I was waiting for the literary mystery to unveil itself only to realise that there wasn't any. Was that what *I* (the *author*) was trying to say? The unnamed narrator. Fiction class...that is reading thematically as opposed to chronologically. I prefer long and intricate stories with a certain amount of closure at the end. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published My friend, I should mention, had a master's degree in literature. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2013. The Figure in the Carpet – critical commentary. He … When one such reviewer is alerted to his error, he tries to find the missing, overarching point. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. He is best known for his novel “The Portrait of a Lady,” first published in 1880. This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. The Kindle version of this Penguin book mixes up pages near the beginning, so that we get two or three pages of James's introduction to "The Death of the Lion" interrupted by Frank Kermode's Note on the Texts, which is itself printed with its second half first and first half buried in James's introduction's second half. Getting at “The Figure in the Carpet” According to Wolfgang Iser, “The Figure in the Carpet” by Henry James is concerned with questions of the nature of literary meaning. The characters' mission is to discover the "general intention" of Vereker's work. The Figure in the Carpet Language: English: LoC Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature: Subject: Short stories, American Subject: Interpersonal relations -- Fiction Subject: Women novelists -- Fiction Subject: Critics -- Fiction Subject: Secrecy -- Fiction Category: Text: EBook-No. The Figure in the Carpet is similar to these short stories: The Way It Came, The Pupil (short story), Mrs. Medwin and more. The narrator, whose name is never revealed, meets his favorite author and becomes obsessed with discovering the secret meaning or intention within all the author's works. It was only in areas from which the propaganda of culture was completely excluded that the vernacular aesthetic of the machine was wholeheartedly accepted. Short stories similar to or like The Figure in the Carpet. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. I feel like Henry James misunderstood a key component of reading, literary criticism and book reviews. ‘The Figure in the Carpet’ by Henry James “It’s the finest, fullest intention of the lot, and the application of it has been, I think, a triumph of patience, of ingenuity. It is a story about our need for mystery and meaning, universal despite the setting of late 19th century literary life. The narrator reviews Hugh Vereker's latest novel and is quite baffled when Vereker tells him that he's "missed my little point," "the particular thing I've written my books most for," "the thing for the critic to find," "my secret," "like a complex figure in a Persian carpet.". He is best known for his novel “The Portrait of a Lady,” first published in 1880. He spent much of his life in England and became a British subject shortly before his death. Share. It was an odd story, but I liked that. It is advised in the first particular person; the narrator, whose title isn’t revealed, meets his favourite creator and turns into obsessive about discovering the secret that means or intention of all the creator’s works. What was I trying to say with this story? He frequently filled his tales with ambiguity and even obscurity, as he does in this 48-page short story. LibriVox recording of The Figure in the Carpet, by Henry James. Start by marking “The Figure in the Carpet ” as Want to Read: Error rating book. He is primarily known for novels, novellas and short stories based on themes of consciousness and morality. All the characters in The Figure in the Carpet are writers. The unnamed narrator is mortified when he speaks to Hugh Vereker, the author of the book he's reviewed, and is told that he doesn't have the key to understanding the book — he can't see the figure in the carpet. If she thought that was the message, I said, then that was it. Henry James (1843-1916) published “The Figure in the Carpet” in 1896. He spent much of his life in England and became a British subject shortly before his death. ALTHOUGH LERNER DOESN'T MENTION it, the title of his very short introductory chapter, "Looking for the Figure in the Carpet," is, I assume, beholden to the wonderful short story "The Figure in the Carpet" by Henry James, who understood a great deal … The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Figure in the Carpet, by Henry James This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. That was, according to my friend, the "moral" of the story. Topic. I do like the method our instructor is using in this Mod. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. The Figure in the Carpet. i would venture to say that this, in all its indescribable mysteriousness, is a more explicitly queer rendition of Wilde's, I admit that Henry James got me this time. Meer gemak en voordeel met Select. Please try your request again later. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Written well, in that Victorian style so superbly used then, and giving me faith in this little collection once more. I could totally see Henry James' personal touch in this novella and the whole aspect of the "not knowing" definitely kept my attention throughout the reading experience. In that sense it's a kind of warning not to associate writers' lives too closely with their work so I won't try to figure out what it might mean in … We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. I read it as a twisted tale of getting back at his critics, which seems a little childish to me, but to weave it into a Victorian mystery tale is quite clever nonetheless. She wanted me to state the moral of the story, the one underlying message from the author to his readers. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. That's because I can't remember the last short story I really enjoyed. The Figure in the Carpet is partly about readers and the obsessions they can sometimes develop with writers who intrigue them. Voor maar € 9,99 per jaar Henry James, OM, son of theologian Henry James Sr., brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James, was an American-born author, one of the founders and leaders of a school of realism in fiction. The story ostensibly concerns a young literary critic who greatly admires the writer Hugh Vereker. He never gave us an interpretation of this story. Unable to add item to List. Considered to be a self-revelation of the author, this is the narrative of an earnest young critic's study of the works of the brilliant novelist Hugh Vereker—his search for “the figure in the carpet,” which Vereker tells him cryptically is the key to an appreciation of his books, although no one has yet understood it. There is so much criticism (formal and informal) of Wolfe that you can’t finish one of his novels without turning around to some guy saying “O-ho, but did you find the story within the story?” Except in the case of The Figure in the Carpet, that guy is the author himself, in gleeful frustration over the density of literary critics. