The Real Thing (story)
Encyclopedia
"The Real Thing" is a short story
by Henry James
, first syndicated by S. S. McClure in multiple American newspapers and then published in the British publication Black and White in April 1892 and the following year as the title story in the collection, The Real Thing and Other Stories published by Macmillan
. This story, often read as a parable
, plays with the reality
-illusion
dichotomy that fascinated James, especially in the later stages of his career. For the illustrator
who narrates the story, the genuine article proves all too useless for his commercial purposes. The story portrays the unfortunate victims of a society in which reality and representation are closely intertwined in ways that make art a difficult project to untangle the two.
, after they have lost most of their money and must find some line of work. They are the "real thing" in that they perfectly represent the aristocratic
type, but they prove inflexible for the painter's work. He comes to rely much more on two lower-class subjects who are nevertheless more capable, Oronte, an Italian, and Miss Churm, a lower-class British woman.
The illustrator finally has to get rid of the Monarchs, especially after his friend and fellow artist
Jack Hawley criticizes the work in which the Monarchs are represented. Hawley says that the pair has hurt the narrator's art, perhaps permanently. In the final line of the story the narrator says he is "content to have paid the price—for the memory."
. The Monarchs may be the real thing when it comes to country-house visits and drawing-room conversation, but Oronte and Miss Churm are just as much the genuine article for professional modeling. Late in the story the Monarchs desperately try to keep their jobs by actually becoming servants to the narrator, Miss Churm, and Oronte, in a superb example of Jamesian chiasmus
.
Commentators have noted a bit of fantasy wish-fulfillment in the tale. The painter is hired to illustrate a series of novel
s by "the rarest of the novelists—who, long neglected by the multitudinous vulgar and dearly prized by the attentive (...) had had the happy fortune of seeing, late in life, the dawn and then the full light of a higher criticism
—an estimate in which, on the part of the public, there was something really of expiation." James's own most laudatory criticism would come only posthumously.
, aesthetic parable, antiaristocratic satire
, and sunken autobiography
." That James was able to fit so complex a subject into under ten thousand words was a genuine triumph of his by now completely mature technique.
James does not make the parable into an arid demonstration of a debating point. The characters all come alive as fully individualized creations. The incompetent Monarchs are sympathetic, and the narrator himself is memorable for his increasingly desperate but ultimately futile attempts to help them.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, first syndicated by S. S. McClure in multiple American newspapers and then published in the British publication Black and White in April 1892 and the following year as the title story in the collection, The Real Thing and Other Stories published by Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
. This story, often read as a parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
, plays with the reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
-illusion
Illusion
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....
dichotomy that fascinated James, especially in the later stages of his career. For the illustrator
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
who narrates the story, the genuine article proves all too useless for his commercial purposes. The story portrays the unfortunate victims of a society in which reality and representation are closely intertwined in ways that make art a difficult project to untangle the two.
Plot summary
The narrator, an unnamed illustrator and aspiring painter, hires a faded genteel couple, the Monarchs, as modelsModel (art)
Art models are models who pose for photographers, painters, sculptors, and other artists as part of their work of art. Art models who pose in the nude for life drawing are usually called life models...
, after they have lost most of their money and must find some line of work. They are the "real thing" in that they perfectly represent the aristocratic
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
type, but they prove inflexible for the painter's work. He comes to rely much more on two lower-class subjects who are nevertheless more capable, Oronte, an Italian, and Miss Churm, a lower-class British woman.
The illustrator finally has to get rid of the Monarchs, especially after his friend and fellow artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Jack Hawley criticizes the work in which the Monarchs are represented. Hawley says that the pair has hurt the narrator's art, perhaps permanently. In the final line of the story the narrator says he is "content to have paid the price—for the memory."
Major themes
James plays with the exact meaning of "the real thing" throughout the story's plot, which was suggested to him by George du MaurierGeorge du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...
. The Monarchs may be the real thing when it comes to country-house visits and drawing-room conversation, but Oronte and Miss Churm are just as much the genuine article for professional modeling. Late in the story the Monarchs desperately try to keep their jobs by actually becoming servants to the narrator, Miss Churm, and Oronte, in a superb example of Jamesian chiasmus
Chiasmus
In rhetoric, chiasmus is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism...
.
Commentators have noted a bit of fantasy wish-fulfillment in the tale. The painter is hired to illustrate a series of novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s by "the rarest of the novelists—who, long neglected by the multitudinous vulgar and dearly prized by the attentive (...) had had the happy fortune of seeing, late in life, the dawn and then the full light of a higher criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
—an estimate in which, on the part of the public, there was something really of expiation." James's own most laudatory criticism would come only posthumously.
Critical evaluation
Critics have generally praised what one of them called "one of James neatest tales...important as poignant fictionFiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, aesthetic parable, antiaristocratic satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, and sunken autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
." That James was able to fit so complex a subject into under ten thousand words was a genuine triumph of his by now completely mature technique.
James does not make the parable into an arid demonstration of a debating point. The characters all come alive as fully individualized creations. The incompetent Monarchs are sympathetic, and the narrator himself is memorable for his increasingly desperate but ultimately futile attempts to help them.
External links
- First book publication of "The Real Thing" (1893)
- Author's preface to the New York Edition text of "The Real Thing" (1909)
- Note on the texts of "The Real Thing" at the Library of AmericaLibrary of AmericaThe Library of America is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature.- Overview and history :Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LoA has published over 200 volumes by a wide range of authors from Mark Twain to Philip...
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