The Wings of the Dove
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This is the article about the novel. For the film adapted from James' novel, see The Wings of the Dove (film).
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| Cover of 2003 Norton edition of The Wings of the Dove | |
| Author | Henry James |
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| Country | United Kingdom, United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Archibald Constable & Co., London Charles Scribner's Sons, New York City |
| Released | Constable: 30-Aug-1902 Scribner's: 21-Aug-1902 |
| Media Type | |
| Pages | Constable: 576 Scribner's: volume one, 329; volume two, 439 |
| ISBN | NA |
The Wings of the Dove is a 1902 novel by Henry James. One of the masterpieces of James' final period, this novel tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her impact on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honorable motives, while others are more self-interested.
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[edit] Plot summary
Kate Croy and Merton Densher are two engaged Londoners who desperately want to marry but have very little money. Kate is constantly put upon by family troubles, and is now living with her domineering aunt, Maud Lowder. Into their world comes Milly Theale, an enormously rich young American woman who had previously met and fallen in love with Densher, though she didn't reveal her feelings. Her travelling companion and confidante, Mrs. Stringham, is an old friend of Maud's. Kate and Aunt Maud welcome Milly to London, and the American heiress enjoys great social success.
With Kate as a companion, Milly goes to see an eminent physician, Sir Luke Strett, because she's afraid that she is suffering from an incurable disease. The doctor is noncommittal but Milly fears the worst. Kate suspects that Milly is deathly ill. After the trip to America where he had met Milly, Densher returns to find the heiress in London. Kate wants Densher to pay as much attention as possible to Milly, though at first he doesn't quite know why. Kate has been careful to conceal from Milly (and everybody else) that she and Densher are engaged.
With the threat of serious illness hanging over her, Milly decides to travel to Venice with Mrs. Stringham. Aunt Maud, Kate and Densher follow her. At a party Milly gives in her Venice palazzo, Kate finally reveals her complete plan to Densher: he is to marry Milly so that, after her presumably soon-to-occur death, Densher will inherit the money they can marry on. Densher had suspected this was Kate's idea, and he demands that she consummate their affair before he'll go along with her plan.
Which Kate does, memorably. Aunt Maud and Kate return to London while Densher remains with Milly. Unfortunately, the dying girl learns from a former suitor of Kate's about the plot to get her money. She "turns her face to the wall" and grows very ill. Densher sees her one last time before he leaves for London, where he eventually receives news of Milly's death. Milly does leave him a large amount of money despite everything. But Densher won't touch the money, and he won't marry Kate unless she also refuses the bequest. Kate decides that she must have the money, which Densher offers to give her, even though she loses Densher as a result. The inheritance separates the lovers forever.
[edit] Major themes
A simple statement of the involved, soap-operish plot doesn't begin to express the richness and beauty of what many consider James' greatest novel. Milly's struggle to "achieve, however briefly and brokenly, the sense of having lived" in the short time allotted to her is presented with deep sympathy that never tumbles into the maudlin.
There's no question that Milly is based on Minny Temple (1845-1870), James' beloved cousin who died from tuberculosis. In his autobiography James said that The Wings of the Dove was his attempt to wrap her memory in the "beauty and dignity of art." But as he also said in the preface to the New York Edition text of the novel, James had to prepare the situation that was to occupy Milly for the last months of her life. He succeeded admirably in building up the background of Kate and Densher's inability to marry because of a lack of money.
Kate is a vivid character from the start, a beautiful, ambitious and not overly scrupulous young woman who is admittedly much interested in the finer things of life. Densher is not presented as an especially strong figure at first, but he grows into brilliant significance as he finally rebels against Kate's grasping at Milly's wealth.
The three central characters are surrounded by what might be the best supporting cast James ever created. Maud Lowder is every bit as forceful as her name would suggest. Mrs. Stringham never falters as Milly's best (and sometimes only) friend. Kate's father is a completely perverse ne'er-do-well, and her sister is a bitter, disappointed widow. Even Sir Luke Street emerges as a strong, capable doctor who understands that illness is sometimes not just physiological.
The Wings of the Dove becomes a profound meditation on the greatest themes of literature: life, love and death. Starting with what could have been a silly plot in lesser hands, the novel transcends storyline details and creates drama of the most genuinely affecting kind.
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
Despite the inevitable dissenters, The Wings of the Dove has achieved one of the strongest critical positions of any of James' works. Ironically, one of the dissenters, at least to some extent, might have been the author himself. In his preface to the New York Edition, James spent much time confessing to supposed faults in the novel: defective structure, characters not as well presented as they could be, and a general failure to realize his initial plan for the book.
By and large, critics have regarded these faults as venial or nonexistent. Instead, they've concentrated on the magnificent central characters and supporting cast, and the superb technique that James uses in their presentation. James' "principal tragedy," as critics have called it, retains its ability to move readers with the classic emotions of pity and fear.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The Wings of the Dove was filmed in 1997. Ian Softley directed, with Helena Bonham Carter as Kate Croy, Alison Elliott as Milly Theale, and Linus Roache as Merton Densher. The movie got mostly favorable reviews and did decent business at the box office. Helena Bonham Carter received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress. The film garnered many other awards nominations and won several prizes.
[edit] References
- The Wings of the Dove: Authoritative Text, The Author and the Novel, Criticism edited by J. Donald Crowley and Richard Hocks (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003) ISBN 0-393-97881-8
- The Novels of Henry James by Edward Wagenknecht (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1983) ISBN 0-8044-2959-6
- The Novels of Henry James by Oscar Cargill (New York: Macmillan Co., 1961)
