“The Historian of Fine Consciences”: Fiction, Reality, and Ethics in Henry James’ Work

This article examines the way the Anglo-American writer Henry James (1843-1916) connects, in his work of literary criticism and fiction, the epistemological, ethical, and cultural aspects of the processes concerning the knowledge of reality and its literary representation. It analyzes the historicit...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: da Silva Mello, Luiza Larangeira
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP)
Repositorio:História da Historiografia
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.www.historiadahistoriografia.com.br:article/844
Acceso en línea:https://www.historiadahistoriografia.com.br/revista/article/view/844
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Ethics
Fiction
Realism
Ética
Ficción
Realismo
Ficção
Descripción
Sumario:This article examines the way the Anglo-American writer Henry James (1843-1916) connects, in his work of literary criticism and fiction, the epistemological, ethical, and cultural aspects of the processes concerning the knowledge of reality and its literary representation. It analyzes the historicity of certain formal and thematic features of James’ texts, which suggest the fragmentary and unstable quality of the cognitive experience and the ethical choices based on it. Acknowledging similarities between these features of James’ work and those of the works of other modernist writers, who overthrow the representational assumptions of 19th century realistic novel, it intends to understand the particularities of James’ criticism of these assumptions, i.e., the singular manner in which his criticism is related to his interpretation of the American intellectual tradition.