Literature On The Screen:A Case Study Of The Film Adaptations Of Henry James’s Washington Square

With the development in studies on film adaptation, more and more theorists realize a film adapted from literary works can serve as a critique of that work. Henry James’s writings have long been the source of both film and television. Especially in the late1990s, there was a film adaptation craze of Henry James’s literary works. With a detailed analysis of the two films adapted from the same work Washington Square (1880) in Henry James’s early career, this thesis brings together literary, film criticism and elements of adaptation studies to form a different way to analyze the original work; by examining and comparing the two adaptations, the thesis tends to demonstrate how the filmmakers’interpretative process and strategies of this literary work are affected by their particular social and cultural circumstances.The thesis is divided into five parts. Part one serves as an introduction, which begins with a brief introduction to the great author Henry James, his novel Washington Square(1880) and an overview of its reception in literary circles, in order to provide a larger context for the next two chapters’close readings of the two different adaptations based on the novel, and then it briefly discusses the relationship between film and literature, the development of adaptation studies and the cinematic treatment of James’fiction, so as to lay a theoretical framework for the research of this thesis.Chapter one and Chapter two examine the two different adaptations of the same novel Washington Square. Chapter one is devoted to a discussion on The Heiress (1949), William Wyler’s melodramatic adaptation of Washington Square (1880). To begin with, the discussion follows the critical tradition of Peter Brooks and other melodrama critics to analyze the important melodramatic components in James’s works as a whole and in Washington Square in particular. By doing so, this part attempts to provide a useful basis to check the solidity of Wyler’s melodramatic interpretation of the novel. In Wyler’s film, the dramatic conflict is applied between Catherine and her father and also the characters’ consciousness is explored. Wyler’s exploration not only shows his transformation of conventional melodrama, but also leads to his own way of understanding the original.Chapter two mainly discusses the film adaptation of Washington Square by the Polish-born director Holland in1997. Different from The Heiress, Holland’s Washington Square (1997) attempts to read the James’s literary original from a feminist perspective. It focuses on how Catherine grows from a silent and socially awkward girl and even an environment-restricted young woman into a mature independent individual, who can use her own power and control her own fate. To support such an argument, the chapter starts with a general survey of feminist criticism of James’s fiction in literary circles. Next the discussion centers on some important feminist elements in the novel that have been largely ignored by literary critics before, in order to provide a solid basis of Holland’s feminist reading. Different from some unfavorable critics, the thesis underlines Holland’s innovative contributions to the interpretation of the original novel. With a detailed analysis of Holland’s film, this part examines how Holland has re-read James’s Victorian text to show the feminist self-awareness of late20th century.Chapter three makes a comparison of the two adaptations in terms of characters, plots, and artistic technologies to demonstrate how the two directors interpret James’s novel in the different cultural context. The two films depict the major characters, such as Dr. Sloper, Catherine Sloper and Morris Townsend, with different emphasis. Furthermore, in order to achieve thematic transformation, Wyler and Holland respectively change, omit and add some plots of the original work. They also employ different artistic techniques. In the following analysis of the historical and cultural origins of Wyler’s adaptation, the thesis demonstrates that, by turning Catherine into a revengeful daughter, Wyler’s plot attempts to explore the shift of gender’s power in the post-war years. On the other hand, by analyzing the cultural context of Holland’s version, the thesis reveals that, inspired by the women’s movement, Holland’s adaptation reflects a positive social change. The chapter concludes that Holland’s version, which retains the original title, has advanced our understanding of James’s novel.The last part draws a conclusion upon examining the criticism of James’ text provided by the film adaptations from different critical perspectives. While The Heiress (1949) recognizes James’ transformation of conventional melodrama, Washington Square (1997) picks out feminist elements largely ignored by literary critics. Such an examination demonstrates that employing film adaptation as a critical way to interpret literature can enrich ways of literary criticism of the original work Washington Square. Furthermore, the two adaptations are historically and culturally mediated. The different readings of the heroine in the two adaptations vividly illustrate how mainstream society and culture recognize the feminine identity in different historical moments.