Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1996

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Abstract

A recurrent condition plaguing many of James's characters can be diagnosed as an aesthetic dependency. These characters turn their back on "the real thing" and exist in a precarious world of beauty and misplaced ideals. The novels examined present various methods James's characters utilize to elude the actual world. In The Tragic Muse, the line that separates mimetic art and actuality is nonexistent. Through imitation and performance characters create and represent what ought to be. Aesthetic immersion and imaginative constructs are opposed methods of escape in The Spoils of Poynton. The Ambassadors depicts a world where characters conspire to disguise the truth. Lambert Strether's imagination is stimulated by this milieu and takes flight. Similarly, the characters in The Wings of the Dove go to extreme lengths to realize their aesthetic visions. Ultimately, each character in these novels must deal with the sacrifices that are made when one chooses to exist in a world consisting solely of beauty and imagination.

Extent

66 p.

Comments

FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Adviser: Howard Pearce.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1996.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Identifier

FADT15331

Format

pdf

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