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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Andrew Holleran wrote an essay ("Cousin James") about James, in which he observed, "Reflecting on the success James had with hostesses, a friend wrote, 'Henry seemed to look at women rather as women look at them. Women look at women as persons; men look at them as women.'
This encomium, I fear as I get older, reads like mansplaining, because though I cherish Henry James's essays, his fiction, which is supposed to be so acutely psychological, doesn't really get women. His female characters all seem to be carefully depicted collections of excuses for weakness and for the downfall of good men: the long passages are a male deciding things about her rather than seeing the world through her POV, except within the limitations of a novel de moeurs.
This, supposedly, his greatest novel in its depiction of a woman pales to insubstance when I think about Jane Eyre, or Dorothea Causaubon, or even Charlotte Lucas.
This encomium, I fear as I get older, reads like mansplaining, because though I cherish Henry James's essays, his fiction, which is supposed to be so acutely psychological, doesn't really get women. His female characters all seem to be carefully depicted collections of excuses for weakness and for the downfall of good men: the long passages are a male deciding things about her rather than seeing the world through her POV, except within the limitations of a novel de moeurs.
This, supposedly, his greatest novel in its depiction of a woman pales to insubstance when I think about Jane Eyre, or Dorothea Causaubon, or even Charlotte Lucas.
I'm not sure why it took Henry James 3x as many pages to tell a very similar story here to the one he told in [b:Washington Square|133954|Washington Square|Henry James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309286618l/133954._SY75_.jpg|3319458]. Basically: give a woman her freedom and she will choose poorly.
challenging
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
my true love tells no lies.
my empathy with specific characters changes with each re-reading, disturbingly so.
one can think too much, especially when provoked by The Master.
fantastic performance by Wanda McCaddon.
my empathy with specific characters changes with each re-reading, disturbingly so.
one can think too much, especially when provoked by The Master.
fantastic performance by Wanda McCaddon.
Tell don't show
+
Tell and then clumsily show the opposite
Ridiculous pacing
Ridiculous moralizing
Ridiculous characters
Shame I didn't write my notes right after I was done with this
+
Tell and then clumsily show the opposite
Ridiculous pacing
Ridiculous moralizing
Ridiculous characters
Shame I didn't write my notes right after I was done with this
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The narration seems to go on and on, but the slow pace and occasional redundancies don't stop this from being an engaging enjoyable read, especially the last 100 pages... Wish the final scene had been as thorough as the rest of the story though.
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
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