Henry James's The Golden Bowl, arguably the most intricate and difficult of his novels, begins in London, as Prince Amerigo, a charming, though impecunious, Italian aristocrat is about to wed Maggie Verver. She is the daughter of Adam, an art collector of vast wealth. While in the city, he has run into Charlotte Stanton, Maggie's oldest friend, but also, unbeknownst to Maggie, a former lover. Together they shop for a wedding gift for his prospective bride.
Once the couple is married, Maggie becomes concerned about her father's isolation now that she is no longer living with him. At his daughter's suggestion, Adam asks Charlotte to marry him, and she accepts. As the novel develops, it becomes clearer that the emotional bond between father and daughter is quite deep, and Amerigo and Charlotte often find themselves thrown together by circumstances. As time passes, it becomes increasingly difficult for the former lovers to deny their renewed feelings for one another.
One day, Maggie visits the shop where Amerigo had bought her wedding gift and buys a golden bowl that her husband had rejected. The owner, feeling that he overcharged her for the bowl, goes to her home to make amends. While there, he notices pictures of Amerigo and Charlotte on the wall and tells Maggie that he saw them flirting while in his shop.
Her suspicions confirmed, Maggie confronts Amerigo, who admits the truth of her words. Intent on preserving her marriage, she skillfully maneuvers to keep her husband and Charlotte apart, and she later convinces Adam to return to America with his wife. Amerigo, who had married what he thought was a naive woman only for her money, is filled with admiration for her intellect and the depth of her insight into human nature.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
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