亨利詹姆斯的場所之愛：《奉史記》安家在巴黎 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學英國語文學系碩士論文. 指導教授：許立欣先生 Advisor: Dr. Li-Hsin Hsu. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. 亨利詹姆斯的場所之愛：《奉史記》安家在巴黎. ‧. Henry James’ Topophilia:. n. al. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Homing in Paris in The Ambassadors. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 研究生：周容蘋 Name: Jung-Ping Chou 中華民國 108 年 1 月 January 2019. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(2) Henry James’ Topophilia: Homing in Paris in The Ambassadors. A Master Thesis. 治政 Presented to 大. 立Department of English,. ‧ 國. 學. National Chengchi University. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. en. hi. i n U. v. gc In Partial Fulfillment. Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. By Jung-Ping Chou January 2019. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(3) To my great mother Mrs. A-quan Chang. 獻給我偉大的母親張阿牽女士. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. iii. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(4) Acknowledgment My warmest thanks go to my advisor at NCCU, Professor Li-hsin Hsu, who is the exchanged scholar in U. C. Berkeley since last summer. Despite time differences between L. A. and Taiwan, she spent evenings and holidays reviewing my manuscripts in the last few months. No words could show my great appreciation. I would not have accomplished my thesis without her guidance, patience and insightful opinions. Great gratitude is also extended to my committee members: Professors Tsui-fen. 政治大. Jiang at NCCU and Yi-chuang E. Lin at NTHU. They are both attentive readers who. 立. gave me valuable comments and pertinent suggestions, which helped me a lot to polish. ‧ 國. 學. this thesis. I owe a debt of great appreciation to Professors: Li-min Yang, Yen-bin Chiou, Eva Chen and Shun-liang Chao in my study of MA program at NCCU. I would. ‧. appreciate the university staffs as well: Betty Teng and Jennifer Chang.. y. Nat. sit. I am thankful for having warm companionship with young intellects who instill. n. al. er. io. new vitality into my thoughts and life – Susan Hou, Osmond Chang, Wen-lin Lan,. i n U. v. Chantal Hsu, Ken Chang, Jamie Chang, Amber Chien and Lydia Tu. With them, I am. Ch. engchi. lucky to experience my spiritual renewal in campus life. It is just like the protagonist Strether’s revival of prolonged youthful spirit in the novel. Special heart-felt thanks to my great parents, and my good friends – Wendy Lai, William Liao, Wayne Chen and Allen Lin. With their continuous support in this long journey, I finally make my dream come true. Last, thanks to a dream catcher – a little girl in me who is always curious to explore the unknown. After working for years, returning to campus is definitely a wonderful adventure! I am still on the way.. iv. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(5) Table of Contents Dedication………………………………………………………………….……. iii Acknowledgement……………………………………….……………………….iv Chinese Abstract….………………………………………………………………vii English Abstract…………………………………………………………………. ix Chapter One. Introduction……………………………………………..….. 1. 1.1 The Plot of The Ambassadors………………………………………… 1 1.2 Critical Background and Purpose of the Study……………………….. 2. 政治大 Chapter Structure……………………………………………………... 5 立. 1.3 Theoretical Framework.………………………………………………. 3. Chapter Two. Henry James’ Topophilia…………………………………... 11. 學. ‧ 國. 1.4. 2.1 Emotional Geographers’ Discussions of Home and Topophilia……… 13. y. James’ Reading of Spaces ………............................................. 16. 2.2.3. James’ “Dream-Adventure” in Paris …………………………. 17. 2.3.1. Homely Intimacy and James as a Cosmopolite…...………….. 24. 2.3.2. Benjamin’s Homing in a Distant world ……………………… 27. er. sit. 2.2.2. io. al. v i n Homely Intimacy andC a Distant World .……………………………… 22 hengchi U n. 2.3. James’ Spatial Observances ………………………………….. 15. Nat. 2.2.1. ‧. 2.2 James’ Topophilia in Nineteenth-Century Paris………………………. 15. 2.4 A Cosmopolite Homing Elsewhere…………………………………… 28 Chapter Three. Walking in Paris……………………………………………. 33. 3.1 The Context of the Benjaminian Flâneur……...……………………… 33 3.1.1. Baudelaire as “The Man of the Crowd”……………………… 34. 3.1.2. The Street as Home…………………………………………… 37. 3.1.3. “The Lover of Universal Life”………………………………... 40. v. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(6) 3.2 Paris, the City for the Flâneur………………………………………… 42 3.2.1. Renovation of Paris …………………....................................... 42. 3.2.2. Benjamin’s Cosmopolitan Paris, “A World in Miniature”.…… 45. 3.2.3. James’ Impression of a Brilliant City …………………………47. 3.3 Lambert Strether’s Walking as Homing ……………………………… 49 3.3.1. Strether’s Topophilic Feeling of “Freshness” ………………... 49. 3.3.2. Paris as the “Vast Bright Babylon” for Strether ……………… 53. 3.3.3. Strether’s Enjoyment of Homely Detachment.….……………. 56. 3.3.4. Strether’s Belated Youth……………………………………… 57. Chapter Four. 政治大 The Collectors, the Interior, and Intermediate Space………. 63 立. 4.1 Collecting as Homing………………………………………………… 64. ‧ 國. 學. 4.2 The Collectors in The Ambassadors …………………………………. 67. Madame Marie de Vionnet’s Old Grand Mansion …………… 72. sit. y. Nat. 4.2.2. Miss Maria Gostrey’s Crowded Rooms ……………………… 68. ‧. 4.2.1. Chad Newsome’s Apartment on Boulevard Malesherbes ……. 75. al. v i n Little Bilham’sCShabby Place……………………………….… 76 hengchi U n. 4.3.2. io. 4.3.1. er. 4.3 The Interior .………………………………………………………….. 75. 4.4 Intermediate Space …………………………………………………… 79 4.4.1. The Balcony ……….…………………………………………. 79. 4.4.2. The Fantastic Garden of the Italian Sculptor Gloriani ……….. 81. 4.4.3. French Ruralism ……………………………………………… 87. Chapter Five. Conclusion .…………………………………………………91. Works Cited …………………………………………………………………….. 97. vi. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(7) 國立政治大學英國語文學系碩士班碩士論文提要論文名稱：亨利詹姆斯的場所之愛：《奉史記》安家在巴黎指導教授：許立欣教授研究生：周容蘋論文提要內容：. 政治大利詹姆斯的場所之愛﹙topophilia﹚。學界研究詹姆斯之作品，慣常將討論聚焦立. 本論文藉由剖析詹姆斯小說《奉史記》之中年男主角路易斯史垂則，研討亨. 於詹姆斯本人對巴黎文化及社群之疏離感；歸諸於作者本身以浪漫觀光客角度觀. ‧ 國. 學. 看歐美文化差異等範疇。雖論點眾多，但卻忽略將詹姆斯本人早期遊歷歐洲諸國. ‧. 之情感空間經驗，與其虛構人物間連結做一探討，有狹隘與簡化之疑。因此，本文意旨在解析詹姆斯與史垂則之場所與其情感連結：剖析層面針對. Nat. sit. y. 此小說背景：巴黎的室外空間，室內空間及中間過渡場所。同時揭露史垂則對人. er. io. 性複雜度的深度視角。第一章緒論，首先作文獻回顧，爬梳學術領域如何觀看詹. al. v i n Ch 段義孚對場所之愛的概念定義，班雅明的漫遊者﹙flâneur﹚ ，及特納的儀式理論 engchi U n. 姆斯的文學作品。介紹研究背景理論，包括巴舍拉的原初的家 ﹙primitive home﹚，. 文本溯源。第二章回顧檢驗詹姆斯的遊記及文獻，審視其如何將家的概念與其寰宇主義意識間作連結；並且經由探討史垂則在巴黎的空間經驗，展示詹姆斯本人的場所之愛。史垂則對巴黎之熟悉親切感來自於比較兩地:置身在美國故鄉與其在擁有萬花筒般影像之巴黎的多元文化差異而得獲。接續二章將解析在此小說中，史垂則如何在三大主要場域獲得其安家感知經驗：史垂則之室外空間漫步經驗，此小說中主要角色居住之室內空間、及包括花園、陽台、及巴黎近郊等中間過渡空間。尾章為結論，提供本研究之發現與貢獻。本研究得出結論，大都會巴黎對史垂則來說不僅是一個原初的家，並且展示巴黎為其情感空間感知及意涵重拾年輕活力之隱喻空間。史垂則於巴黎之空間乃其生命過渡時期的閾限空間﹙liminal space﹚ ，實際乃詹姆斯刻畫及反映史垂則 vii. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(8) 延遲成熟期之自我覺察。如同史垂則在巴黎朗必列畫家之印象畫風法國田園畫中感知之內在和諧。無論其未來遊歷置身何處，藉由運用其在巴黎場域中感知的空間意象與靈感啟發，經由自身心靈覺察與感知能力，史垂則將可安家在任何地方。. 政治大. 關鍵字：亨利詹姆斯、奉史記、場所之愛、史垂則、班雅明、漫遊者、巴舍拉、段義孚、儀式理論、巴黎. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. viii. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(9) Henry James’ Topophilia: Homing in Paris in The Ambassadors Abstract This thesis will scrutinize Henry James’ topophilia and how his homely intimacy is associated with his protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether’s in The Ambassadors (1903) by examining the process of their homing in Paris. Some. 政治大 community as well as his romantic 立 tourist vision. This thesis seeks, alternatively, to researches focus on the investigation of Strether’s sense of alienation from Parisian. ‧ 國. 學. explore both the emotional bonds of James and Strether between people and place in association with the interplay between the interior, the exterior, and the intermediate. ‧. places in Paris in this novel. Meanwhile, his penetrative insight into human. sit. y. Nat. complexities is excavated. The introductory chapter will explore the notion of. n. al. er. io. “homing” by elucidating Gaston Bachelard’s notion of “primitive home,” Yi-fu. v. Tuan’s conceptualization of topophilia, Walter Benjamin’s ideas of the flâneur and. Ch. engchi. i n U. Victor Turner’s perspective of the “rites of passage.” Chapter Two will render an overall investigation of James’ travelogue and records. By investigating James’ concept of home in relation to cosmopolitanism, I will show how the notion of topophilia is manifested in James’ The Ambassadors and some of his autobiographical writings. Strether’s intimate sense of familiarity with Paris is achieved through discovering the cultural differences between America and France in the kaleidoscopic “Parisian fairyland.” The following are two chapters analyzing Strether’s perceptional experiences of homing in different spaces in Paris in The Ambassadors: the exterior where Strether strolled, the dwellings of the major characters in this novel, and the ix. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(10) intermediate spaces including garden and balcony scenes, and the suburbs of Paris. Chapter Three will probe Strether’s growing sense of intimacy with Paris by investigating his walking experiences through the cityscape. Chapter Four will examine the interior spaces of these major characters, focusing especially on Madame Marie de Vionnet’s luxurious dwelling with historical objects, and Miss Maria Gostrey’s rooms filled with many personal collections. I will look at the intermediate spaces including the balcony of the Pococks’ hotel overlooking the Rue de Rivoli, the Italian sculptor’s exotic garden in Paris, and the rural site in the suburb of Paris where Strether makes excursions and obtains his “belated vision” after detecting the lies of. 治政大 Paris is not only a Marie and Chad. The final chapter concludes that the metropolitan 立 metaphoric space for Strether’s “primitive home” but also a “rite of passage” where. ‧ 國. 學. Strether experiences a marginal/ “liminal” status. Strether’s spatial experiences in the. ‧. Parisian “fairyland” are actually his self-discovery of his postponed maturity. Like the. sit. y. Nat. harmony of what Strether finds in the French painter Lambinet’s painting of the. io. er. picturesque landscape, wherever he goes in the future, by an exertion of the mind, he may home “elsewhere” by recalling these spatial images in Paris.. n. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Keywords: Henry James, The Ambassadors, Lambert Strether, topophilia, flâneur, Walter Benjamin, Gaston Bachelard, Yi-fu Tuan, primitive home, rites of passage, Paris,. x. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(11) Chapter One Introduction This thesis scrutinizes Henry James’ topophilia and how his homely intimacy is associated with his protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether’s in The Ambassadors (1903) by examining the process of their homing in Paris. Elucidating both of Yi-Fu Tuan’s concept of topophilia and the spatial infatuations of Benjamin’s flâneur and. 政治大. “collector,” I contend that the interplay between the interior, the exterior, and the. 立. intermediate places in Paris in this novel attests not only James and Strether’s. ‧ 國. 學. initiations of their life ritual but also their cosmopolitan spirit of homing elsewhere.. ‧. 1.1 The Plot of The Ambassadors. sit. y. Nat. The Ambassadors (1903) written in James’ final period is a typical. io. er. exemplification of James’ concept of being a cosmopolite. Heading for Paris for a mission consigned by his fiancée Mrs. Newsome, the mild Strether travels to Paris in. al. n. v i n C h to return to Woollett order to persuade her son Chad Newsome in Massachusetts. With engchi U the company of his older lover Madame Marie de Vionnet, Chad has been staying long in Paris. The elegant transformation of Chad, his friends with beautiful intelligences, and their dwellings all impress Strether. With the experiences of mental freedom, spatial intimacy with the Parisian spaces, and people like his American compatriot Miss Gostrey, Strether chooses to violate against Mrs. Newsome’s will and decides not to ask Chad to go back to America. In the course of experiencing a fresh spatial experience in Paris, at the same time, Strether traces back to his painful memory of losing his wife and son since then. After disclosing their lie about — the. 1. