213 Quotes About Henry-james

Wharton thought no one could have freedom, but James knew no one wanted freedom.

The thing [Henry James'] novel is about is always there. It is like a church lit but without a congregation to distract you, with every light and line focused on the high altar. And on the altar, very reverently placed, intensely there, is a dead kitten, an egg-shell, a bit of string.

Henry James would probably roll over in his grave if he knew he was in any way responsible for this book.

He experiences everything with a childlike pleasure that she deems the essential element of a good traveler.

But that is another matter. There is really too much to say.

One can believe James's claim to an "imagination of disaster"; so many of his protagonists are unhappy in the end, and yet he gives them an aura of victory. It is because these characters depend on such high degree on their own sense of integrity that for them, victory has nothing to do with happiness. It has more to do with a settling within oneself, a movement inward that makes them whole.