''The Ambassadors'' is a 1903 novel by
Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
, originally published as a serial in the ''
North American Review
The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived a ...
'' (NAR). The novel is a dark comedy which follows the trip of protagonist
Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe to bring the son of his widowed fiancée back to the family business. The novel is written in the third-person narrative from Strether's
point of view
Point of view or Points of View may refer to:
Concept and technique
* Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something
* Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronou ...
.
Plot summary
Lewis Lambert Strether, the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
of the novel, is a cultured man in his fifties from the fictional town of Woollett, Massachusetts, who is dispatched to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to find Chad, the wayward son of his fiancée Mrs Newsome. The book is entirely told from Strether's point of view and chronicles his change from an American to a European view of things.
Strether, a middle-aged American of insignificant means, is sent to Paris by Mrs. Newsome, his wealthy fiancée. The mission he has been given is to talk her son, Chad, into returning to the family business in Woollett, Massachusetts. The Newsome family believes that Chad might be overstaying his European tour because of an inappropriate romantic liaison, perhaps with a vulgar adventuress. The reader is given to understand, in indirect ways, that if Strether fails, his engagement to Mrs. Newsome is at risk. Strether meets Maria Gostrey who delivers valuable insights about things European to him (and the reader).
Once Strether locates Chad, he is surprised to discover that Chad has improved from when he last knew him in America. Chad exhibits restrained urbanity, elegance and manners. This is not what Strether expected of someone in the grip of an inappropriate romantic entanglement. Strether wonders what has caused the transformation he sees in Chad. When Chad offers to introduce him to some of his close friends—Madame de Vionnet and her grown daughter Jeanne—Strether eagerly accepts. When the introduction occurs, Strether finds the mother and the daughter to be refined, virtuous and thoroughly admirable. He wonders if the lovely daughter is what has brought about the improvements in Chad. He learns that Madame de Vionnet is married but has been separated from her husband for years.
Strether himself is introduced to Paris in a way that starts to open his own mind and heart to a larger vision of the world's possibilities. He feels alive and renewed. His own interest in returning to America wanes. It is also clear that he is not exerting himself to talk Chad into returning. He develops some feelings for Madame de Vionnet. To his surprise, Chad assists in arranging a very advantageous marriage for Madame de Vionnet's daughter. This leaves Strether to wonder what might be going on between Chad and the mother.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Newsome grows tired of Strether's failure to act. She sends over a set of new ambassadors to accomplish the mission—including her daughter and son-in-law. The group clearly doesn't see Paris, life's possibilities, Chad or Madame de Vionnet in the same way that Strether does. Sarah (Newsome) Pocock demands that Strether get himself in line and insist to Chad that Chad return. While the Pocock party is away on a short trip, Strether ventures out of Paris for a day of random wandering and accidentally happens upon Chad and Madame de Vionnet in a setting where it is evident that they are romantically and sexually entangled. He feels deceived but still acknowledges the improvements in Chad's character.
Chad makes the decision to return to Woollett, which will mean the sundering of his relationship with Madame de Vionnet. Strether has very mixed feelings about this. He, too, will return to Woollett, even if this means a less-alive existence. It is unclear whether Mrs. Newsome will receive him back into her graces.
Major themes
Henry James got the idea for ''The Ambassadors'' from his friend, novelist
William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells (; March 1, 1837 – May 11, 1920) was an American realist novelist, literary critic, and playwright, nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters". He was particularly known for his tenure as editor of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', ...
, who while visiting his son in Paris was so impressed with European culture that he wondered if life hadn't passed him by.
The theme of liberation from a cramped, almost starved, emotional life into a more generous and gracious existence plays throughout ''The Ambassadors'', yet it is noteworthy that James does not naïvely portray Paris as a faultless paradise for culturally stunted Americans. Strether learns about the reverse side of the European coin when he sees how desperately Marie fears losing Chad, after all she has done for him. As one critic proposed, Strether does not shed his American straitjacket only to be fitted with a more elegant European model, but instead learns to evaluate every situation on its merits, without prejudices, by selection. The final lesson of Strether's European experience is to distrust preconceived notions and perceptions from anyone, anywhere, but to rely upon his own observation and judgment.
Mediation/Intermediation: a major theme of the novel involves Strether's position as an ambassador. Strether, when giving his final account to Maria Gostrey, justifies his decisions by connecting his intermediary position to his concerns about gaining experience (and pleasure) whilst working on behalf of others. This conflict between personal desire and duty is important to consider when thinking about Strether's psychology.
