Confidence (novel)
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 1962 Universal Library edition |
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| Author | Henry James |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom, United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus, (London) Houghton, Osgood and Company, (Boston) |
| Released | December 10, 1879 (Chatto & Windus) February 7, 1880 (Houghton) |
| Media type | Print (Serial) |
| Pages | Vol. 1: 309 pp, Vol. 2: 253 pp (Chatto & Windus) 347 pp (Houghton) |
| ISBN | NA |
Confidence is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in Scribner's Monthly in 1879 and then as a book later the same year. This light and often awkward comedy centers on artist Bernard Longueville, scientist Gordon Wright, and the sometimes inscrutable heroine, Angela Vivian. The plot rambles through various romantic entanglements before reaching a conventional and unconvincing happy ending.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
While sketching in Siena, Bernard Longueville meets Angela Vivian and her mother. Later, Bernard's friend and amateur scientist Gordon Wright calls Longueville to Baden-Baden to pass judgment on whether he should marry Angela. Bernard recommends against it, based on his belief that Angela is something of a mysterious coquette.
So Gordon marries the lightweight (in both senses) Blanche Evers. After a couple years Longueville again meets Angela at a French beach resort and realizes he loves her. They get engaged, and Angela tells Bernard that she had refused Gordon when he proposed to her. Eventually Angela manages to reconcile Gordon and Blanche, who were becoming estranged. Everybody lives happily ever after.
[edit] Major themes
It may well be futile to look for themes in this frothy account of rather trivial romances. The book only seems to say that people can always deceive themselves and life can't be regulated on "scientific" principles.
Some have suggested that the contrast between scientist Wright and artist Longueville reflects the difference between William and Henry James. That's always a possibility, of course, but the book makes little of the comparison. Angela's interventions at the book's conclusion, where she tidies up everybody's lives and makes things just perfect, are frankly incredible.
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
Critics have almost unanimously regarded Confidence as one of the weakest of James' novels. The characters have been dismissed as unremarkable and poorly drawn, with the possible exception of the airheaded Blanche. There are few if any scenes of particular power or interest, and the ending falls flat.
A few favorable comments have been heard about the episodes at the French resort, where Bernard realizes he loves Angela. James does a good job of describing the physical setting of the resort and its impact on Longueville. Oddly enough, the contemporary reaction to the book was favorable. The novel sold well and James even included it in his 1883 collected edition. But the older and wiser James rejected the novel from the New York Edition (1907-1909) of his fiction.
[edit] References
- The Novels of Henry James by Edward Wagenknecht (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1983) ISBN 0-8044-2959-6
- The Novels of Henry James by Oscar Cargill (New York: Macmillan Co., 1961)
