Henry James

Explore 12 quotes by Henry James

Experience is never limited, and it is never complete; it is an immense sensibility, a kind of huge spider-web of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness, and catching every air-borne particle in its tissue.

Henry James

More information about this quote

Topic

Experience

Author

Henry James

Source

The Art of Fiction Longman's Magazine

Medium

Essay Magazine

Language

English

Time

1884 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. "The Art of Fiction." Longman's Magazine. London: C. J. Longman, 4 Sept. 1884.

Current Citation

James, Henry. "The Art of Fiction." The Portable Henry James. Penguin Classics, 2003.

Sorrow comes in great waves—no one can know that better than you—but it rolls over us, and though it may almost smother us it leaves us on the spot, and we know that if it is strong we are stronger, inasmuch as it passes and we remain. It wears us, uses us, but we wear it and use it in return; and it is blind, whereas we after a manner see.

Henry James

More information about this quote

Topic

Learning from suffering Suffering

Author

Henry James

Source

Letters of Henry James

Medium

Letter

Statement Type

Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

English

Time

1883 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. Letter to Grace Norton. 28 July 1883.

Current Citation

James, Henry. "July 28th [1883] To Grace Norton." The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1883-1884, edited by Michael Anesko and Greg W. Zacharias. Vol. 1, University of Nebraska Press, 2018.

In art economy is always beauty.

Henry James

More information about this quote

Topic

Beauty in simplicity Simplicity

Author

Henry James

Source

Terminations

Language

English

Time

1895 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. Terminations. London: William Heinemann/New York City: Harper & Brothers, 1895, preface.

Current Citation

James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw and Other Stories, edited by T. J. Lustig. Oxford University Press, 2008, preface.

We work in the dark—we do what we can—we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.

Henry James

More information about this quote

Topic

Creation Creativity Art

Speaker

Dencombe

Author

Henry James

Source

The Middle Years Scribner's Magazine

Medium

Short story Magazine

Language

English

Time

1893 1890s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. "The Middle Years." Scribner's Magazine. New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893.

Current Citation

James, Henry. "The Middle Years." Henry James: Complete Stories 1892-1898. Vol. 4. Library of America, 1996.

The real offence, as she ultimately perceived, was her having a mind of her own at all. Her mind was to be his—attached to his own like a small garden-plot to a deer-park.

Henry James

The Atlantic Monthly/Macmillan's Magazine

Buy The Portrait of a Lady at Amazon Buy The Portrait of a Lady at Amazon
Read The Portrait of a Lady at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Oppression of women Men and women

Author

Henry James

Source

The Portrait of a Lady The Atlantic Monthly/Macmillan's Magazine

Medium

Novel Magazine

Language

English

Time

1881 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. "The Portrait of a Lady." The Atlantic Monthly/Macmillan's Magazine, 1880–81.

Current Citation

James, Henry. The Portrait of a Lady, edited by Roger Luckhurst. Oxford University Press, 2009.

The war has used up words.

Henry James

More information about this quote

Topic

World War I Horrors of war War

Author

Henry James

Source

Henry James's First Interview The New York Times

Medium

Interview Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1915 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

James, Henry. "Henry James's First Interview," interviewed by Preston Lockwood. New York Times, 21 Mar. 1915

Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that what have you had?

Henry James

North American Review

More information about this quote

Topic

Carpe diem Living life to the fullest Life

Speaker

Lewis Lambert Strether

Author

Henry James

Source

The Ambassadors North American Review

Medium

Novel Magazine

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1903 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. "The Ambassadors." North American Review, 1903.

Current Citation

James, Henry. The Ambassadors, edited by Christopher Butler. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 5.

I shall never marry; I regard that now as an established fact, and on the whole a very respectable one; I am both happy enough and miserable enough, as it is, and don't wish to add to either side of the account.

Henry James

More information about this quote

Topic

Single life Marriage Relationships

Author

Henry James

Source

Letters of Henry James

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1884 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. Letter to Grace Norton. 3 Nov. 1884.

Current Citation

James, Henry. "November 3 [1883] To Grace Norton." The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1883–1884, edited by Michael Anesko and Greg W. Zacharias. Vol. 2, University of Nebraska Press, 2019.

Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.

Henry James

The Atlantic Monthly/Macmillan's Magazine

Buy The Portrait of a Lady at Amazon Buy The Portrait of a Lady at Amazon
Read The Portrait of a Lady at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Tea

Author

Henry James

Source

The Portrait of a Lady The Atlantic Monthly/Macmillan's Magazine

Medium

Novel Magazine

Language

English

Time

1881 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. "The Portrait of a Lady." The Atlantic Monthly/Macmillan's Magazine, 1880–81.

Current Citation

James, Henry. The Portrait of a Lady, edited by Roger Luckhurst. Oxford University Press, 2009.

The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent life.

Henry James

More information about this quote

Topic

Purpose of literature Novels

Author

Henry James

Source

The Art of Fiction Longman's Magazine

Medium

Essay Magazine

Language

English

Time

1884 1880s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. "The Art of Fiction." Longman's Magazine. London: C. J. Longman, 4 Sept. 1884.

Current Citation

James, Henry. "The Art of Fiction." The Portable Henry James. Penguin Classics, 2003.

It's a complex fate, being an American, and one of the responsibilities it entails is fighting against a superstitious valuation of Europe.

Henry James

More information about this quote

Topic

America and Europe

Author

Henry James

Source

Letters of Henry James

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1872 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

James, Henry. Letter to Charles Eliot Norton. 4 Feb. 1872.

Current Citation

James, Henry. Henry James: A Life in Letters, edited by Philip Horne. Penguin Classics, 2001.