Henry James and Edith Whart

Although I had some trouble understanding all of "The Art of Fiction", the main idea that I took from the article is that Henry James feels as though criticism on novels is too harsh. He appears to disagree with Mr. Besant's views that a novel must be written from experience as James goes on to explain that everything written comes from experience in one way or another. He states that there is a general sense that fiction writers should apologize for their writing as it is "make-believe" but he does not share this feeling because their is truth in everything written. He states that a novel "does attempt to represent life" (554). He goes on to say that for a novel to be considered "good", it truly depends on the taste of each individual reader and what he/she generally likes or dislikes. There are many definitions of a "good" fictitious work. He believes that a novel is a work of art that is impossible to teach to others as an artist may be able to teach to pupils. James believes that everything is an experience, whether or not the author is writing about something they actually lived through. He explains that even a glimpse of something makes a picture and that that picture is in itself an experience. He appears to criticize Mr. Besant's beliefs that characters "must be clear in outline". He explains that it is difficult to define HOW characters are "clear in outline". In Edith Whart's story, "Souls Belated", she never once gives a physical description of Lydia and Gannett, but through the dialogue between them and the events that take place, it is easy for a reader to feel as though they know the characters. At the conclusion of James' article, he gives advice to a novelist and states that "I should remind him first of the magnificence of the form that is open to him" and also "try and catch the colour of life itself" (567). In short, James simply wants novelists to capture the essence of life whether or not they personally experienced the ideas they are writing about.

Comparing James' views on fiction to Edith Whart's story is a difficult task for me. I am not sure if my assignment it to compare his views on fiction to Whart's writing or to the events that took place in the story concerning Gannett's writing (or lack there of since he met Lydia). As I stated before, a main connection I saw between James' views and Whart's writing is that there is no physical description of the characters but as a reader, I am still able to clearly see who they are and this lack of description does not take away from the meaning of the work. The events are interesting to me, as a reader, but may not be to another. Whether or not Whart actually experienced a situation similar to that of Lydia whereas she had left her husband for another man only to find that this new relationship cannot continue due to her own morals and beliefs, Whart still captured a valid experience that many others can relate to and choose to like or dislike as they please ( as James explained). As far as connecting James' ideas to the events in the actual story regarding Gannett's lack of writing during the time he is with Lydia, I do not see any clear correlations so I'm hoping that it is safe to assume that the assignment is to compare James' article to Whart's writing. I had a hard time understanding exactly what James was trying to say as at first he appeared to agree with "Mr. Besant" but later appeared to be disagreeing with him and I never understood who Mr. Besant was in the first place. However, if what I have concluded James was trying to say is at least partially correct, I agree that criticism on fiction novelists is too harsh and that it is impossible to dictate rules in which they must follow when writing about a particular situation. I do not necessarily understand the "betrayal" James speaks of when people read fiction because a person usually knows it is "make-believe" when they start reading. As Whart's story was published before her introduction states she actually separated from her husband, I assume that most of this work was fictitious but possibly based on some reality in that she was in an unhappy marriage.