It’s funny—when I was in grad school, James was my favorite author. I read Portrait of a Lady three times and cried at the end every time. But now when I read James, I have the same reaction as you. Why is the grammar so tortuous? Why will no one ever, EVER say anything directly?
I'm not a good one to name onscreen scenes but my favorite romantic "scenes" come from Jane Austen's work. She was a master of narrative tension in interpersonal relationships, even considering the vast differences in social customs of her time. Even with her happy endings, she still kept the human foibles in view.
I am a huge Jane Austen fan! I think my very favorite Austen romantic scene is in Persuasion when Anne talks about the constraints on women, and Captain Wentworth is listening in and writes her a letter. There is so much restraint in that scene, but so much emotion!
Every time I think I could like James’s work, I stumble on a sentence like this:
“to whom nothing on earth was to have happened”
W- w- ha- ha-!
What???
It’s funny—when I was in grad school, James was my favorite author. I read Portrait of a Lady three times and cried at the end every time. But now when I read James, I have the same reaction as you. Why is the grammar so tortuous? Why will no one ever, EVER say anything directly?
I remember liking Aspern Papers and Beast in a course on literary form but I guess not enough to go back.
I'm not a good one to name onscreen scenes but my favorite romantic "scenes" come from Jane Austen's work. She was a master of narrative tension in interpersonal relationships, even considering the vast differences in social customs of her time. Even with her happy endings, she still kept the human foibles in view.
Great analysis and article- as usual!
I am a huge Jane Austen fan! I think my very favorite Austen romantic scene is in Persuasion when Anne talks about the constraints on women, and Captain Wentworth is listening in and writes her a letter. There is so much restraint in that scene, but so much emotion!
Yes! There's so much in that whole book, I feel like Persuasion is a little overlooked. It has some of the
sharpest characters shown with such clarity for both good and bad qualities!