James is so sharp and mean in this – it’s not what I expected at all, and I kind of loved it. The story is set post-Civil War and concerns the women’s rights movement of the time. Olive Chancellor is a frigid, yet highly emotional, spinster who is obsessed with the idea of women’s suffering and oppression. She takes up a begrudging acquaintance with her Mississippian cousin Basil Ransom, who is the perhaps the least ridiculous of the three principle characters, despite being cast as the stereotypical southern gentleman who likes his women pretty, vaguely dim, and susceptible to his chivalric charm. Between them is the ingénue Verena Tarrant, a blossoming public speaker who is set to become the new face of the movement and to whom they both wish to lay claim, albeit for different reasons. And it is it on this stage that James proceeds to mercilessly make fun of everyone involved. The women are awful. Their arguments, saving those of the brusque lady-doctor, are silly and shallow. Think less Elizabeth Cady Stanton and more Legally Blonde. I wanted to shake both of them every time they opened their mouths. James’ language is wonderful; there’s a lovely line from Olive that really sums up her views of men in general: “No man that I have ever seen cares a straw in his heart for what we are trying to accomplish. They hate it; they scorn it; they will try to stamp it out whenever they can. Oh yes, I know there are men who pretend to care for it; but they are not really men, and I wouldn't be sure even of them!” So if you are against us, you’re a jerk – if you are with us, you aren’t much of a man. It’s a miracle she doesn’t win more converts in the masculine ranks.The men, primarily Ransom, are a bit better but are still at the butt end of James’ joke. I found Ransom’s chauvinism to be somewhat more palatable than Olive’s reforming, due to his honest, good-humored delivery of it. He’s undoubtedly a caricature, though: he is implacably deaf to the ideas of women’s equality, he cheerfully sees Verena as a beautiful moron, and he persists in his gallantry despite having little real feeling behind it. You’ll have to excuse another quote, but the disparity between Ranson’s outward politesse and his inward loathing toward Olive is one of my favorite examples: “…he had quitted her, the other year, without telling her that she was a vixen, and that reticence was chivalrous enough.” We should really bring back the word “vixen” – I only ever see it in nail polish names now but it always makes me laugh. I had trouble initially accepting the idea that Verena could love Basil despite his unvarnished disregard of her passionately-held opinions. The more I read, however, the less bothered I was. First, it quickly became apparent that her opinions were very easily molded by whatever strong personality exerted the most influence over her. Secondly, while his approach was patronizing and offensive, Basil’s sentiment of, ”I deplore Miss Tarrant's opinions, but her character—well, her character pleases me” would actually have been rather romantic if it had been paired with a bit more respect. The whole thing reminded me of the amusing conversations I had at my hyper-politicized college with people of violently different opinions, back when I still thought I cared about domestic politics; sometimes the eye-rolling and stern disapproval eventually would give over to the “you’re a lunatic, and possibly dangerous, but adorable” look. I always found it endearing, and I chose to assign that sort of incredulous affection to Basil rather than the more calculated sexism it could be read as. Although honestly, I guess I would probably prefer either reaction to the cold scorn and dismissal which was Olive’s approach to ideas that didn’t mesh with her own. I would love to have been able to see Henry James’ expression as he was writing some of the passages in this book. I have the impression, or anyway I’ve chosen to be under the impression, that he wrote this was a sense of amusement and not just cynicism. It’s too funny to be entirely mean-spirited. This is my third attempt at James, following The Turn of the Screw and Washington Square, and I think I may have hit my stride with this author. I will definitely be reading more.
This was an interesting novel to read. In all honesty it was serious step down from the masterpiece that precedes it, i.e., The Portrait of a Lady. Having said that though, I think James perhaps intended this book to be lighter fare than Portrait. In fact, The Bostonians is loaded with satire, irony, and a goodly number of comedic moments. The novel's plot revolves around two cousins, Olive Chancellor and Basil Ransom, and the relationship that each desires to have with a young red-headed woman of magnetic personality, Miss Verena Tarrant. Verena and Olive are both deeply involved in the suffragette movement of the 1870s in the United States. Basil Ransom is a Confederate Civil War veteran from Mississippi now trying to eke out a living as a lawyer in New York City. While the two women spend much time in the novel speechifying on their commitment to women's rights, and Basil spends much of his time jocularly refuting their positions, the novel isn't really about feminism, it is all about relationships and feelings.While Basil's efforts at establishing a romantic romantic relationship with Verena Tarrant were really rather predictable, it was the relationship between Verena and Olive that perhaps intrigued me the most. There's an ambiguity about Olive and her motives that puzzles me still, and while it might be easy to interpret Olive's feelings for Verena as a quasi-homosexual love, I also think that interpretation might mostly miss the mark. It is my understanding that it was this novel that actually gave rise to the term "Boston Marriage" describing the relationship of two unmarried women living together.Finally, as I sit here and process my thoughts upon completing the novel, I have come to the conclusion that both Olive and Basil use and manipulate Verena for their own purpose. Verena, in my opinion, when she is first encountered by Olive and Basil, is brimming with the "Joy of Life" and is absolutely true to herself and her own feelings. Through the course of the novel she falls prey to the machinations and manipulations of both cousins, and ultimately ends up becoming in many ways much more like each of them. And I'm not sure that this is best for Verena.Before I settle on my final verdict for James's The Bostonians, I would like to read it again sometime. I really do think there are a lot of undertones lurking about in this tale that can only be ferreted out upon subsequent reads. This is most definitely a historical novel, and some knowledge about the suffragette movement and spiritualism of the 1870s and life in post-Civil War America would surely help the reader put many of the themes and discussion topics in context.
What do You think about The Bostonians (2003)?
Verena Tarrant is an innocent young woman who resides in Cambridge, MA at the turn of the 20th century. Olive wants to exploit Verena's social connections and gift for public speaking to promote her political ideology. Olive's cousin Basil has fallen in love with Verena and wants to make her his wife. Lurking in the background is poor-but-honest Henry, Verena's true love. This was not an easy book for me to get through - a bit wordy and the pace, at times, a bit of a crawl. However, I did enjoy the historical aspects of the early suffrage movement and turn-of-the-century Boston. The way the author was able to satirize the "upper crust" Brahmans of Boston was also very entertaining.
—Melinda
What a fascinating story of women's emancipation and liberation, combined with the desire to love and be loved. One man is driven to love and he sees that the love of his life will slip through his hands if he does not stop the madness of his cousin's claim on his love's time for a cause, a strong power of persuasion and a pull from both sides. Can a woman be in love, and be free? Can there be liberation and marriage? These were the questions of the day that Henry James wanted to address and to write about.
—Andrea
Just lost my input! Have been on a Henry James streak: The Bostonians, The Wings of the Dove, The Portrait of a Lady Am enjoying comparing characters across the novels, immersing self in the attitudes and manners of turn-of-the-twentieth century, and dueling with that mind of James. Here I was reminded that feminist leaders had been honed by abolition issues, that Southern sensibilities of its white plantation owners were still rooted in chivalry and efforts at adaptation to new sources of livelihood, that paranormal spirituality was rampart in its forms of the time, that sexuality was strong but treated in much more veiled ways, that Cape Cod was far more rural. (I especially enjoyed many of the descriptions of the surroundings there, as well as on Harvard campus and the contrast in the salons of Boston and New York.) I made heavy use of Meaning in Henry James by Millicent Bell and The Cambridge Companion to Henry James edited by Jonathan Freedman to support my reading -- using them like reading with another mind looking at the same material and providing her/his perspectives.
—Lily
