Imagistic Clues to the Labyrinth of Ambiguity in Henry James's the Golden Bowl
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 6-1986 The Fascination of Knowledge: Imagistic Clues to the Labyrinth of Ambiguity in Henry James's The Golden Bowl Marijane R. Davis University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Davis, Marijane R., "The Fascination of Knowledge: Imagistic Clues to the Labyrinth of Ambiguity in Henry James's The Golden Bowl. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1986. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2511 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Marijane R. Davis entitled "The Fascination of Knowledge: Imagistic Clues to the Labyrinth of Ambiguity in Henry James's The Golden Bowl." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in English. Daniel J. Schneider, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: William Shurr, Allison Ensor, L. B. Cebik Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council : I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Marijane R. Davis entitled '' ' The Fascination of Knowledge ': Imagis tic Clues to the Labyr inth of Ambiguity in Henry ,TaPl.e s' s The Golden Bowl ." I have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that :�t be accepted in partial fulfil lment of the requirement.s for the degree of Doctor of Ph ilosophy , with a maj or in English . Daniel J. Schneider Hajor Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance : Accepted for the Council: Vice Provost and Dean of The Graduate School "THE FASCINATION OF I<NOIVLEDGE": IMAGISTIC CLUES TO THE LABYIUNTH OF AMBIGUITY IN HENRY JAMES'S THE GOLDEN BOHL A Dissertation Presen ted for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Kn oxvjlle Marijan e R. Davis Jun e 1986 ii ACKNOWLEDGHENTS To my advisory committee chairman, Dr. Daniel J. Schneider, I extend my sincerest gratitude for his excel lent teaching , wise counsel, and thorough reading of my dissertation . My thanks go also to the other members of my committee , Drs . L. B. Cebik, Allison Ensor, and William Shurr, for their patience and willingness to serve as readers . I thank Drs. Joseph Trahern and Mary P. Richards for encouraging me for so long and for being outstanding examples of truly fine college teachers . Hy friends and colleagues in the Graduate School at Texas Tech University, especially Dr. J. Knox Jones , Jr ., formerly Vice President for Re search and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate School, and Dr. Thoma s A. Langford, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, have my unbounded appreciation for allowing me the time and resources needed to finish my degree . I thank my parents , Ernest and Carl een Rountree , for giving freely all the support they could for many years in order that I might attain this goal . To my husband and children , Gordon , Brandy , and Benj amin, I give my loving gratitude for supporting their much absent wife and mother and for bless ing me with their love and devotion . iii ABSTRACT Henry James 's last completed novel, The Golden Bowl (1904) , has elicited a multitude of responses so polarized as to suggest some flaw or , at best, some irreducible amb iguity in the novel. An examination of over 1300 images in the novel led to their classification into seven main groups composed of several subgroups: (1) The Adventurous (discovers and the New World; the exotic; deserts ; gardens and paradise) ; ( 2) The Sensuous (flowers; boats and water; light , dark , shadows , and vei ls; children , games and toys ); ( 3) The Superficial (science and technology; the circus; acting , the stage) ; (4) The Fantastic (animals, hunting, prey; we apons, wounds, warfare ; magic, omens, fairy tales; religion, the Grail; royalty) ; (5) The Material (gold, jewelry; possessions; the museum; buying and selling, finance , values ; art and artists; architecture); (6 ) Th e Intelligent (k nowle dge , stupidity; ambigu ity; watching , seeing , vision) ; and ( 7) The Free (constraint; isolation ; escape; freedom) . A detailed examination of such images provides clues wh ich dispel much of the "amb iguity " arising from plot or characters . This intense and complicated imagery reinforces the complexity not only of the relationships in the novel but also of Maggie 's journey toward knowledge and maturity and the reade r 's simultaneous quest for the knowledge Magg ie iv ultimately possesses. It is my contention that Henry Jame s provides enough clues through the imagery for us to break out of the labyrin th of amb iguity which some critics see in the novel, to experience with Maggie the "fascination of knowledge ," and to gain insight into James's great moral and aesthetic themes in the novel. v TABLE OF COH'l'ENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION 1 The Germin ation . 