The Ambassadors

Summary

The Ambassadors is the novel Henry James himself considered his best, published in 1903 after serialization in the North American Review. Lambert Strether, a widowed editor of fifty-five from Woollett, Massachusetts, is sent to Paris by his patroness, the wealthy widow Mrs. Newsome, whom he expects to marry. His mission is to bring home her son Chad, who has lingered in Europe for years and is presumed to have fallen into an unworthy entanglement with a woman. Strether arrives expecting corruption and instead finds Chad transformed, polished, gentle and considerate, apparently for the better through his friendship with the elegant Madame de Vionnet, a separated Frenchwoman with a daughter. Guided by the shrewd American expatriate Maria Gostrey, Strether gradually falls under the spell of Paris itself. In the garden of the sculptor Gloriani he urges young Little Bilham to live all he can, the outburst at the heart of the book. Because he fails to send Chad home, Mrs. Newsome dispatches a second set of ambassadors, her daughter Sarah Pocock with her husband and his sister Mamie, who see nothing in Paris but impropriety. Strether sides with Chad and loses his own future in Woollett. Late in the book, on a day alone in the French countryside, he comes upon Chad and Madame de Vionnet boating together and understands that their relationship is more intimate than he had allowed himself to believe. He nevertheless urges Chad not to abandon her, but Chad seems ready to return to America and to business, including advertising. Strether declines Maria Gostrey's quiet offer of a life together, saying that he must not get anything for himself out of the affair, and prepares to go home. Told almost entirely through Strether's consciousness, the novel is a study of perception and of a late awakening, and it rewards slow and patient reading by advanced students.

Plot or Argument

• Arrival

  Strether lands in England, meets Maria Gostrey, and travels to Paris to retrieve Chad Newsome.

• Paris

  He finds Chad improved and meets Madame de Vionnet; at Gloriani's garden he urges Little Bilham to live.

• The second embassy

  The Pococks arrive to take over the mission; Strether breaks with Mrs. Newsome.

• The river

  Strether discovers the true nature of Chad's relationship, urges loyalty to Madame de Vionnet, and resolves to go home alone.

Characters

• Lambert Strether, protagonist

  A middle-aged New England editor sent to Paris on a mission.

• Chad Newsome, Mrs. Newsome's son

  A young American transformed by his years in Paris.

• Madame de Vionnet, Chad's friend

  A refined, separated Frenchwoman of old family.

• Maria Gostrey, confidante

  An American expatriate who guides Strether.

• Sarah Pocock, the second ambassador

  Chad's sister, who comes to finish the mission.

• Little Bilham, young American

  An amiable young artist in Chad's circle.

Lessons

• Seeing for oneself

  Strether comes to Paris with fixed opinions and slowly learns to trust what he actually sees. James invites readers to compare his judgments at the start and the end.

  • What does Strether expect to find in Paris?
  • Which scene changes his mind most?
  • Is he finally right about Chad?

• Living fully

  Strether's advice to Little Bilham comes from regret. Students can weigh it against the duties he has neglected and the ones he keeps.

  • What does Strether mean by living?
  • Does he follow his own advice?
  • Is regret a good teacher?

• Integrity without reward

  Strether refuses to gain anything for himself. James presents a quiet moral choice that costs him both a marriage and a new love.

  • Why does Strether refuse Maria?
  • What does he gain by losing?
  • Is his choice admirable or self-defeating?

Context

The novel belongs to James's late 'major phase', with The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl, and to his long study of Americans in Europe.

Composition

James planned the novel in a detailed scenario in 1900 and published it in the North American Review in 1903 and as a book later that year.

Reception

Early readers found it difficult; later critics, following James's own preface to the New York Edition (1909), ranked it among his finest achievements.

Comparisons

• The Portrait of a Lady

  Both novels test American innocence against European experience.

• Daisy Miller

  An early, lighter James story of an American abroad misjudged by others.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• Strether's first impressions of Chad.
• The speech in Gloriani's garden.
• How the Pococks react to Paris.
• The scene by the river in the countryside.

Key terms and names

Ambassador

An envoy sent to act for someone else; here Strether and then the Pococks.

Point of view

The consciousness through which a story is told.

Expatriate

A person living outside his native country.

Major phase

Critics' name for James's last three great novels, written 1902-1904.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension Why does Mrs. Newsome send Strether to Paris?
2. Comprehension Who is Madame de Vionnet?
3. Comprehension Why do the Pococks come to Paris?
4. Interpretation What does Strether discover on his day in the country?
5. Interpretation Why does he refuse to get anything for himself?
6. Big Question Is it ever too late to change how one lives?

Faith Connections

• Ecclesiastes 9:10 (Scripture)

  Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; compare Strether's call to live.

• Matthew 7:1 (Scripture)

  Judge not; Strether learns how hasty his judgments were.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: A life closed to experience is a lost life; Strether, having missed his own youth, urges others to live, yet keeps his integrity by taking nothing for himself.

Rhetorical device: limited third-person point of view. The reader learns the truth about Chad and Madame de Vionnet only when Strether does.

Debate: Resolved: that Strether failed in his mission.

Memory Work

Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Is Strether's journey a success or a failure? Argue from his choices at the end.

Comparison with The Portrait of a Lady: Compare Strether with Isabel Archer in The Portrait of a Lady as Americans learning from Europe.

Creative Prompts

• Essay

  Trace how Strether's view of Madame de Vionnet changes over the novel.

• Dialogue

  Write the letter Strether might have sent Mrs. Newsome after his first week in Paris.

• Classroom

  Map the point of view: list what Strether knows and what he only assumes in three key scenes.

Further Reading

• The Wings of the Dove, Henry James