[Rivkin, Julie: ''False Positions: The Representational Logic of Henry James's Fiction''. Stanford U P (1996). pp.58-59]
Publishing history
The publishing history of ''The Ambassadors'' is complex, even for a work by James. The novel was written between October 1900 and July 1901,
before ''
The Wings of the Dove
''The Wings of the Dove'' is a 1902 novel by Henry James. It tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honourable ...
'' (1902), yet he did not immediately find a publisher. To fit the eventual
NAR serialization, passages were omitted, including three chapters.
For the book versions, James expected to use the serial-version proofs to provide the majority of copy to the
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
publishers, but the
NAR supplied him only one set, instead of the requested two; thus, in August 1903, James supplied the British publisher with a carbon-copy of the unrevised, original typescript to enable them to meet their scheduled publication date. Moreover, at that time, he also lacked duplicate copies of the omitted passages, and those two circumstances resulted in significant textual variations in the Methuen edition.
[Birch, Brian: "Henry James: some bibliographical and textual matters",
''Library'', ser. 5, vol. 20 (1965), 108–23; also known as ''Transactions of the Bibliographical Society'', ser. 3, vol. 20]
One of the most serious variations was that a chapter, not published in the serial version, was inserted ''before'' 'chapter 28', not after it, as in the Harper edition (which James thoroughly proof-read). Five years later, when he prepared the revised text for the
New York Edition
The ''New York Edition'' of Henry James' fiction was a 24-volume collection of the Anglo-American writer's novels, novellas and short stories, originally published in the U.S. and the UK between 1907 and 1909, with a photogravure frontispiec ...
(NYE), James worked from the Harper edition, and the two chapters (numbers 28 and 29) became chapters 1 and 2 in book 11.
In 1950, Robert E. Young, knowing neither the Methuen edition difference nor the details of James's work on the novel, argued that the
NYE order was incorrect, based upon the chronology of the story's events.
Most critics agreed with Young, especially when
Leon Edel
Joseph Leon Edel (9 September 1907 – 5 September 1997) was an American/Canadian literary critic and biographer. He was the elder brother of North American philosopher Abraham Edel.
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls Edel "the foremo ...
noted the Methuen edition order,
and, since then, most published versions of ''The Ambassadors'', which usually use the
NYE text, have reversed the order of the two chapters; however, the textual and bibliographical scholar
Jerome McGann
Jerome John McGann (born July 22, 1937) is an American academic and textual scholar whose work focuses on the history of literature and culture from the late eighteenth century to the present.
Career
Educated at Le Moyne College (B.S. 1959), Sy ...
reopened the question in 1992.
He noted that the publishing history revealed by Birch
made it unlikely that James had the order wrong in the editions he closely supervised.
Moreover, he controversially claimed that when James wrote to novelist
Mrs Humphry Ward
Mary Augusta Ward (''née'' Arnold; 11 June 1851 – 24 March 1920) was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward.
She worked to improve education for the poor and she became the founding President of the Women' ...
mentioning a "fearful ... weakness"
he was referring to the chapter order in her Methuen edition copy.
McGann explained the chronological discrepancies by noting that the start of (the Harper edition) chapter 28 tells that it will describe a conversation that will occur in the 'future' (relative to the juncture reached in the story), and that the 'that evening' line, at the start of chapter 29, refers not to the evening just described in chapter 28, but to the previous one.
Since 1992, few publishers of new editions of ''The Ambassadors'' have followed McGann's research and restored James's apparently preferred order, but, in characteristic postmodern way, it is now up to the reader to decide in which order these chapters should be read.
Literary significance and criticism
In the
New York Edition
The ''New York Edition'' of Henry James' fiction was a 24-volume collection of the Anglo-American writer's novels, novellas and short stories, originally published in the U.S. and the UK between 1907 and 1909, with a photogravure frontispiec ...
preface Henry James proclaimed ''The Ambassadors'' as the best of his novels. Critics have generally agreed that it ranks high in the list of his achievements, though
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...
and
F. R. Leavis
Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis (14 July 1895 – 14 April 1978) was an English literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for much of his career at Downing College, Cambridge, and later at the University of York.
Leavis ra ...
have been notable dissenters. James's evocation of Paris has gained many plaudits, as the city becomes a well-realized
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
of the beauty and the sorrow of European culture.
