| Henry James had two goals: the first, aesthetic mastery of his art---to achieve perfection in storytelling; the second, pragmatic mastery of his trade---to assure his continued marketability. The enemy to both perfection and publication, he came to see, was excessive length; methodological means---"tricks"---to limit space without limiting scope, a science of control implemented with subtlety, became the focus of his efforts to refine technique. The quandary: achieving economy of means without economy of effect; the solution: situation and setting. The progression of Henry James, writer, toward mastery can be charted through the record of his experiences: the events that shaped his life shaped his craft. James's narratives take place, are constructed, in carefully defined and meaning-filled space. His narratives can be analyzed in terms of bars and barriers: contrasts of movement and stasis, of accomplished or baffled penetration. James's "scenic method" embraces not only the dramatic scene but a pictorial foundation: the mise en scene, the scene(ry), the spatial relations between figure and ground are not merely pictorial in a realist mode but depict an ontology, the positioning of individuals in the world of reality, of characters in the fictional world of the narrative, and of his readers in relation to the fundamental meaning of the text. James is adept at defining and manipulating space: the positioning of his characters and his readers in relation to defined space, and the dynamic interplay between characters and placement, evokes a social, cultural, and emotional resonance. His efforts sprang from, and his achievement centers on, his determination to economize, to make the most of the limited space at his disposal. |
