Concetti Chiave
- Henry James is a pioneer of the psychological novel, emphasizing characters' inner worlds and perspectives.
- His works delve into feelings, moral choices, and the complexities of human relationships.
- James's "The Portrait of a Lady" illustrates the conflict between individuality and societal expectations through Isabel's choices.
- The psychological novel gained momentum during the Modernist period, reshaping literary techniques.
- Modernist examples influenced by James include works by Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, T.S. Eliot, and Ernest Hemingway.
In what way is Henry James a forerunner of the modern psychological novel?
The psychological novel focuses on the inner world of the main characters, instead the realistic novel (Dickens's plays are a clear example) describes events in a external way without giving importance to the feelings and interior thoughs of the protagonists.
Henry James can be considered a forerunner of the modern psychological novel because he is the first one who focuses on the characters’ interior world, expressing their point of view and involving readers in the protagonists’ psychological development.
For example, James’s masterpiece “The Portrait of a Lady” explores the conflict among the individual and society, by examining the life of Isabel, who must choose between her independent spirit and the demands of social conventions.
The psychological novel will have a great development during the Modernist period. In fact, this age is characterized by the flourishing of many psychological novel which completely changed the way of writing of that time. Clear examples are: Mrs Dalloway and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf; Ulysses by Joyce; the poem The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot; The old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway
Accedi a tutti gli appunti
Tutor AI: studia meglio e in meno tempo
