His family is too powerful, and his brother is a famous American philosopher and psychologist, who was selected for the list of 100 people who influenced the United States, ranking 62nd. His father was a philosophical writer who had close contacts with many celebrities in American culture, such as the philosopher Emerson and the essayist Thoreau. He himself is a novelist and essayist, the status should not be underestimated, and then because of the choice of position, he joined the British nationality, his works have unique personal characteristics, the European and American cultures are integrated, becoming a "bridge" between European and American cultures, he is the British-American novelist Henry James. Today, we will appreciate his ten aphorisms, experience his literary charm and aesthetic pursuits, and believe that you will have a deeper understanding of him.
Born in New York, Henry James came to Europe with his parents at the age of 12, then returned to the United States to attend school and became a lifelong friend of the writer Howells. After graduating from university, Henry James traveled to Europe alone, traveling all over Europe, meeting the famous Flaubert, Maupassant, Turgenev and other literary masters in Paris. In London, he was deeply attracted by the customs and customs of the place, and he considered London to be his spiritual homeland, so he settled here. During this period, his creative experience was exuberant, and his works appeared in an endless stream. For his outstanding achievements in fiction, Harvard University awarded him a Doctor of Letters degree, while the University of Cambridge awarded him the title of Honorary Doctor of Literature. The reason for the First World War made Henry James choose to become a British citizen, portraying a large number of Americans in Europe in his works, and the theme of his works was mainly international.
As an American, but a British citizen, his actions and the cultural ideas that appear in his works are highly debated by critics and have a mixed reputation. Henry James was generally praised by writers of the same period or later, and this group of people believed that Henry James's works covered a strong European culture that was beyond the reach of european writers. Some writers believe that Henry James's novel is "a majestic river, persuasive and inspiring", and has a great influence on later writers in terms of technique and theme. Of course, there are two sides to everything, because he is An American, a British citizen, and the strong European culture embodied in his works allows those who belittle him to find a gap, calling him self-deception, demeaning the motherland, escaping from reality, and thinking that his novels habitually say "nonsense".
Throughout his life, Henry James's creation, there was some sense that the East was not bright and the West was bright. In the early days, he spent six years writing plays, which turned out to be obscure and theatrical works were not successful at all. Later, he rewrote the novel, and the integration of a strong sense of dramatic intuition, what is displayed in front of the reader is a very graphic text, so the dramatic perspective and narrative have become a major feature of Henry James's novels, and the intuitive effect of the drama is combined with the delicate portrayal of the characters in the novel, which has also become its "secret weapon" based on the literary world, and it is also a creative technique that has been praised by future generations.
From the perspective of the theme of the novel, it can be said that Henry James was the first writer to put his perspective on the international stage, and the integration of different cultures was the pursuit of his lifelong literary creation, and after the practice of early creation, the final creative dream was realized. In his novels on international themes, he contrasts different social forms and forms his own cultural views and values after intense cultural collisions and fusions. The exploration of culture is reflected in his development of American culture, and he believes that advanced culture is the combination of American morality and European wisdom, under the subversive cultural conflict, to find a solution to this conflict and achieve the ideal state of cultural integration.
From the works of Henry James, it is not difficult to see whether he is a supporter of realism, a practitioner, or a pioneer. He takes "truth" as the basis of literary creation, in the author's heart, the truth is with countless forms, he believes that the reason for the existence of the novel is realism, psychological truth is deeply true, supported by this creative concept, Henry James's novel reveals a strong realism feature. However, Henry James's realism differed from other writers in that he introduced the art of realism from the outside world into the inner world, and he was also known as the avant-garde writer of psychological realism.
In short, although Henry James is controversial and the two camps of praise and criticism are extremely distinct, he is not to be underestimated in the literary world. His novels are dramatic and give the reader a sense of immersion. His novels focus on the international stage, giving his novels a broad vision and achieving the harmonious coexistence of European and American cultures in his heart. And his novel has a strong sense of reality, penetrating into the hearts of the characters, making them a master of psychological realism.
According to the record, Henry James was born on April 15, 1843, and today is the 179th anniversary of his birth, so let's enjoy the ten aphorisms of this British-American writer, experience its profound connotations, and believe that you will have some understanding.