The Existentialist Philosophy On The Works Of Henry James

Henry James who was born in the U.S.A. and had been living in Britain for a long time, where he was naturalized at last, is regarded as a distinguished novelist,stylist and a literary critic as well, therefore,obtains very high positions in the field of modern novels in both countries. Philip Rahv called him'the American's greatest novelist', and Yvor Winters proclaimed him'the greatest novelist in English', the British critic F.R.Leavis rhetorically demanded:'What achievement in the art of fiction...can we point to in English as surpassing his?'These commentaries are over-praising, nevertheless, concerning the conclusion that James is one of the four or five most distinguished novelists from the late nineteen century up until now, it is universally accepted. His writing is technically creative, and he is the forerunner of psychological realism, not to mention that he was giving his considerations on the relationships of the people as well as the problems of the relationships between people and the world, and subtly perceived the contemporary social changes and the dilemma of the human existence in a unique perspective, and recorded the puzzle of existing,anxiety,agony and some complex emotions, what's more his writings highlights the positive practices and the responsibilities of the society.The works of Henry James embodies the concerning on the status quo of the human existence, and the deep thought on it, there is the embryo of existentialism in his connotation of thinking, which is consonant with a series of philosophical propositions such as freedom of existentialism,and that the relationships of people are prominently represented as collisions,choices and that man should assume responsibilities for himself.The thesis is divided into four chapters:The First Chapter It is based on the foundation of the analysis of Henry James, in which it's discovered that Henry James put his emphasis on the freedom of humans in his works, claims that figures should pursuit their freedom positively, make his choices freely, and to realize their ideals, which is in accordance with the emphasis of existentialism on the freedom of human being, and that people should have the enthusiasm to pursue freedom, and manifesting the value of himself by praxis, and resolving the anxious emotions.The Second Chapter the predicament of the existence of men is revealed in H.James's works, as well as the relational conflicts between one and another. If one's not to make his own choice, then he would become a toy played by others, the world is absurd, in which, the active choice of a man is represented as the failure of one's life. This is in accordance with the existentialist slogan——'Hell is other people','the world is absurd'.The Third Chapter The actions of the figures in H.James's works seems abnormal to common people, which results from the intrinsic desire that is never satisfied with, used to be under the help of others or with the expectation of other's actions in order to make up his deficiencies, which is similar with Sartre's idea of'scarcity'; Henry James's work is emphasized on the responsibilities of the figures, and that the figures should assume the responsibilities actively, which is the same with the existentialism, while, with some differences.The Forth Chapter The origin of Henry James's existentialist thought is to be found in the situation of his epoch and his personal experiences. The epilogue is a conclusion of Henry James's philosophical thought of existentialism as well as a judgment of value through the diachronic and synchronic perspectives.There is no paper focused on Henry James's philosophical thoughts of existentialism, therefore, this investigation is to conclude the philosophical thoughts of existentialism in his works which is on the foundation of the delicate analysis of the texts., and the work would improve our understanding of him and opens a window for the research of him, which is not only helpful in our understanding of the conditions of social development of Henry James's epoch, but also significant in our thinking of the orientation the human existence.