Dearly Beloved Friends: Henry James's Letters to Younger Men by Henry James, Susan E. Gunter, and Steven H. Jobe, and: The Nature of True Virtue: Theology, Psychology, and Politics in the Writings of Henry James, Sr., Henry James, Jr., and William James by James Duban, and: (review)

Abstract

avenues of entry such studymight follow and as a blueprintfor futurescholarswho would continue this work. NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY, NY THOMAS MARCH DearlyBeloved Friends: Henry James'sLetters to Younger Men.Ed. by SUSAN E. GUNTER and STEVEN H. JOBE.Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 2002. xxiii + 249 pp. $29.95; ?21.50. ISBN:0-472-II009-8. TheNatureof TrueVirtue: Theology, Psychology, andPoliticsin theWritings ofHenry James, Sr., Henry James, Jr., and William James. By JAMESDUBAN. Cranbury, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; London: Associated University Presses. 2001. 261 pp. [35. ISBN:0-8386-3888-0. Susan Gunter and StevenJobe's collection of HenryJames's lettersto four younger men is a welcome and necessarycompanion book to the numerousrecent academic studies exploring the personal and fictive varieties of James's same-sex emotional experiences. In the introduction the editors argue that what differentiatesthese letters from thoseJames sent to women is the language, which, rather than being just affectionate or domestic, takes a more corporeal and even erotic substance. Language here becomes the medium for expressing physical desire -touching, holding, and caressing-thus enablingJames to embody differentroles (paternal, fraternal, or erotic), which enriched his sexual and emotional experience and possibly eliminated the loneliness of his later life. The lettersto HendrikAndersen,however, ratherthan providingthe readerwith clues about James's erotic life, remain on the level of the affectionate.James addressesAndersen as 'beloved' or 'my dear, dear Hendrik' and often wishes the latterwere situatedcloser in distance so as to 'lay [his] hands on [him]' (p. 52) but, we sense, in a paternalor brotherlyway, asJames's wish is alwaysto console, nurse, or comfort the ailing Andersen for the bitternessof his misfortunes.Nevertheless, the letters are valuable in another sense. While, surprisingly, James's own work is never discussed between the two correspondents,James's criticism of Andersen's work is profuse and intriguing, reflecting the novelist'sviews concerning his own relationto the market.Telling isJames's admonitionto the sculptorto stop working for himself.DescribingAndersen'slabouras a kind of 'lonelyinsanity'(p. 6i),James condemns it for its lack of marketabilityand advises his young friend to abandon his 'brilliantcastlesin the air' (p. 73)and cure his 'maniafor the colossal'(p. 7I),for the sake of consideringthe possible use or applicationof his art. James's letterstoJocelyn Persse,which are describedby the editors as 'the most erotic' (p. 84), are indeed more sensual in nature. However, read in context and in relation to Persse'sbiographicaldetails, provided in this collection, they exhibit the novelist's strong desire to partake, vicariously through animated language, of the young man's passionate lifestyle.Persse's'thrillof life' (p. 98), which, asJames enviously acknowledges,could be applied everywhere,at every time, and to every thing, strongly contrastswithJames's more critical attitude to life, which at times hindered his enjoyment.Moreover, the passagewhich the editorsdeem most erotic ('I remember how when I last saw you I wanted to breathe upon you an entirely cooling affection' (p. 99)), read in context (Perssewas on one of his regularhunting tripsto Peebles, whichJames constantlydesignatesas 'passionatePeebles'),has less avenues of entry such studymight follow and as a blueprintfor futurescholarswho would continue this work. NEW SCHOOL UNIVERSITY, NY THOMAS MARCH DearlyBeloved Friends: Henry James'sLetters to Younger Men.Ed. by SUSAN E. GUNTER and STEVEN H. JOBE.Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 2002. xxiii + 249 pp. $29.95; ?21.50. ISBN:0-472-II009-8. TheNatureof TrueVirtue: Theology, Psychology, andPoliticsin theWritings ofHenry James, Sr., Henry James, Jr., and William James. By JAMESDUBAN. Cranbury, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; London: Associated University Presses. 2001. 261 pp. [35. ISBN:0-8386-3888-0. Susan Gunter and StevenJobe's collection of HenryJames's lettersto four younger men is a welcome and necessarycompanion book to the numerousrecent academic studies exploring the personal and fictive varieties of James's same-sex emotional experiences. In the introduction the editors argue that what differentiatesthese letters from thoseJames sent to women is the language, which, rather than being just affectionate or domestic, takes a more corporeal and even erotic substance. Language here becomes the medium for expressing physical desire -touching, holding, and caressing-thus enablingJames to embody differentroles (paternal, fraternal, or erotic), which enriched his sexual and emotional experience and possibly...