The Imagistic Evolution of James's Businessmen
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8895831 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Evelyn J Hinz (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1972 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 81-95 |
| Publication date | 1972-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Review of American Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-7720 • E-ISSN: 1710-114X |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3138/cras-003-02-02 |
| OpenAlex | W2047525455 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
When in The Ivory Tower, his final but unfinished attempt to treat "the magnificent theme en disponibilite"1 - the portrait of the American busi- nessman - Henry James introduces two dying millionaires, the one, Frank Betterman, who renounces his wealth and denounces it as the poison which has "sickened him// and the other, Abel Gaw, who clings to his money, like a "ruffled hawk, motionless but for his single tremor, with his beak, which had pecked so many hearts out, visibly sharper than ever, yet only his talons nervous/'2 there can be no doubt that James's concept of the capitalist has undergone a radical change since his portrait of Christopher Newman as The American. Hence the importance of survey studies like those of Michael Millgate and Jan. W. Dietrichson,3 for not only is the developmental approach essential to a legitimate definition of James's concept of the business type but also an adequate appreciation of James's attitude toward such controversial figures as Adam Verver de- pends upon a recognition of his location in the general context. The pur- pose of the present study is also to explore the development of James's presentation of the businessman but this time through an examination of his use of a particular type of imagery to characterize him. Common to all of James's portraits of the capitalist, I hope to demonstrate, is imag- ery associated with "appetite" in a broad sense, while the changes in his attitude toward the type are discernible in his progressive alterations in this specific image pattern.4 What in general I hope to trace is the way the vulgar aesthetic taste of a Christopher Newman becomes the ruthless gourmand appetite of an Adam Verver who in turn prepares the way for the vulturous Abel Gaw
Archaeology · Art · Art history · Context (archaeology · Literature · Portrait · Presentation (obstetrics · Psychoanalysis · Theme (computing · American History and Culture · Computer Science · History · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |