Title: The rhetorical logic of Henry James /
Authors: Teahan, Sheila, 1961-
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press,
Year: 1995
Subjects: James, Henry, Technique.; Fiction Technique; Rhetoric; Logic
Abstract: In this lucid, sophisticated reading of seven of Henry James's major novels, Sheila Teahan employs current rhetorical theory to strip previous criticism of some long-held assumptions and advance a new understanding of the writer's narrative technique. With insight and originality she explores James's concept of "the center of consciousness" as a rhetorical structure, and in doing so she illuminates a significant pattern of plotting and figurative language in his works.
Contents: Introduction: The Representational Logic of the Jamesian Center of Consciousness -- 1. The Politics of Metaphor in The Princess Casamassima -- 2. What Maisie Knew and the Improper Third Person -- 3. The Abyss of Allegory in Roderick Hudson -- 4. Pious Misrepresentation in The Ambassadors -- 5. Abysmal Consciousness in The Wings of the Dove -- 6. The Golden Bowl and the Shattered Vessel of Consciousness -- 7. Representational Awkwardness in The Awkward Age.