Meaning in Henry James, Bell, Millicent

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Item specifics

Condition
Good: A book that has been read but is in good condition. Very minimal damage to the cover including ...
Book Title
Meaning in Henry James
ISBN
0674557638
EAN
9780674557635
Release Title
Meaning in Henry James
Artist
Bell, Millicent
Brand
N/A
Colour
N/A
Category

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Harvard University Press
ISBN-10
0674557638
ISBN-13
9780674557635
eBay Product ID (ePID)
548699

Product Key Features

Number of Pages
384 Pages
Publication Name
Meaning in Henry James
Language
English
Publication Year
1993
Subject
Language, American / General
Type
Textbook
Author
Millicent Bell
Subject Area
Literary Criticism, Philosophy
Format
Trade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height
1.1 in
Item Weight
13 Oz
Item Length
9.2 in
Item Width
6.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Scholarly & Professional
Dewey Edition
20
Reviews
I admire Millicent Bell's eloquent, wise, subtle book. There can be no higher praise than to say it is entirely worthy of its great subject: our most immense writer and the questions about narrative method and moral intelligence raised by his work.
Dewey Decimal
813/.4
Synopsis
Henry James rebelled intuitively against the tyranny and banality of plots. Believing a life to have many potential paths and a self to hold many destinies, he hung the evocative shadow of "what might have been" over much of what he wrote. Yet James also realized that no life can be lived--and no story written--except by submission to some outcome. The limiting conventions of society and literature are, he found, almost inescapable. In a major, comprehensive new study of James's work, Millicent Bell explores this oscillation between hope and fatalism, indeterminacy and form, and uncertainty and meaning. In the process Bell provides fresh insight into how we read and interpret fiction. Bell demonstrates how James's texts steadfastly, almost perversely at times, preserve a sense of alternative possibilities. James involves his characters in overlapping scenarios drawn from folklore, drama, literature, or naturalist formula. The reader engages, with the hero or heroine, in imagining many plots other than the one that finally--and often ambiguously--emerges. The story arouses expectations, proposes courses, then cancels them successively. In complicity with author and character, the reader crafts the story in an adventure of constant revision and anticipation. Literary meaning becomes an experience as well as a goal. In the end, revelations and resolutions, even if unclear or partial, assume an altered significance in light of the earlier imaginings. Not surprisingly, James's deepest sympathies lay with those characters who resisted entrapment by cultural expectations--his idealistic free spirits like Isabel, his marriage renouncers like Fleda Vetch, his largely silent and detached witnesses to life like Strether and the generous Maisie. They are frequently the victims of callous manipulators who box them into oppressive roles or who literally "plot against" them. By looking closely at James's critiques of the "clever" categorical mind and at his loving and complex portraits of characters of unfulfilled potentiality, Bell celebrates the paradoxes of James's story-denying fiction. In extended analyses of "Daisy Miller," Washington Square , The Portrait of a Lady ; The Bostonians , The Princess Casamassima , "The Aspern Papers," The Spoils of Poynton , "The Turn of the Screw," What Maisie Knew , "The Beast in the Jungle," "The Jolly Corner," The Wings of the Dove , and The Ambassadors , Bell relates James's work to influential movements of the day, notably impressionism and naturalism. She examines the influence of Hawthorne, Emerson, Flaubert, Balzac, and Zola on James at various periods throughout his career. Drawing on rich traditions of criticism and on stimulating recent theories, Bell forges a critical approach both accessible and profound for this elegant reading of one of the greatest writers of this or any time., James believed a life to have many potential paths and a self to hold many destinies. Yet he also realized that no life can be lived--and no story written--except by submission to some outcome. In this new study of James's work, Bell explores this oscillation between hope and fatalism, indeterminacy and form, uncertainty and meaning.

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  • d***0 (438)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past 6 months
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    Item bought:  Ocean Ramsey Shark book * Item value for the money  5/5 * Condition matching as advertised  5/5 * Quickly dispatched  5/5 * Arrived on time  5/5 * Shipping cost for this type of item  5/5 * Packaging quality for this item  5/5 * Seller recommendation  5/5 * Communication:  NA (not needed as it arrived on time) * Comments:  Ty for your business!!
  • o***a (54)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past month
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    I thought I was ordering a paper back, especially considering the price was only around $10. I'm not sure if they shipped a hard cover by mistake. But I am more than happy to accept it. The description wasn't clear on what it was. So this could very well have been the intended item. I was not very impressed with their customer service at all. It took them days to respond and they didn't seem to care about the delay in shipping. I might purchase again, but I would be cautious as it was delayed.
  • r***1 (180)- Feedback left by buyer.
    Past 6 months
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    The book was exactly as described and arrived quickly. The only problem is a recurring one with this seller and other similar sellers - the book is poorly packaged in a plastic envelope and gets heavily bumped in shipping. I would like to see the books wrapped before shipment, but I understand this can't be done for cost reason. Luckily it isn't an expensive book, and I will continue to purchase basic books from this seller. A+++++