Henry James’ The Golden Bowl As A Bildungsroman

Henry James(1843-1916)was one of the most celebrated American writers in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries.As a male American writer who lived largely in the Victorian England,he paid close attention to the living conditions of those Americans who sojourned in Europe.And his novels often sensitively depict the coming of age of young American women.He is noted for his meticulous depiction of the complex inner world of the protagonists and the cultural conflicts between the two continents.Studies on James’ novels have so far devoted mainly to his treatment of the international theme,cultural differences and fusion,and moral problems,his depiction of various characters,his use of the central consciousness in his novels,as well as the various novel techniques that he introduced to fiction writing.But there is an aspect which is one of the essential concerns of his novels yet seems not to have attracted sufficient discussion.That is the psychological growth of his protagonists,especially the women protagonists.Therefore the present thesis aims to analyze the intricate journey of the heroine of the greatest masterpiece of his mature period,i.e.The Golden Bowl,from youth to maturity.I would treat the novel as a Bildungsroman and focus in my analysis on such issues as the dilemmas encountered by the protagonist,the gradual change of her view on the world,on the people around her,on marriage and family,and so on,under the influence of her several mentors.I would discuss how,with an almost epiphanic revelation,she succeeds in arriving at her ultimate spiritual and psychological maturity.This thesis consists of seven chapters.The first chapter includes a brief introduction to James’ literary career and his masterpiece The Golden Bowl,a demonstration of the development of Bildungsroman,and a review of previous research on James and The Golden Bowl in China as well as worldwide.In the second chapter,the author tries to expound on the definition,concept and characteristics of Bildungsroman.The third chapter analyzes the predicament of the protagonist’s growth and contends that what hinders her growth is her misunderstanding of self,family affection and marriage.The fourth chapter explores the influence of her father,friends and husband on her growth.For example,the tenderness of her father’s values and moral sense affect her view of marriage and friendship.The deception of her companions Fanny Assingham and Charlotte Stant misleads her to immoral situations,which make her realize the complexity of the world.And her husband’s oppression in marriage awakens her self-consciousness.The fifth chapter shows the protagonist’s maturity and her necessarily more sophisticated,more tolerant,and more responsible view on marriage and the world.The sixth chapter is the conclusion,which,summarizing the foregoing analysis,points out that The Golden Bowl fits the framework of a Bildungsroman,and study of the growth journey of its protagonist within the framework of genre analysis shows more clearly in what ways Maggie Verver is different from the other American Girls in James’ works in terms of their development to maturity.