The Wings of the Dove

(To make this a blog exclusively about the Wings of the Dove click here.)

Chapter 26
This is another brilliantly written and wonderful to read chapter.

A good friend of ours, lives up the street in fact, was hired a few years ago to edit Jane Austen. You may have heard about it. A publisher, taking advantage of Austen's books being in the public domain, had them "tightened up" for people who just wanted the action. I know, a travesty and all that but I have had the unkind thought that James might actually have benefited from an editor.

And, heh, Edith Wharton thought so too so don't call me a Philistine.

James could have easily begun the story in Venice and filled in all the back-story we need as he went along. This section of the book is the reason to read it. (A good movie version could be made by start it here.)

The opening is magnificent because it starts with Densher being a  snob. Not about poor locals, he quite likes them. No it is tourists at his hotel that he is a snob about. And note the term he uses to characterize them:

The establishment, choked at that season with the polyglot herd, cockneys of all climes, mainly German, mainly American, mainly English, it appeared as the corresponding sensitive nerve was touched, sounded loud and not sweet, sounded anything and everything but Italian, but Venetian. 

"Cockney's of all climes".  Others may claim that the "wogs begin at Calais" but for Densher they are everywhere. And that is a perfect bit of characterization because it is like that. The snob is often someone like Densher; the snob is often someone who feels they are entitled to a pass for it because their tastes for the plain and simple folk are so refined.

So he's here at Aunt Maud's invitation and Milly is falling for him. It's a funny thing about Henry James that women given the freedom to make up their own choices do seem to make bad ones when it comes to love. ANd this in a book thatw as meant to pay tribute to the personality of his cousin Minny.

Who seems very close to us in this chapter:

"... he suggested a clever cousin calling on a cousin afflicted ..."

That is a literal description of Henry's relation with Minny. William's as well. I wonder if there was any bad blood between them as a result of their rivalry for her affection?

An interesting fact about many of the great novels is that, if you strip them down to the action, as my friend was paid to do with Austen, they have what are essentially potboiler plots. This one is no different. However, the details are significant. If Hollywood were doing this story, they'd create tension here by having Merton begin to fall in love with Milly. Not James, he has distrust begin to grow between Merton and Kate while having Merton treat Milly like, well, an afflicted cousin.

I don't want to say more because I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of the pleasure of reading this for the first time. A magnificent chapter.