The Portrait of the Illustrator: Reconciling the Esthetic and the Ethical in "The Real Thing"
Journal
臺大文史哲學報
Journal Issue
59
Pages
423-425+427
Date Issued
2003
Author(s)
李欣穎(Hsin-Ying Li)
HSIN-YING LI
Abstract
Henry James' ”The Real Thing” has traditionally been read as a lesson in art: namely, that art is a transformation rather than a copy of reality. A few critics have also commented on the moral theme of the story: that human compassion makes a better artist. The two readings, however, conflict with each other, because the artist in the story is forced to turn his back on his non-professional models to maintain his artistic integrity, while conceding that his art suffers ”a permanent harm.” This paper argues that the artist-narrator of the story actually fails the test to pass from romantic idealism to creative realism, which would have reconciled the esthetic with the ethical. The three art forms in the story-photography, illustration and portraiture-reflect James' appraisal of the creative process. Photography, as literary realism, lacks both creativity and depth. Illustration, meanwhile, though the narrator stresses imagination, seeks generalizations at the expense of individuality. Only portraiture achieves both verisimilitude and character. The differences in esthetic purposes affect the ethical relation between the artist and his subject. The illustrator-narrator rarely treats his professional model as more than props on a stage. His ambition to become a portraitist, on the other hand, leads him to sympathize with the Monarchs. Yet his lack of the penetrating eye and of an impartial understanding suggests that he finally falls short of his aspirations. James, tale thus teaches, by a negative example, not so much now to transcend life to achieve the real thing in art, but how to transform the real thing in life into the real thing in art.
Type
journal article