The Marginal Male In Henry James’s Novels

Henry James, universally acknowledged as a pioneer of psychological realism, is noted for his concern for female characters which constitutes one of the major features of his literary creation. Thus, many scholars and critics tend to analyze the female characters in his novels from various perspectives, which results in less study on his male characters in his novels.The present thesis, by applying the theory of marginality, analyzes the three male characters in James’s three representative novels—Rowland Mallet in Roderick Hudson, Hyacinth Robinson in The Princess Cassamassima and Lambert Strether in The Ambassadors.Chapter1"Marginality with Suspense of Masculinity" aims to expound the three male characters’ marginal features by analyzing the portraits of them in the three novels. While probing the reasons for their marginal state and their manifestations of marginality, the thesis also discloses how they are excluded by the society because of their marginality. Chapter2"Outlets of the Marginal Male" focuses on exploring how the three males find their outlets of their marginal state based on their individual awareness of the real self, by further employing James’s own literary theory about imagination as well as Lacan’s psychological analysis. Chapter3"Connotations of Marginal Male Characterization" aims to dig out the implication of the characterization of the three marginal male characters. First, their carving is a portrait and reflection of James’s own life which is considered by many critics and scholars full of marginality. Second, the emergence of the three male characters also suggests an experimental exploration of James, which not only reflects his exploration of alternative masculinity as a writer, but also indicates his exploration of the private self as a marginal man.In the conclusion, the thesis highlights the significance of the concentrated exploration of the marginal male characters in James’s novels, hoping not only to deepen readers’s understanding of this special male group, but also provide a new and important perspective for further study of James, thus having referential and academic value.