The Americanにおけるアメリカ人であることの確認 <論文>

Self-Assertion of the National Character in The American

後川 知美

英語英文學研究

Hiroshima studies in English language and literature

[ISSN] 02882876

[NCID] AN0002064X

The characterization of Christopher Newman, the protagonist of The American, is an odd mixture of nobility and vulgarity. While Newman is regarded as a man sensitive to moral values, he is often criticized for his strong worship of money-making. The purpose of this paper, however, is not to judge Newman's nobility or vulgarity, but rather to consider the meaning of being American through Newman's inconsistency, and his relation to an aristocratic French society and the commercial world in America.

Having developed an aversion to the commercial world wherein he was once deeply involved, Newman travels to Europe to study culture and arts. Nevertheless, he seems to be more interested in using his money to purchase a number of copies of artworks than in appreciating the essence of the arts exhibited in the Louvre. He continues to enjoy engaging in business with the copyist as if he were a patron. This behavior indicates that Newman is unable to give up his habit of being a business person easily, even after he comes in contact with the artistic atmosphere of Paris.

However, Newman is also depicted as a reasonable person who is adept at judging what is right or what should be done. For example, Newman gives up his opportunity to seek revenge against the degenerate Madame de Bellegarde and her eldest son, because he knows that such an act would be ignoble despite the available opportunity and the fact that they deserved it. Newman also projects the image of Benjamin Franklin, who was proud of being a selfmade man and of his successful career, and who became one of the typical national heroes of America.

Thus, James emphasizes the decent, diligent facet of Newman's personality in contrast to the aristocratic French family's arrogant and degenerate aspects, although Newman's moral sensitiveness seems to be incompatible with his excessive desire for wealth, which results from his activities as a business person.

James, when writing The American, was himself an American writer living in Paris who struggled to acquire financial stability through his fiction-writing career. For James, pursuing self-assertion as an American living abroad was a difficult and important problem; he probably tried to find an answer to the problem in the process of creating Newman's character.

Newman's paradoxical character should also be considered within the context of the publishing world at the time. The conclusion of The American was changed without James's permission owing to the absence of international copyright at the time the novel was published in 1877. In some "pirate" editions, Newman and Claire were joined in marriage in the conclusion of the novel. Such alteration implies how common readers wanted a story with a happy ending and how far Newman's actions departed form that. For the readers who wanted entertainment, Newman's self-sacrificing attitude in the conclusion is too stoic to be satisfying.

Although James admitted the inadequacy of his depiction of Newman, he presumably thought that The American was one of the most notable works of the early phase of his career. Therefore, the characterization of Newman was not changed much when James revised The American for publication in New York Edition later in his career. James thought highly of Newman's nobility and his consideration for moral values.

英米文学 [ 930 ]

日本語

広島大学英文学会

[ISSN] 0288-2876

[NCID] AN0002064X