Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
2-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Comparative Literature
Advisor
David S. Reynolds
Committee Members
Jerry W. Carlson
John Brenkman
Subject Categories
American Literature | Arts and Humanities | Modern Literature | Philosophy
Keywords
Henry James, American Literature, Modernism, Criticism, Ethics
Abstract
A whole industry exists around Henry James’s late fiction. His early stories, however, do not enjoy the same attention. Some critics have dismissed them as jejune and even silly. My contention is that James’s early stories from the period of 1864-1874 should be considered more seriously. They contain the same themes that will show up in James’s mature and late work. The themes of money, integrity, love, self-deception, trust, and deceit already figure in his early stories as much as in his later writing. In fact, they shed light on his later fiction. Secondly, James’s understanding of moral complexity with which his characters deal was already developed in his young mind, when, in his early twenties, he committed himself to writing.
Recommended Citation
Shloznikova, Katherine, "Insidious Fibs: Early Stories of Henry James" (2023). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5274
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