriesandTheSpoilsofPoyntonorinnovelslikeWhatMaisieKnewandTheGoldenBowl,broughtintofictionthingswhichhisadultreaders‘knew’butdidn’tnecessarilyallowintoliterature.Atthesametime,Jameshadtonegotiatetheofficialconstraintsonwhatcouldbeincludedinliterature:
hecouldnotbeasexplicit,forexample,asFlaubertandZola.Aswehaveseen,thishadimplicationsforhistechniqueandhiswritingstyle.ItisalsoanimportantcontextforTheAwkwardAge.
I.ThePrefacetoTheAwkwardAge
JameswrotehisPrefacestoaccompanytheNewYorkCollectedEditionofhisworksthatcameoutin1907:
theydidnotaccompanythenovelswhentheyfirstappeared.OneoftheambitionsofseriousnovelistslikeJamesandConradwastohaveaCollectedEditionoftheirwork.Thiswasoneofthesignsoflegitimation,ofrecognition.ThepublicationofJames’sCollectedEdition,likethelaterpublicationofConrad’s,wasalsoanopportunityforthewritertorevisitearlierworkandtoreflectuponit.Fromthepublishers’perspective,theauthor’sPreface(inJames’scase)orAuthor’sNote(inConrad’s)wasalsoawayofaddingvaluetothevolume–afurtherinducementtothereadertobuytheedition.ItiscomparabletotheDVDwithout-takesoradditionalmaterial.Whattheauthor’sPrefacealsooffersisanaccountoffiction,asJamesnotesin‘TheArtofFiction’,fromthepointofviewof‘theproducer’ratherthantheconsumer.IfwereadthroughJames’sPrefacesinchronologicalorderwhatwealsoseeisaprocessbywhichheexploreshisideasaboutfiction,whereideasmightbestartedupinonePrefaceandthenpickedupanddevelopedfurtherinalaterone.ThePrefaceswerepublishedseparatelyfromthenovelsin1934asabookcalledTheArtoftheNovel.LikePercyLubbock’sTheCraftofFiction,whichcameoutin1921,thepublicationofthePrefacesasaseparatebook,readslikeanattempttosetupJames’sexplorationsofhispracticeasanovelistasaprescriptivemodelforfiction–whichisquitecontrarytothespiritofJames’sownwork(aswesawinhisessay‘TheArtofFiction’)anddidn’tsucceed.
ThePrefacetoTheAwkwardAgeisoneofthosemostorientedtomattersoftechnique.Jamesbegins,easilyenough,with‘thegerm’.AsinTheSpoilsofPoynton,thegermwasasocialphenomenon,aproductofJames’ssociallifeinLondon-inthiscase,‘thedifferencemadeincertainfriendlyhousesandforcertainflourishingmothersbythesometimesdreaded,oftendelayed,butneverfullyarrestedcomingtotheforefrontofsomevagueslipofadaughter’andtheresulting‘accounttobetaken,inacircleoffreetalk,ofanewandinnocent,awhollyunacclimatizedpresence’.Again,aswithTheSpoilsofPoynton,wehavetothinkaboutthesocialcustomsoftheupper-classes:
inthiscase,theseparationofchildrenandparentswithinthehouseholdapartfromcarefullycontrolledvisitingtimes,andtheproblemthenofdecidingwhentoallowtheyoungadulttojointhesocialcircleoftheparents.Whatwealsohavetobearinmindasafactorhereistheperceivedneed,inthisperiod,to‘protect’femalechildren–indeed,unmarriedyoungwomen-fromcertainkindsofknowledge.InhisNotebookentryfor4March1895,Jamesbeginshisoutlineofthe‘germ’forthenovelbyreferringto‘TheideaofthelittleLondongirlwhogrowsupto“sitwith”thefree-talkingmodernyoungmother’andtheproblem
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