The Wings of the Dove

    As I have always said, I am no fan of Henry James. However I have liked many of his books to varying degrees. This one, however, I liked a great deal, in fact it is by far my favorite of all his works read so far. I believe the main reason is that my copy is such an excellent, scholarly edition, created by Barnes & Noble. I got it, however, from Goodwill, and you will be seeing a huge number of Goodwill books showing up on this site. There are two that I shop regularly for books, and have become an ardent fan. They are both by the Walmart stores where I regularly shop, one across the street in Alliance, and the other, across the parking lot in Ravenna. When I go to Walmart, I make a quick dash to the Goodwill bookshelves, and I nearly always exit with a bag and a smile. I want to point out that I am NOT a fan of Goodwill, in general, because I fail to see why a non-profit charity would pay their CEO a six-figure salary. That sounds like profit to me . . . Incidentally, I have heard that some people believe you must be poor to shop at Goodwill, but that is absolutely not true. Anyone can shop there because it is their revenue from sales that go, supposedly, to charities. So, the more you buy, the more you help. Supposedly.
    Anyways, the editor of this edition, Bruce L.R. Smith, provides an excellent summary of the story, especially filling in the blanks, and being ambiguous is one of James' annoying trademarks. One of the aspects of his style that I truly detest is that his characters speak in what we would refer to today as soundbytes. Do people really speak like that? Sentences that end with ". . ." or, " you mean? . . .", or other open-ended phrases. His writing is ambiguous because his characters are, too. Not that he doesn't build well-defined characters, in fact, in this one, he most surely does. But it's like everyone has a secret to hide, or nearly everyone, and we only find a couple that say what they mean and are up front in their feelings and opinions. And that goes for every book of his I've ever read, and I've read quite a few.
    Are people like that? I suppose some may be, but as far as the people I know, they are capable of speaking a complete sentence and verbalizing what they want to say. It's called communication. And I know that another aspect of most of his writing is something that is downright unfamiliar to me, and that is the vast difference of the behavior of Americans and the behavior of Europeans, at least during his lifetime, his favorite subject. This novel is from 1902, about fourteen years before his death. James was an expatriate of America, who was greatly disturbed at the direction America was heading, which I did not realize until I read Smith's comments. He traveled numerous times to Europe, finally settling in England and becoming a British subject the year before he died.
    Along with the irritating dialog, the other point of annoyance with his writing style is his very long and drawn-out sentences which often require re-reading, and even then, some of his expressions are so obscure, the meaning is still not clear, adding to the ambiguity of his writing. However, that's where Smith's commentary was SO helpful. After completing the book, I can't say I agree with everything as he interpreted it, and James' writing certainly allows for a wide realm of interpretations, but I was able to read through even the obscure sentences with an understanding of what was taking place, even at a deeper level. In fact I breezed through the over 500 pages at a pretty good clip, an unusual feat for me and James.
    I will now provide a synopsis of the story, along with my usual commentary as I go, and my opinions of the characters. We meet Kate Croy, who has lost her mother, and is visiting her father to offer herself as his companion, rather than live with her Aunt Maud. We never really learn the truth about Lionel Croy, other than he has done something detestable, has no money, yet always appears as if he does. He refuses her. She has a married widowed sister who has too many children and no money, except for her small inheritance from their mother's death and the part of Kate's inheritance that she turns over to her. She is whiny and ungrateful.
    Kate, does, in fact, succumb to her aunt's offer, but on doing so, she has made herself a servant of her aunt's scheme. According to Smith, Maud has money but not the social status she desires, and the beautiful Kate, married off to the relatively poor Lord Mark, who does have social status, would place Maud where she desires to be. I have to comment that the entire underlying theme of the story is that of people using and being used, another common trait of James. And as always, there are the few who stand out because they are not users, but unlike the others, unaware that they are being used. They are the innocent ones who do not resort to fakery as their modus operandi.