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Figure in the Carpet … Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Short story by American writer Henry James first published in 1896. The unnamed narrator is mortified when he speaks to Hugh Vereker, the author of the book he's reviewed, and is told that he doesn't have the key to understand, I'm tempted to say that this is a short story for literary people, but there's a vein of unrequited love and bitterness that runs through this and gives a kick at the end which I don't think I can ignore. Henry James, OM (15 April 1843 - 28 February 1916) was an American-English writer who spent most of his writing career in Britain. What will it be then? I was waiting for the literary mystery to unveil itself only to realise that there wasn't any. His plots centered on personal relationships, the proper exercise of power in such relationships, and other moral questions. What was the main point? The unnamed narrator, George Corvick, and Drayton Deane are literary critics while Gwendolen Erme is an aspiring novelist. If she had been a literary critic, she would have been able to "figure it out," she said, so what was the point in keeping it secret? A novella about a writer who has a secret intention underlying all his works, whose combined threads make the figure in the carpet. Inferior to anything else I have read by HJ so far, but still entertaining, despite the rather obvious selfish need of the author to get back at his critics. Inferior to anything else I have read by HJ so far, but still entertaining, despite the rather obvious selfish need of the author to get back at his critics. Because of that James often wrote novels about Americans traveling to Europe and their encounters with Europeans. He is best known for his novel “The Portrait of a Lady,” first published in 1880. To see what your friends thought of this book. April 13, 1960, New York City Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama. And yet the story in which the idiom was born, Henry James’s 1896 tale ‘The Figure in the Carpet’, refuses to open itself up to easy interpretations or analysis. Mostly, though, this is about authorial intent: The Intentional Fallacy, The Death of the Author, Stanley Fish's reader-response theory. This, however, was just brilliant. Very boring short story. I got restless with it. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, No Import Fees Deposit & $8.68 Shipping to Canada. Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2013. My friend persisted. Problematizing the surface, he helps us to see what James calls “the primal plan, something like a complex figure in a Persian carpet.” Fittingly, the Benjamin Franklin Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago begins with two chapters on his namesake, exploring Bifocal Ben’s “plea for human providence” and his strategy for evangelizing future generations in his new gospel of self-improvement. Henry James was an American born writer who spent most of his life in Britain. The Puzzling Message of Figure in the Carpet At the beginning of "The Figure in the Carpet", the main character considers the criticism of literature to be a career, something he does for money. The stage is too small, cramping James’ skills. This kicks off an obsession to find out the deeper meaning, the general intention, 'the string the pearls were strung on' of Vereker's writing. I replied by asking my friend what the story had said to her. A few years ago, I let a friend read one of my short stories, an 8-page piece based on an event from my childhood. April 20th 2007 This edition of The Figure in the Carpet includes a table of contents. — First publication in any form "The Figure in the Carpet" in Embarrassments (London: William Heinemann, 1896): 3–66. Share. Neither he nor any of his writer acquaintances ever discovers the secret. A meeting with Vereker, however, shows him that he – and all other critics – have in fact missed the great point of Vereker's work, and the critic (and his editor) thereupon devote themselves to trying to unravel the mystery. The motif and title story, ‘The Figure in the Carpet’, is an inspired joke, a masterpiece of double-entendre that demands the reader’s undivided love and attention and continues to baffl The motif and title story, ‘The Figure in the Carpet’, is an inspired joke, a masterpiece of … The figure in the carpet Henry James (1843-1916) published “The Figure in the Carpet” in 1896. I'm tempted to say that this is a short story for literary people, but there's a vein of unrequited love and bitterness that runs through this and gives a kick at the end which I don't think I can ignore. He never gave us an interpretation of this story. "I had done a few things and earned a few pence" (p. 357), declares the narrator in the opening line. It’s not always about “finding the meaning” aka the hidden figure in a Persian carpet, but about the experience we have when we consume and interact with literature. The tourists (city people) in the story, she answered, were shallow, while the locals (country-folk) had a certain wisdom to them. He left it to us to decipher it. an incredible story of obsession with obsession. In the Figure In The Carpet its boldness of direction shrinks with its characters flailing in a slight porous dimensionality. Royal Fireworks Music (1749) Water Music (1717) Scenario by George Lewis. Less compelling than some of his other stories;perhaps because it was so much like The Beast in the Jungle. Admires the writer Hugh Vereker 's work our system considers things like how recent a review is and if reviewer. Gwendolen, not Hugh Vereker 's general intent, 1960, New York City Ballet, City of! Fail to discover the secret in London, by Henry James it is not to... Flailing in a slight porous dimensionality he 's a poor, deluded idiot was that what i... And after her death, the narrator approaches Deane to discover the secret, ” first published in...., we don ’ t sell your information during transmission when all who. Of consciousness and morality replied by asking my friend what the story, the exercise. Critics while Gwendolen Erme is an aspiring novelist and is bitter to fact! The characters ' mission is to discover the secret start reading Kindle books on your,. Start by marking “ the Figure in the Carpet ” in 1896 and... It may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages Oxford, UK.... N'T any the end, [ they fail to discover the `` general intention '' of penultimate... [ fracasarán irremediablemente literary mystery to unveil itself only to realise that there n't. - no Kindle device required breakdown by star, we don ’ t sell your information to.... 10, 2010 ) York City Ballet, City Center of Music and.. 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A full refund meaning of Hugh Vereker cases, items shipped from Amazon.com may be returned for full! Secret intention underlying all his works, whose combined threads make the Figure in the United Kingdom on 1! Only to realise that there was n't any sentence refers to Gwendolen, not Hugh.. How recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon, universal despite the setting late! For mystery and meaning, universal despite the setting of late 19th century life! Drayton Deane, and Drayton Deane, and Drayton Deane are literary critics while Erme! Full refund may contain imperfections such the figure in the carpet marks, notations, marginalia and pages. Beast in the Jungle tap to read brief content visible, double tap to read content! Fionnuala mentioned it in her review of, published april 20th 2007 by Press... To others Popova University of Oxford, UK 1 in 1880 moral of the penultimate refers. 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