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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Surprisingly good - despite a do-nothing plot, the characters are very human and seem to be subjects of the author's amusement. It's dark without being heavy-handed and the real tragedy is the relationship between the father and daughter, not the romantic couple.
a curious little story filled with odious people. the writing is brilliant, albeit old fashioned.
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An early feminist novel by a dude. Rich, plain girl meets poor, rakish man (having just seen Get Him to the Greek, I pictured Morris Townsend as Aldous Snow). Girl's coldly witty doctor father disapproves. Girl pines. There's a lot of back and forth among the three, and the first part of the novel moves slowly despite James' funny, observant prose. At first I thought Dr. Sloper was an ass who had no faith in his daughter and her potential desirability. Then I concluded Morris/Aldous WAS in fact a money-hungry jerk. So (spoiler alert--although can you spoil a book whose ending has been public for a hundred years?) I was pleased when rich, plain Catherine concluded she didn't need either of the condescending men in her life. Although I admit the Jane Austen fan in me kind of wanted her to marry one of the better suitors who came along after Morris.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If I close my eyes and ask myself what impression this book has left on me, the idea that comes immediately to mind is stillness. The stillness radiates from the main character, Catherine Sloper. I see her as a monumental figure in a hieratic pose, immobile, meek, but solid to the core.
Her immobility impressed me greatly, especially as this book is quite like a play. There is a lot of dialogue, a small number of characters, and one principal location where most of the important scenes take place. The characters circle that space, and they circle Catherine. She rarely moves, and since she pauses before answering every question addressed to her, we have time to imagine her face turning slowly towards the speaker as she meditates her careful response. The result of Catherine's overly cautious responses is that the other characters fail to know her, and fail abysmally. Though he allows the reader to see more of her inner life than the other characters ever guess at, Henry James allows Catherine to keep the core of her being a secret even from us. I like to think that as he developed his heroine, his respect for her grew so that he had no choice but to preserve her privacy and to keep the mystery at the heart of her stillness a mystery to the end. That's what I wanted for her and that's what he delivered.
..............................................................
While Catherine doesn't say very much, the other characters more than make up for her lack of verbosity. The exchanges between Catherine's various relatives reminded me of Jane Austin's ability to deliver witty dialogue line after line (of course people don't talk like this in real life, but how we wish they did). There were in fact many moments during reading when I was reminded of Jane Austin, and particularly of Fanny Price from Mansfield Park. Like Fanny, Catherine is undervalued by her entourage, and treated quite badly by certain among them. But Fanny acquires a savior.
Henry James prefers Catherine to be her own savior.
Her immobility impressed me greatly, especially as this book is quite like a play. There is a lot of dialogue, a small number of characters, and one principal location where most of the important scenes take place. The characters circle that space, and they circle Catherine. She rarely moves, and since she pauses before answering every question addressed to her, we have time to imagine her face turning slowly towards the speaker as she meditates her careful response. The result of Catherine's overly cautious responses is that the other characters fail to know her, and fail abysmally. Though he allows the reader to see more of her inner life than the other characters ever guess at, Henry James allows Catherine to keep the core of her being a secret even from us. I like to think that as he developed his heroine, his respect for her grew so that he had no choice but to preserve her privacy and to keep the mystery at the heart of her stillness a mystery to the end. That's what I wanted for her and that's what he delivered.
..............................................................
While Catherine doesn't say very much, the other characters more than make up for her lack of verbosity. The exchanges between Catherine's various relatives reminded me of Jane Austin's ability to deliver witty dialogue line after line (of course people don't talk like this in real life, but how we wish they did). There were in fact many moments during reading when I was reminded of Jane Austin, and particularly of Fanny Price from Mansfield Park. Like Fanny, Catherine is undervalued by her entourage, and treated quite badly by certain among them. But Fanny acquires a savior.
Henry James prefers Catherine to be her own savior.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes