What did you think of "The Aspern Papers"? Whom did you sympathize with: the narrator, seeking his literary holy grail? Miss Bordereau, guarding her cherished memories? Miss Tita, trying to find a life for herself?
I absolutely love this novella. (I love this assortment of American characters knocking about Europe for so long that they "lose" their national identity — and just become "essential" people/types. This is a feature of other works I've read by James).
Great question about sympathies. I sympathized with all of them! It's so great how he gets you to see how they are all scoundrels in one way or another (though not really villains). I guess I really wanted the narrator to succeed, to get the letters, to demonstrate that historic integrity is more important than personal vanity, and yet beholding the clash of wills is so riveting that you kind of root for the old lady (and Miss Tita), too.
I guess I was rooting for the narrator, even though I could understand Miss Bordereau's position if the letters were especially personal and intimate. At the end, though, I felt pretty sorry for Miss Tita. And it almost felt like she had "won" at the end when she announced she had burned the papers.
I absolutely love this novella. (I love this assortment of American characters knocking about Europe for so long that they "lose" their national identity — and just become "essential" people/types. This is a feature of other works I've read by James).
ReplyDeleteGreat question about sympathies. I sympathized with all of them! It's so great how he gets you to see how they are all scoundrels in one way or another (though not really villains). I guess I really wanted the narrator to succeed, to get the letters, to demonstrate that historic integrity is more important than personal vanity, and yet beholding the clash of wills is so riveting that you kind of root for the old lady (and Miss Tita), too.
I guess I was rooting for the narrator, even though I could understand Miss Bordereau's position if the letters were especially personal and intimate. At the end, though, I felt pretty sorry for Miss Tita. And it almost felt like she had "won" at the end when she announced she had burned the papers.
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