    Kate, however, has her own mind, and falls quickly in love with a young reporter, Merton Densher, at their first meeting. He is well educated, talented, and has everything he needs to be successful except motivation, and his lack of motivation is so deep that he does not even try to alter his attitude, even to gain Kate. However, Aunt Maud likes him very much. Just not for a mate for her niece. He has an opportunity to travel to America to report on life in the states for his newspaper. Kate and Merton become secretly engaged, and Kate gets her gears working on how they can get what they want. Then he leaves.
    Here we meet the ladies from the other side of the pond. Milly Theale, a pale and sickly looking young lady from New York has lost the last remaining member of her family, leaving her extraordinarily wealthy but thoroughly alone. She does not behave as most wealthy do. She is befriended by an older widow from Boston, Susan Stringham, who absolutely becomes endeared to her. She proclaims that Milly is "a princess," and treats her thus. She becomes Milly's guardian, and they travel to Europe, first a brief stay in Switzerland, but the restless Milly desires to be around people and lots of them. She chooses London, and they immediately set off.
    James modeled Milly, (and numerous other characters), on his beloved cousin, Minny Temple, who died very young of consumption. Milly, too, believes she is dying, and hints that she want to see a doctor, but does not want to upset Susan. Here is where even more ambiguity sets in. Smith states that she is dying of tuberculosis, but in the novel, there is never the statement that she is. In fact, as I read, my personal opinion was that she was perhaps dying of fear of dying, because her own family had all died. She takes the fatal turn for the worse when she believes she has no reason or will to live. It's another case of James leaving ambiguities, open to interpretation.
    In any case, Milly and Susan immediately hook up with Kate and Aunt Maud, because, as it turns out, Maud and Susan were long ago very close friends. Merton has not yet returned to London, but what we are not immediately told is that Milly and Merton have met in New York, and Milly has secretly fallen in love with him.
    Kate and Milly become "close,"—genuine on Milly's part, but at this point we begin to not trust Kate and her motives. Neither Milly nor Kate mentions Merton, even when Milly realizes he is part of the circle in which she finds herself. Eventually he returns and the three spend time together. But a scheme is brewing, that being that Kate and Maud have both convinced Milly that, yes, Merton is currently in love with Kate, but she does not care for him. Milly believes that to the end, and so does Susan, even though the sham is blatant to everyone else.
    When Milly asks Kate to accompany her to the renowned doctor, Sir Luke Strett, Kate becomes convinced that Milly is dying, providing more fuel for her fire. However, the doctor is not able to find anything wrong with her, and stresses that she must live life to its fullest, enjoy herself, and find love. He is grateful to meet Susan, who is prepared to do anything in the world to care for her precious princess.
    As fall approaches, Milly and Susan take off for Venice, and so do Maud and Kate. Later, Merton arrives, and for only a day, so does Lord Mark. He is a particularly unlikable character, who is a bit more blatant about marrying a dying rich girl for her money. He proposes and Milly rejects him. Though there are varying opinions on his motives, it is Lord Mark who strikes the final blow that sends Milly downhill.
    Meanwhile, Merton is still rather dense as to Kate's grand plan. But it is in Venice that we finally realize how henpecked he is. In more modern jargon, we would call it pussy-whipped. He refers to it as a "circle of petticoats." Merton begins to be ashamed at his lack of manliness, glad there are not other males around to witness it. But it is when Kate finally spells it out to him, what he must do—that is, marry a dying lady and inherit her wealth, so that the two of them can get on with their plans—it is here that Merton decides to be a "man." He demands Kate sleep with him to prove her faithfulness. And she does.
    Shortly after, all but Merton leave Venice. He stays, supposedly to be with his love, Milly. But one day he finds himself rejected from her palace, and shortly after, sees Lord Mark. This is what sets everyone's great plans crumbling. And that is all I will say. I rarely recommend Henry James' novels, but this one, I do, especially if you can find a copy of the wonderful edition I own. It is an interesting and entertaining story.

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