How Many Keys Does It Take to Unlock the Secrets Within a Henry James Tale?
yes, I did count them
Henry James was fascinated by secrets. Who held them, how they were discovered, and most deliciously, what happened when they - and their bearers - were exposed. Secrets hold so much power over his characters, and they are generally kept under literal, or figurative, locks and keys.
At some point along my walk with James, I noticed that there are a lot of keys in his stories. Some refer to musical keys (instrumental or vocal), others to a tone of voice or mood (and how one can manipulate - or attempt to manipulate - others with both), or a piece of information necessary to understanding (a key to a mystery or, you guessed it, a secret). Often, it is physical key to a door, sometimes a very important one. One that might reveal . . . secrets.
I thought that The Turn of the Screw was full of keys. Keys of every sort, but mostly of the understanding kind. But there are two, and they are physical. Are you as surprised as I am? I also considered that The Aspern Papers might involve several, but no, only three. Again, physical.
But again, so many secrets.
Which James stories have the most keys of all sorts?
The Golden Bowl (1904) tops us out at 16, with Roderick Hudson (1875), The Wings of the Dove (1902), and The Tragic Muse (1890) hot on its heels with 15. The Portrait of a Lady (1881) has 12, followed by Watch and Ward (1878), The Awkward Age (1899), and The Ivory Tower (1917) (of course, in draft) with 9 each. The Sense of the Past (1917) (another posthumous draft publication) has 8, The American (1877) 7, The Princess Casamassima (1886) 6, and The Ambassadors (1903) with 5.
So much for my suspicion that James employed more keys early on, an idea that had become fixed in my mind for some unexplored reason. There are plenty of other James novels and stories with key references, but those above have the most. I didn’t include his non-fiction (The American Scene is full of keys, but it’s a different animal altogether and I will definitely be getting into that in a post all its own).
What does any of this mean? I’m not sure, but it’s something to have your assumptions, whatever they may be, refuted. It’s much more interesting than having them reinforced.
I’ll be thinking on this and what I can add to it. I’d love to know your thoughts, on keys or James or any of his work.
Coming up, sooner or later:
rereads of James’ work - it’s been a long time coming for some of them
something about The American, because it makes me excruciatingly uncomfortable
The American Scene and Daisy Miller - yes, there’s a connection, and it has to do with the later edition
James’ ghost stories, of course
has anyone read the Anno Dracula series by Kim Newman? Christina Light, aka the Princess Casamassima, is included as a character in one of the installments and I have yet to explore them
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