But James, as an artist, was deeply suspicious of what gave him pleasure, or indeed satisfaction. In his own complex sensibility, there was an ambiguity about most things, and this moved him towards subtlety when he approached character, drama, and scene, and nudged him towards many modifying subclauses when he wrote a sentence. Nothing came to him simply.
Henry James
Complexity, Artistic Caution, Ambiguity, Depth, Subtlety, Introspection
Henry James’s Quotes On Topics
Narrative Cloud | Dawn | Soul | Lightning Kiss | Inevitable Fate | Unexpected Turn | Individualism | Independent | Conversation | Unconventional | Creative Struggles | Floral Justice | Magic | Refusal | Impact | Skepticism | Remnants | Storybook | Life Questions | Creative Challenges | More
More Henry James Quotes
“So far had Douglas presented his picture when someone put a question. “And what did the former governess die of? – of so much respectability?”” Henry James
Irony, Curiosity, Criticism, Gossip, Society, Humor
Henry James Irony, Curiosity, Criticism, Gossip, Society, Humor“We were alone with the quiet day, and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped.” Henry James
Quiet Loss, Heartfelt Stillness, Alone, Quiet, Loss, Heart
Henry James Quiet Loss, Heartfelt Stillness, Alone, Quiet, Loss, Heart“Life had met him so, half-way, and had turned round so to walk with him, placing a hand in his arm and fondly leaving him to choose the pace.” Henry James
Life Companionship, Mutual Progress, Life, Walk, Companionship, Progress
Henry James Life Companionship, Mutual Progress, Life, Walk, Companionship, Progress“You’re like a picture; you ought to be enclosed in a gilt frame and stand against the wall.” Henry James
Portrayal, Confinement, Appearance, Isolation, Beauty, Elegance
Henry James Portrayal, Confinement, Appearance, Isolation, Beauty, Elegance“It is difficult to speak adequately or justly of London.” Henry James
City Life, Reflection, Complexity, London, Urban, Diversity
Henry James City Life, Reflection, Complexity, London, Urban, Diversity“Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!” Henry James
Awareness, Learning, Growth, Experience, Attention, Value
Henry James Awareness, Learning, Growth, Experience, Attention, Value“It was in her disposition at all times to lose faith in the reality of absent things; she could summon back her faith, in case of need, with with an effort, but the effort was often painful even when the reality had been pleasant. The past was apt to look dead and its revival rather to show the livid light of a judgement-day.” Henry James
Faith, Past, Revival, Reality, Pain, Judgment
Henry James Faith, Past, Revival, Reality, Pain, Judgment“It was the hushed daybreak of the Roman revelation in particular that he could usually best recover – the way that there above all, where the princes and popes had been before him, his divination of his faculty had gone to his head. He.” Henry James
Ancient Glory, Divine Revelation, Vision, Reflection, Power
Henry James Ancient Glory, Divine Revelation, Vision, Reflection, Power“I don’t want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did.” Henry James
Self-Acceptance, Individuality, Confidence, Authenticity, Rejection, Integrity
Henry James Self-Acceptance, Individuality, Confidence, Authenticity, Rejection, Integrity“I could come back to America to die—but never, never to live.” Henry James
Home, Exile, Identity, Existence, Longing, Fate
Henry James Home, Exile, Identity, Existence, Longing, Fate“However incumbent it may be on most of us to do our duty, there is, in spite of a thousand narrow dogmatisms, nothing in the world that anyone is under the least obligation to like — not even (one braces one's self to risk the declaration) a particular kind of writing.” Henry James
Duty, Freedom, Controversy, Independence, Expression, Choice
Henry James Duty, Freedom, Controversy, Independence, Expression, Choice“Ideas are, in truth, forces. Infinite, too, is the power of personality. A union of the two always makes history.” Henry James
Ideas, Forces, Power, Personality, History, Influence
Henry James Ideas, Forces, Power, Personality, History, Influence“When you forget to eat, you know you’re alive.” Henry James
Life’s Intensity, Forgotten Meals, Alive, Eat, Life, Intensity
Henry James Life’s Intensity, Forgotten Meals, Alive, Eat, Life, Intensity“Was he in love with Gilbert Osmond’s wife, and if so what comfort did he expect to derive from it? If he was in love with Pansy he was not in love with her stepmother, and if he was in love with her stepmother he was not in love with Pansy.” Henry James
Love Triangle, Moral Dilemma, Emotional Conflict, Passion, Deception, Loyalty
Henry James Love Triangle, Moral Dilemma, Emotional Conflict, Passion, Deception, Loyalty“I don’t care anything about reasons, but I know what I like.” Henry James
Preference, Simplicity, Reflection, Choices, Enjoyment, Authenticity
Henry James Preference, Simplicity, Reflection, Choices, Enjoyment, Authenticity“Living as he now lived was like reading a good book in a poor translation – a meagre entertainment for a young man who felt that he might have been an excellent linguist. He.” Henry James
Expression, Reflection, Literature, Translation, Experience, Self-Discovery
Henry James Expression, Reflection, Literature, Translation, Experience, Self-Discovery“This impression came out most for Maggie when, in their easier intervals, they had only themselves to regard, and when her companion’s inveteracy of never passing first, of not sitting till she was seated, of not interrupting till she appeared to give leave, of not forgetting too familiarly that in addition to being important she was also sensitive, had the effect of throwing over their intercourse a kind of silver tissue of decorum.” Henry James
Social Etiquette, Sensitive Relationships, Interpersonal Dynamics, Thoughtful Actions, Personal Importance, Silver Decorum
Henry James Social Etiquette, Sensitive Relationships, Interpersonal Dynamics, Thoughtful Actions, Personal Importance, Silver Decorum“Basil Ransom had got up just as Mrs. Luna made this last declaration; for a young lady had glided into the room, who stopped short as it fell upon her ears. She stood there looking, consciously and rather seriously, at Mr. Ransom; a smile of exceeding faintness played about her lips – it was just perceptible enough to light up the native gravity of her face. It might have been likened to a thin ray of moonlight resting upon the wall of a prison.” Henry James
Impression, Emotion, Perception, Smile, Seriousness, Light
Henry James Impression, Emotion, Perception, Smile, Seriousness, Light“She was to feel henceforth as if she were flattening her nose upon the hard window-pane of the sweet-shop of knowledge.” Henry James
Knowledge, Reality, Imagination, Restriction, Experience, Reflection
Henry James Knowledge, Reality, Imagination, Restriction, Experience, Reflection“I seemed to float not into clearness, but into a darker obscure, and within a minute there had come to me out of my very pity the appalling alarm of his perhaps being innocent. It was for the instant confounding and bottomless, for if he were innocent, what then on earth was I?” Henry James
Confounding Innocence, Obscure Alarm, Innocence, Alarm, Obscure, Confounding
Henry James Confounding Innocence, Obscure Alarm, Innocence, Alarm, Obscure, Confounding