James’s The Ambassadors bridges the gap between
Fin de Siecle literature and modernism.
As a master of Realism in his early work, James reaches toward modernism
in his later novels. The novel presents
Paris as Paternian image of a liquid jewel—or some even go so far as to say
that it is a Paternian universe, a world tending toward entropy. In the novel, follows the trip of
protagonist, middle-aged Lambert Strether to Europe in pursuit of Chad, his
widowed fiancée's supposedly wayward son; he is to bring the young man back to
the family business, but he encounters unexpected complications. The
third-person narrative is told exclusively from Strether's point of view.
Strether agrees to go
to Paris and rescue Chad Newsome, his fiancée’s son, from the clutches of a
presumably wicked woman. Along the way Strether
meets Maria Gostrey, an American woman who has lived in Paris for years. Her
cynical wit and worldly opinions start to rattle Strether's preconceived view
of the situation. Once Strether meets
Chad, he’s impressed by Chad’s sophistication and becomes sympathetic to Chad’s
point of view of the situation. Chad
takes him to a garden party, where Strether meets the beautiful Marie de
Vionnet and Jeanne, her daughter. Strether has trouble determining whether Chad
is more attracted to the mother or the daughter. Strether finds himself attracted to Marie de
Vionnet, despite his engagement to Chad’s mother.
Strether then confides
in Chad’s friend Little Bilhan that he feels he may have missed his life
somehow, and begins to relish his time in Paris. His enjoyment is cut short by new “ambassadors,”
which include Sarah Pocock, Chad's sister, who dismisses Strether's impression
that Chad has improved, condemns Marie as an indecent woman, and demands that
Chad immediately return to the family business in America. In his confusion, Strether takes a trip to
the French countryside where he encounters Chad and Marie and realizes the
extent of their romance. After returning
to Paris, he counsels Chad not to leave Marie; but Strether finds he is now
uncomfortable in Europe. In the event, he declines Maria Gostrey's virtual
marriage proposal and returns to America.
In the novel, all of Strether’s
encounters are mediated in some way, if only through the “eternal nippers” he
wears (27). As Strether struggles to
make sense of his new surroundings and encounters, he is privy to new sights
and ideas; however, his Woollet background often prevents him from grasping their
meanings. Even the most perspicacious of
characters sees the same scenes differently from each other, depending on their
respective positions and the prejudices which block their view. When Strether looks through the Woollett
party’s shuttered window and sees “the Tuileries garden and what was beyond it...visible
through the gaps” (298), this obstructed view is emblematic of the idea of blocked
vision which permeates the novel.
Strether most often
relies upon Marie Gostrey to help him sort out what he has seen. Like Strether, with his “perpetual pair of
glasses astride” his nose (24), Miss Gostrey also uses an “aid[] to sight”
(26), which shows that she, too, is interested new views and viewpoints. However, Miss Gostrey is much more perceptive
than Strether; he even admits that “she knew things he didn't” (27). While Strether is often confused by people,
Miss Gostrey, the “mistress of a hundred cases or categories,” is particularly
adept at interpreting others (26).
Strether's Woollett background often occludes his vision of reality; he
is reliant upon his conversations with Miss Gostrey to provide some of the
metaphorical gaps through which he can begin to grasp the true nature of
events.
Over the course of the
novel, Strether also comes to rely upon the viewpoint of Madame de Vionnet to
supplement his knowledge, especially that which pertains to his mission to
“save” Chad Newsome. As they both have vested
interests in the success of this venture, it is important to them that they are
able to compare impressions. Often,
though, Madame de Vionnet, like Miss Gostrey, sees more than Strether
does. For example, when they both
examine Madame de Vionnet's furnishings, “she seemed to see gaps he didn't”
(319). Here again, the novel shows that
there are both obstructions to sight, as well as gaps to be seen through.
While Miss Gostrey and
Madame Vionnet both signify new vistas for Strether, the obstructions in his
vision are also represented by a woman: the formidable Mrs. Newsome. She represents the Woollett values and
strictures which keep Strether from fully living, a regret against which he
warns Little Bilham: “it’s as if the train had fairly waited at the station for
me without my having had the gumption to know it was there” (176). Mrs. Newsome is such a heavy presence in
Strether’s life that even the sight of her handwriting holds a “queer power”
over him (332). It is on her behalf that
he is on his current mission in Paris,
to bring back her errant son. And, it is
notable that it is from her family’s apartment that the emblematic description
is made: the room for which she has financially provided both provides the
access and obstructions to the view of Parisian gardens.
The observant Miss
Gostrey remarks that Strether “owe[s] more to women than any man I ever saw”
(326). It is true that much of Strether’s
experiences are made possible and mediated by women, whether his understanding
of the sophisticated Parisians or concerned Americans, his position as editor
of the green-covered Review, or his exposure to Paris itself.
Strether’s challenge for himself is to learn to distinguish the
obstructions from the gaps. Had he never
come to Paris,
Strether might never have been aware of the skewed vision which Mrs. Newsome’s Woollett
has given him. In Paris, though his view is still obstructed,
he can at least see the Tuileries.
No comments:
Post a Comment