Work record

The American

Name: The American
Author: Henry James

Henry James

1877 · 19th Century · Novel · English

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Abstract

Written: 1875-1877
Setting: 1868; Paris and the Bellegarde chateau at Fleurières
Author: Henry James
Country: United States / France
Language: English
Genre: Novel of manners
Form: Novel in 26 chapters
Recommended: Grades 10–12 (Clear early-James prose; a good first James novel for high school.)

Hero. A wealthy businessman from San Francisco and the American West, freshly retired at about thirty-five, settles in Paris intending to enjoy art and find a splendid wife to crown his success.

Courtship. Friends introduce him to a widowed daughter of an old aristocratic house. He woos her frankly; her proud mother and brother tolerate him for his money, and her younger brother becomes his warm friend.

Reversal. The family abruptly cancels the match because they cannot stomach a man of trade. The friendly brother is killed in a foolish duel, and the bride withdraws behind the walls of a Carmelite convent.

Secret. An old servant tells the jilted suitor that the mother and elder son hastened the death of the late Marquis, and gives him written proof that could ruin them socially.

Ending. He visits the family, frightens them, and then throws the document into a fire, choosing restraint over vengeance. James's early international novel ends with loss rather than marriage, a moral victory for its honest hero.

For readers. This early, readable James novel is a good first step toward his harder late books. Students can compare its frank businessman hero with later Americans abroad, and debate whether giving up revenge is weakness or strength.

Main characters

Christopher Newman: A self-made American businessman.
Claire de Cintré: A gentle widow of the Bellegarde family.
Valentin de Bellegarde: A charming younger son who befriends Newman.
Madame de Bellegarde: Claire's proud and ruthless mother.
Urbain de Bellegarde: Claire's cold elder brother.
Mrs. Bread: An old English servant who knows the family secret.

Summary

The American, serialized in the Atlantic Monthly in 1876-77, is Henry James's early novel of a self-made American meeting the old aristocracy of France. Christopher Newman, about thirty-five, has made a fortune in manufacturing and business in the American West and comes to Paris to enjoy it. In the Louvre he buys a copy of a painting from the pretty copyist Noémie Nioche, and he tells his friends the Tristrams that what he wants now is a wife, a great woman, the best article in the market. Mrs. Tristram introduces him to her friend Claire de Cintré, a gentle widow of the ancient and proud Bellegarde family. Newman courts her openly and honestly, and the Bellegardes, who despise commerce but need money, reluctantly accept him. He wins the friendship of Claire's younger brother Valentin, a charming and idle nobleman. Then the family turns against him. The old Marquise and her elder son Urbain cannot bear to see Claire marry a businessman, and they break off the engagement. Valentin, meanwhile, fights a pointless duel over Noémie and is mortally wounded; before he dies, he begs Newman's pardon for his family and hints at a secret. Claire, unable to defy her mother, enters a strict Carmelite convent. From the old servant Mrs. Bread, Newman learns that the Marquise and Urbain caused the death of the old Marquis, Claire's father, and he obtains a written statement proving it. He has the means to disgrace them in society, but in the end, standing before the convent wall and later by a fire in Mrs. Tristram's house, he burns the paper and gives up revenge. The novel contrasts American openness and energy with European tradition and pride, and it ends not with a wedding but with a moral victory. Its unhappy ending was unusual for its time, and James later said that a real Bellegarde family would probably have accepted Newman's money.

Virtues in this work

Magnanimity: Newman burns the paper that could ruin the Bellegardes and gives up his revenge.
Honor: He deals honestly while others deceive.

Plot or Argument

Arrival in Paris
Newman, rich and restless, buys a painting at the Louvre and decides to find a wife.
Courtship
He courts Claire de Cintré and befriends her brother Valentin; the Bellegardes accept him reluctantly.
Betrayal
The family breaks the engagement; Valentin dies in a duel; Claire enters a convent.
The secret
Newman learns the Bellegardes' crime from Mrs. Bread and finally burns the proof.

Characters

Christopher Newman, protagonist
A self-made American businessman.
Claire de Cintré, Newman's fiancée
A gentle widow of the Bellegarde family.
Valentin de Bellegarde, Claire's brother
A charming younger son who befriends Newman.
Madame de Bellegarde, the old Marquise
Claire's proud and ruthless mother.
Urbain de Bellegarde, the Marquis
Claire's cold elder brother.
Mrs. Bread, servant
An old English servant who knows the family secret.

Lessons

The American character
Newman is frank, generous and confident. James asks what Americans bring to Europe and what they cannot understand.
- What qualities make Newman 'the American'?
- What does he misjudge about the Bellegardes?
- Is his frankness a strength or weakness?
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Honor and pride
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- What is true honor in this novel?
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Context

After the Civil War, newly rich Americans travelled to Europe in large numbers, and James, living in Paris in 1875-76, observed them closely.

Composition

Serialized in the Atlantic Monthly from June 1876 to May 1877 and published as a book in 1877.

Reception

Readers wanted a happy ending; James defended his and later revised the novel for the New York Edition (1907).

Class / Society Marriage Revenge Honor Shame Identity Self

Comparisons

Daisy Miller
James's next study of an American abroad, published a year later.
The Ambassadors
A late James novel of an American in Paris, told with greater subtlety.

Quotes

“I want to possess, in a word, the best article in the market.”

— Henry James, The American, Chapter III (Project Gutenberg #177).Quote card

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“I want a great woman. I stick to that.”

— Henry James, The American, Chapter III (Project Gutenberg #177).Quote card

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For Students

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

Reading Guide

Watch for

How Newman talks about buying things.
Valentin's friendship with Newman.
The reasons the Bellegardes give for breaking the engagement.
Mrs. Bread's revelation.
The final scene with the paper.

Key terms and names

Self-made man: A person who has risen to wealth by his own efforts.
Aristocracy: A hereditary noble class.
Carmelite: A strict order of enclosed nuns.
Marquise: A French noblewoman ranking above a countess; the title of Claire's mother.

Seminar Questions

Comprehension Why has Newman come to Paris?
Comprehension How does Valentin die?
Comprehension What secret does Mrs. Bread reveal?
Interpretation Why can't Claire defy her family?
Interpretation What does Newman's language of buying show about him?
Big Question Is it better to forgive or to expose a wrongdoer?

Faith Connections

Romans 12:19 (Scripture)
Avenge not yourselves; Newman finally gives up revenge.
Proverbs 22:1 (Scripture)
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches; compare the Bellegardes' pride.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: Honesty and generosity cannot overcome entrenched pride, yet the honest man wins a moral victory by refusing to stoop to revenge.

Rhetorical device: contrast of characters. Newman's open dealings are set against the Bellegardes' secret crime.

Debate: Resolved: that Newman should have published the Bellegardes' secret.

Memory Work

I want to possess, in a word, the best article in the market.
Chapter III. Newman's revealing phrase shows how he thinks of marriage.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Compare Newman and Valentin as two kinds of honorable men.

Comparison with Daisy Miller: Compare Newman with Daisy Miller as Americans misunderstood in Europe.

Creative Prompts

Essay
Is Newman's decision to burn the paper weakness or strength?
Dialogue
Write Claire's letter to Newman explaining why she must obey her mother.
Classroom
Make a two-column chart of American and French values as the novel presents them.