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by John Q McDonald --- 25 March 2013

The American

by Henry James

One wonders if Americans will ever get beyond that image of being mere tourists on the world stage. We've only been here a couple of centuries, so we're still a young nation. And, after all this time, some of us still disdain the Old World, dismissing Old Europe and its tendency toward social democracy. America is a bit arrogant, being rich and bristling with weapons, and it wears its historical ignorance like a badge of honor. Henry James shows us here that this isn't a new phenomenon. This novel, published in magazine instalments in 1877, is the misadventure of an optimistic young American in the somewhat ossified social atmosphere of Paris. Christopher Newman is our hero, freshly arrived in Paris. He is a Civil War veteran and a successful, rich, businessman. Now, he wants to spend his money acquiring some culture and perhaps a wife, too. The book opens with him lounging in the Louvre, watching a young woman painting a copy. He flirts with her, offers to buy her painting, all the while missing her intention on being there in the first place. After learning some French from her father, friends point him in the direction of a widowed marquise. He sets his sights on marrying her, and into her ancient aristocratic family. Here's where the difficulties set in. Newman is almost wilfully unaware of the staid aristocratic structure he is trying to break into. His money appeals to them, but that he started out selling washtubs makes him an impossible match for the lovely Madame de Cintre. Newman pushes on, up against the formidable wall of arrogance and pride, like the innocent optimistic, open and friendly American he typifies. And he pushes through several disasters along the way. Will he prevail over European traditions? Do Europeans, even today, consider American culture on par with them? We're a naive and hopeful place. This is part of our charm. But our bullheaded confidence in ourselves shuts us off from much of the world. The book is episodic, given its origin as a magazine serial. It is also charming and surprisingly witty. A bright early work by an American classic.

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Also by Henry James: [The Turn of the Screw]