American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology

Number: 10 October 1, 1999
Hasan Al-zubi
EN

American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology

Abstract

As students of nineteenth-century American literature know, one issue that has aroused controversy is whether Henry James was, at least during the decade of the 1880s, a Zolaesque naturalist or not. The strongest argument comes from Sergio Perosa who writes that “James . . . for some time at least, felt at heart, and was in his fictional practice, a full-fledged scientific ‘naturalist’ in the sense that [Émile] Zola had given to those terms” 18 . Donald Pizer in turn casts James as a naturalist when he states that James incorporates naturalistic themes in his later fiction, depicting life as “extraordinary and sensational rather than as placid and commonplace” xii . In more general terms, Edwin Fussell explains James’s factual “depth” and “detail” in French morals, culture and ideology as “the French side of Henry James” 115-116 ; while Richard Grant maintains that “Mr. James does not belong to the English school English and American being in literature but one , but rather to the French. His cast of thought is French” qtd. in Pollak 2-3 . Finally, Philip Grover prudently considers the influence of Zola to be a minor one, although acknowledging its existence 87, 94, 117, 151 .

References

  1. Adams, Brooks. The Law of Civilization and Decay: An Essay on History. New York: Knopf, 1943.
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  4. Barnett, L. K. “James’s Feminism—Women in ‘Daisy Miller’.” Studies in Short Fiction 16 (1979): 281-287.
  5. Barzun, Jacques. “Henry James, Melodramatist.” The Question of Henry James: A Collection of Critical Essays. New York: H. Holt and Company, 1945. 254-268.
  6. Beizer, Janet L. “Uncovering Nana: The Courtesan’s New Clothes.” French Studies. Vol. 22. No. 1 (1993): 45-56.
  7. Bell, M. D. “Naturalism and Skepticism.” Philosophy 65 (1990): 399-481.
  8. Berland, Alwyn. Culture and Conduct in the Novels of Henry James. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
  9. Blaire, Sara. “Changing the Subject: Henry James, Dred Scott, and Fictions of Reality.” American Literary History 4 (1992): 28-55.
  10. Blaire, Sara. Henry James and the Writing of Race and Nation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
APA
Al-zubi, H. (1999). American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, 10, 17-37. https://izlik.org/JA43GT84DL
AMA
1.Al-zubi H. American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology. JAST. 1999;(10):17-37. https://izlik.org/JA43GT84DL
Chicago
Al-zubi, Hasan. 1999. “American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, nos. 10: 17-37. https://izlik.org/JA43GT84DL.
EndNote
Al-zubi H (October 1, 1999) American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology. Journal of American Studies of Turkey 10 17–37.
IEEE
[1]H. Al-zubi, “American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology”, JAST, no. 10, pp. 17–37, Oct. 1999, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA43GT84DL
ISNAD
Al-zubi, Hasan. “American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey. 10 (October 1, 1999): 17-37. https://izlik.org/JA43GT84DL.
JAMA
1.Al-zubi H. American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology. JAST. 1999;:17–37.
MLA
Al-zubi, Hasan. “American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 10, Oct. 1999, pp. 17-37, https://izlik.org/JA43GT84DL.
Vancouver
1.Hasan Al-zubi. American Realism versus French Naturalism: Henry James, Émile Zola and the Negotiation of Ideology. JAST [Internet]. 1999 Oct. 1;(10):17-3. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA43GT84DL