Critical controversy has swirled over Strether's refusal of Maria Gostrey, with some seeing it as a perverse rejection of his best chance for happiness. Others have said that Strether, whilst a great friend of Maria's, is not in love with her, and that the couple could not have made a successful marriage. Critics also have speculated about whether or not Chad will heed Strether's advice to remain with Marie, or if he will return to America for the substantial rewards of family business – their general verdict is that Chad will follow the money.
In a letter to a friend, James said that Strether bears a vague resemblance (though not facial) to his creator. It is true that Strether shows an ability to grow in understanding and good judgment, although some critics have seen him as limited and timid, despite his European experiences.
A continuing literary mystery is the nature of the "little nameless object" made in Woollett. Strether calls it: "a little thing they make—make better, it appears, than other people can, or than other people, at any rate, do"; and he calls the business: "a manufacture that, if it's only properly looked after, may well be on the way to become a monopoly". In an article in ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' magazine, Joshua Glenn proposes that the nameless object is a
toothpick
A toothpick is a small thin stick of wood, plastic, bamboo, metal, bone or other substance with at least one and sometimes two pointed ends to insert between teeth to remove detritus, usually after a meal. Toothpicks are also used for festive ...
,
while other critics have proposed matches, toilet articles, button hooks, et cetera.
In 1998, the
Modern Library
The Modern Library is an American book publishing imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an ...
ranked ''The Ambassadors'' 27th on its list of the
100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Adaptations and influences
Literature
*
Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley.
She wrote 22 novel ...
's novel, ''
The Talented Mr. Ripley
''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. This novel introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in four subsequent novels. It has been adapted numerous times for screen, including ''Purpl ...
'' (1955), begins with the protagonist,
Tom Ripley
Thomas Ripley is a fictional character in a series of crime novels by American novelist Patricia Highsmith, as well as several film adaptations. He is a career criminal, con artist, and serial killer who always gets away with his crimes. The fi ...
, traveling to Europe in pursuit of a wealthy man's son with orders to bring him back to the family business. The inspiration is acknowledged in the novel with an explicit mention of James' ''The Ambassadors''.
*
Cynthia Ozick
Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist.
Biography
Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City, the second of two children. She moved to the Bronx with her Belarusian-Jewish parents from Hlusk, ...
's novel, ''Foreign Bodies'' (2010), tells the story of ''The Ambassadors'' with a woman as the protagonist.
Stage productions
*A musical theatre version of ''The Ambassadors'', titled ''
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
'', was first produced in 1971 in London's
West End, then on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 1972; it proved unsuccessful.
Television
*The BBC television adaptation of the novel for their ''
Play of the Month
''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wor ...
'' television series first aired on March 13, 1977, with
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Awards, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Emmy, and Tony Award, Tony for his ...
as "Strether" and
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film ''Days of Wine and Roses (film), Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 ...
as "Maria Gostrey" (she later played "Eugenia" in the 1979
Merchant Ivory
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...
cinema version of ''
The Europeans
''The Europeans: A sketch'' is a short novel by Henry James, published in 1878. It is essentially a comedy contrasting the behaviour and attitudes of two visitors from Europe with those of their relatives living in the "new" world of New England ...
'').
References
* ''The Ambassadors: An Authoritative Text, The Author on the Novel, Criticism'' edited by S.P. Rosenbaum (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1994)
* ''The Novels of Henry James'' by
Edward Wagenknecht
Edward (Charles) Wagenknecht (March 28, 1900 – May 24, 2004) was an American literary critic and teacher who specialized in 19th century American literature. He wrote and edited many books on literature and movies, and taught for many years at ...
(New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1983)
* ''The Novels of Henry James'' by Oscar Cargill (New York: Macmillan Co., 1961)
* ''The Ambassadors'': The Cambridge Edition of the Complete Fiction of Henry James, vol. 18, edited by
Nicola Bradbury Nicola Anne Lulham Bradbury D. Phil. (born 1951) is an English literary critic, lecturer, editor, and author, specializing in the 19th century novel.
Life
Bradbury was born in Weston-super-Mare, the daughter of Robin J. Bradbury and Joan Lulham, w ...
(Cambridge University Press, 2015)
Notes
External links
*
*
*
IMDb page for the television version of ''The Ambassadors'' (1977)Ted Gioia (Fractious Fiction)
Ways to Read The Ambassadors*
''The Ambassadors'' from the Collections of the Library of Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambassadors
1903 American novels
Novels by Henry James
Novels first published in serial form
American political novels
Works originally published in the North American Review
Paris in fiction
American novels adapted into television shows