The Golden Bowl (Everymans Library
(Cloth)) by Henry James
The Deepest Pleasures Of A Masterwork--But Only For The Mature, Meditatively
Reflective Few.
Introduction by Denis Donoghue
Personal Review: The Golden Bowl (Everymans Library (Cloth))
by Henry James
Reading THE GOLDEN BOWL by Henry James can be either an exercise
in frustration or of exhiliration. If after reading a few pages one deduces the
former, then one has allowed an excessively convoluted and ornate prose
style to interpose itself between a writer with a straightforward theme that
is inextricably intertwined with a style that is its polar opposite with a reader
who expects the straightforwardness of the theme to link with a parallel
style. James uses grammar and syntax in much the same way that Milton
does in PARADISE LOST. Reading James and liking James is an
acquired taste. For the novels leading up to this one, one can almost argue

that James was simply getting ready to write what is generally considered
his master work.
The plot is relatively uncomplicated. A father daughter relation is
exceptionally close. Their immense wealth insulates them from the
mundane trivialities of life. Both are used to acquiring things of value: a
painting, a house, and when need be, a husband for the daughter. Adam
Verver is the father, a basically decent sort who has Midas type wealth, but
is determined to use it to make his daughter happy, a state of mind that is
no more different--or more expensive--than acquiring anything else.
Maggie is the daughter, also a good hearted woman who has learned from
her father that value must be exchanged for value. Enter Prince Amerigo, a
titled but impoverished European who is selected to marry Maggie. He is
willing to swap values. The difference between his decision and theirs is
that he knows what he is contemplating is wrong, but as long as all
concerned are upfront, no harm done. Complicating matters is Charlotte
Stant, a close friend of Maggie, who is in love with Amerigo and he with
her, but both acknowledge that marriage is out of the question. Maggie
convinces Charlotte to marry her father--again an exchange of value for
value. The two marriages occur and things are more or less normal for a
few years. Maggie has a baby, but neither the baby nor her husband are
allowed to interfere with her relation with Adam. Maggie, eager to have
more time for her father, encourages Amerigo and Charlotte to spend time
together. Eventually, Maggie gets suspicious and guesses the truth. The
novel ends with Charlotte and Adam leaving for America, leaving a
suddenly contrite Maggie to relight the spark in a marriage that was never
properly lit in the first place.
The dominant theme is less complex to relate than to analyze. All four
spouses are willing to marry as long as each one receives value for value.
For Adam, this value is renting/buying (it is difficult to approximate the
correct verb) a titled husband that he believes will make Maggie happy. He
is quite prepared to pay millions. For Amerigo, this value is getting enough
money so that he can make his way in the world. He is prepared to be a
probably non-functional trophy husband. For Maggie, this value is fulfilling
her biological imperative, and she is prepared to ignore Amerigo or pay
attention to him as the case may be. And for Charlotte, this value parallels
Amerigo's and she is prepared to pay the same price as he does.
Unifying all these cross-cutting themes is the Golden Bowl of the title. Early
in the novel and before any of the marriages, Amerigo and Charlotte plan
to buy a suitable gift for his marriage to Maggie: a magnificent golden bowl,
with a minute defect, a slight crack. They refuse to buy it for that reason.
Later in the novel, the bowl reappears with Maggie's learning that it had
been intended as her wedding gift. Maggie sees, perhaps subliminally, that
the bowl is symbolic of her life with her father and her husband. As long as
she lives with her father, life will be an uncracked bowl, perfect externally
but inhuman internally. Maggie's realization that her life with Amerigo must
contain that crack comes with breathtaking force. She, Amerigo, Adam,

and Charlotte have chosen to live with a cracked bowl. For those readers
with the patience and skill in deciphering an admittedly complex text, they
can see that in this imperfect bowl Henry James has made a very profound
statement about the human condition.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
The Golden Bowl (Everymans Library (Cloth)) by Henry James 5 Star Customer
Reviews and Lowest Price!