New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-06-22
THE TRAGIC MUSE.
MR.. JAMES'S NEW DEPARTURE.

Mr. James appears in his last mover 10 "e
gradually working himself out Of his pecui'"i
state of mind with regard TO the virtue oil ac'ion,
definite purpose, accomplished facts,-a state VI
mind which has led him 10 so fill many Oh DIS
hooks with what may be termed sense Of in
ertia as to render them somewhat eXaspe'a'ins
70 warm-booded and hcalthily active people
There is character in this new work whlch nlgh'
almost be taken for nm embodiment OF This curious
intellectual reluctance Mr. Gabriel Nash, in
decd is n person not likely to be generally under
stood If his inventor understands him 1t is some
thing. hut the public can hardly he expected 10
sound such depths of subtle irony as are repre-
sented in his character Mr.. Gabriel Nash Is
gentleman who lives for the beauutul; WHO
abounds in fine feelings; who lamen's tchderN'
and far more in sorrow than in anger, over tne
degeneration of the times finally, VINO hoiuS
that to do anything would derogate from the
purity and consistency OF his principles. lie says
upon one occasion, My only cancellations
are nv actions but when asked what Lis actions
are, he answers: All, excuse me. You can't
sec them with the naked eye. Moreover, mine
are principalIy negative Peoples actions,
know, are, for the most part, the things they no.
but mine are all the things they don't do. lherc
are so many Of those. So many. but they dont
produce any effect And then all the rest are
really seemed in the past that Mr.. James himself
had held TO some extent, the aesthetic philosophy
thus outlined by Gabriel Nash. The actions of
his characters were the things they didn't do,
and though there were so many of those, they
didn't produce much effect, though Mr. James
evidently thought they ought to have done so.
In emerging so to speak, from the dim lnanc
peoplcd by Gabriel Washes, and in accepting the
perhaps narrow view that definite purpose and
Ineligible action are in accord with the art OF
fiction, il may he that Mr. James is descending
and derogating: but assurcdly he is not render
ing his novels less interesting and effective.
The rather extreme length Of The TraGc
Muse may he urged as defect. but only by
those who forget that in England, where the
author M present resides, the three volume novel
is still the rule. Yet il may he conceded that
certain amount OF contraction would have given
more force TO the story, and that the psychologc
ANALYSIS which occupies so large a proportion OF
the space not seldom cnarges ones knowledge OF
the feelings motives and tendencies Of the subject
al the expense Of ones grasp of the general sitna-
ton As any sufficient discussion of this question
would involve an examination into the funda-
mental principles Of con,cnding schools Of fiction,
i, is obvious that such discussion cannot be on
tered upon here and now Moreover. since there
is reason 70 believe that Mr.. James is gradually
changing his own methods il is clearly the part
Of wisdom not 10 find fault with him because he
moves roo slowly in the new direction. II should
he considered sufficient that The Tragic Muse
exhibits encouraging proofs Of a return 10 what IS
after oil the strictly human basis Of mo'ivcd
action and purposes fuzzy worked ont. For This
concession, if it. is concession. Mr.. James per
haps indemnifes himself by presenting the para
dox Of Gabriel Nash, and upon that tempered
file criticism can bite 10 It's hearts content. But
we are willing 10 give up Gabriel Nash with all
his tempting impossibilites, for the sake Of Miriam
Rooth,- who stands out clearly and uncom-
promisnely, n finished picture from top 10 toe,
and. what is more satisfactory still. fully de-
velopcd character, with an unmstakabc destiny.
The study Of this young woman, from her first
appearance al the Salon exhibition, awkward,
crude and common 10 her last appearance on the
stage OF London theatre, in great triumph Of
tragic art, is inclined to consider the finest
and most perfect and coherent work Mr.. James
has yc, achieved. II is. besides, an exceedingly
difficult study The evolution Of histronic
genius from the rough is as delicate and arduous
task in fiction as the development OF a statue
from the block by sheer chisellng. In the growth
| and expansion of Miriam's art the progressive
| changes indicated with really consummate
| skill and snrcness Of hand. The abnormalitics
| which necessarily enter into such character as
Miriams distinguished and accounted for, also,
| with mastery completeness Of analysis The de-
| fects which belong 10 the special gifts Of great
tragic actress have never been more dispassion
| ately and scientifically catalogucd and described
The egoism, the coarseness, the moral callousness
the insusceptibiitv 10 love in any high sense arc
| no doubt necessary TO success in such n career
| as physical and nervous scnsibility, passion
| ate love Of mimctc art and that capacity for
absorption in the assumed character that mys-
tcrious gift Of insight to the poets meaning which
constitute trnc genius All these qualities. mega
tive and positive, shown forth in Miriam
Rooth, and the manner in which the author IN
| folds them one by one is strkinglv clever.
| There is a finer art in this exposition than In
the treatment Of the male characters Peter Shcr-
rington. Nick Dormer, Gabriel Nash Mr. Carterct
| and the rest for whereas the development Of
Miriam is indicated obectivcly that Of the others
| is mainly subjective. In the latter cases Mr..
| James pursucs his old methods, and gives us at
great length the intellectual processes Of his char
acters. In the former We are left to form our own
| judgments from the speech and action Of the
person-which after all, is the method TO which
mankind are ivstrictcd in real life. The psyche
logical mode Of interpreting character. while al
fordng opportunity for the display Of much
subtety and fnencss OF anaS sis. possesses the in
| herent defect intimated H. the wcll-knOwn advice
! TO young Judge not 20 give the reasons for his
| decisions Besides this defect there is also the
impossibility of wholly solating the analysed char
| acter and keeping out OF the explanations OF its
workings the idiosyncrasles Of the author. Be-
cause of this impossibility it may be said that all
such psychologist analysis is at bottom but a
more or less clever and adroit presentation OF
various phases Of our intelligence and therefore
predestincd TO a certain samcncss, which must be-
come more marked the further the analytic process
is carried. In The Tragic Muse" il is evident
that Miriam Rooth, her mother, Biddy, Lady
Agnes and Julia Dalow more natural and
Ineligible people than the men who move on the