8 Gen eral Criticism of The Golden Bowl . 13 Early Criticism (1904-1933) .... 13 The American Adam versus Europe (1934-1957) ............. 18 The Archetypal James (1957-63) 20 The Age of Techn ique (1963-84) 27 Criticism of Imagery . 31 II. STRUCTURE AND TECHNIQUE IN THE GOLDEN BOWL 44 Foreshorten in g 51 Foreshadowin g . 53 Poin t of View . 57 III. IMAGERY IN THE GOLDEN Bm'IL 68 The Adven turous . 68 Adven turers, Discoverers 69 The Exotic . 76 Garden s, Paradise 82 Deserts . 85 The Sen suous 88 Water, Boats 93 Light, Dark ......... 105 Children , Games, Toys 118 The Superficial . 128 Scien ce . 130 Circus . 133 Acting, The Stage . .... .... 135 The Fantastic . 146 An imals, Huntin g ... 148 Warfare, Weapon s, Woun ds 156 Magic, Omen s, Fairy Tales 169 Religion . 183 The Grail . 202 Royalty . 210 The Material . 217 Buyin g, Sellin g, Values, Equilibrium 219 Gold, Jewels . .. 256 Collectin g, Museums .... 264 Works of Art . 295 vi CHAPTER PAGE The Artist 313 Architecture ......... 323 The Intelligent 348 Knowledge , Knowing ... 354 Visions , Seeing .. 365 The Free . 386 Constraint 388 Conveyance . 401 Isolation . 408 Flight . 422 Freedom . 428 IV. CONCLUSION 433 LIST OF REFERENCES 442 APPENDIX 455 VITA 487 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE A-1 . Analysis of Technique in The Golden Bowl , I,l -1,4 . 461 A-2. Analysis of Technique in The Golden Bowl , I,5-II ,2 . 462 A-3 . Analysis of Technique in The Golden Bowl , II, 3-II,6 . 463 A-4 . Analysis of Technique in The Golden Bowl , II,7-III,3 . 464 A - 5. Analysis of Technique in The Golden Bowl , III ,4-III,7 . 465 A-6 . Analysis of Technique in The Golden Bowl , III, 8-III,11 . 466 A-7 . Analysis of Technique 1n The Golden Bowl , IV,l-IV,4 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 467 A-80 Ana lysis of Technique in The Golden Bowl , IV,5-IV,8 . 0 0 0 . 0 . 0 0 0 0 468 A - 9 0 Analy sis of Technique in The Golden Bowl , IV,9-V,3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 . 0 0 0 0 469 A-100 Ana lysis of Technique 1n The Golden Bowl , V,4-VI ,3 . 0 . 0 . 0 0 0 . 0 470 A-1 1o Imagery in The Golden Bowl by Character, I,1-II ,7 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 471 A-12o Imagery in The Golden Bowl by Character, III , 1-III ,11 0 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 475 A-1 3. Imagery in 'I.'he Golden Bowl by Character , IV, 1-IV, 10 . 0 0 0 . 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 479 A-140 Imagery in The Golden Bowl by Character, V,1-VI ,3 . o o o o o o o o • o o • 483 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTIOll On November 28, 1892, Henry Jame s recorded the "germ" of a story which he had heard (NB 130) and was to develop almost twe lve years later into The Go lden Bowl , one of his greatest works and the culmination of forty years of writing fiction . His interest was stirred by the "the vicious circle" (NB 130) of two marriages bound legally and consan- guineously , but he admitted that "the subject is really the pathetic simplic ity and good faith of the father and daughter in their abandonment" (NB 130-31). However, this "pathetic simpl icity and good faith" develops into a triumph of goodness over evil, of knowledge and passion over igno- ranee and fear , of maturity and magnanimi ty over childish pettiness and spite , of caritas and eros over luxuria. Yet several critics have thought such a conclusion ingenuous and have tried to find .ln this nove l such an amount of ambiguity as to enforce a reading wherein Charlotte and the Prince , not Adam and Haggie Verver, are the wronged couple, and so it is that Charlotte 's and Amerigo 's good faith is tested . Mildred Hartsock in 1974 noted that the novel continues to suffer from myopic biases and from careless reading.