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(12) ugly truth about the “virtuous attachment” (James, Ambassadors 128) between Chad and Madame de Vionnet, Strether decides to return to Woollett in the end. Yet he is emotionally deep in bond with these spatial images of Paris. 1.2 Critical Background and Purpose of the Study Most discussions center around both Strether’s romanticized tourist vision and his isolation from France rather than his assimilation into the French communities, his spatial intimacy, and changed perspectives in Paris. These observations could be seen from critics such as Edwin Sill Fussell, William Righter, Carolyn Porter, Peter Brooks. 政治大. and Roxana Oltean. In The French Side of Henry James, Fussell acknowledges James’. 立. obsession with cosmopolitan experiences. However, he argues that James’ major. ‧ 國. 學. limitation — James’ romanticized idea about Paris, which results from the “unfamiliar,” the difference, and the other — is romanticized through a tourist’s. ‧. vision.. Nat. sit. y. Peter Brooks, alternatively, explores the relationship between James’ experiences. n. al. er. io. and his literary experimentation during his Parisian sojourn of 1875-76. Brooks. i n U. v. asserts that James’ extreme “perspectivalism” usually involves a displacement of the. Ch. engchi. observer from “a central or frontal positional to a marginal one” (51, 131). According to Brooks, the protagonists in James’ novels frequently have the bafflement in life. Brooks concludes that James’ relocation to Paris in 1875 is apparently a selfconscious apprenticeship to the cosmopolitan city of art and literature. William Righter, alternatively, focuses on James’ recollection of America — his bafflement toward his own American identity. Carolyn Porter further highlights the inability of James’ protagonists as viewers to act and choose between Europe and America. In a matter similar to Fussell, Righter and Porter, Oltean regards James’ Europe as “the space of delay” and suggests his “sweetness of vain delay” (28, 24). For Oltean, 2. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(13) Strether’s “improper” interpretations of Paris, his senseless repetitions and his inherent belatedness in The Ambassador come from Strether’s melancholy reminiscence regarding his first journey in Paris with his wife in his twenties. Building upon these critics, my thesis argues alternatively that Strether’s spatial experiences in Paris brings positive influences on his cultural identification and cosmopolitanism rather than merely his negative experiences. Strether ponders his life possibilities from his reading of revelations in Parisian scenes. His self-discovery and his profound affective tie with French landscapes are obviously exhibited. My thesis thereby accentuates that Strether’s journey is a process of homing in a “familiar” city. 治政大 rather than in an “unfamiliar” city. 立 ‧ 國. 學. 1.3 Theoretical Framework. The thesis explores James’ topophilia by looking at the notions of the flâneur. ‧. and the “collector” in The Ambassadors by using Walter Benjamin’s major concepts. Nat. sit. y. of exteriors and interiors, the French phenomenologist Bachelard’s idea of primitive. n. al. er. io. home, and the human geographer Yi-fu Tuan’s conceptualization of topophilia.. i n U. v. Topophilia, a term firstly coined by American poet Wystan Hugh Auden, comes from. Ch. engchi. Ancient Greek τόπος (tópos, “place” and -philia, “love of”). Introduced by Bachelard, Topophilia denotes the love of place. In Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space, he infuses his idea of primitive home, by which he elucidates his concept of topophilia. According to Bachelard, home refers to going back to a state of intimacy, a nostalgic feeling of returning to the primitive home in the upmost intimate corner in one’s mind. The way is through “daydreaming” (Bachelard 6) — a transcendental state of mind activity. He then suggests that topophilia has an essential quality of the “spaces of intimacy” originated from “the house we were born” which has “engraved” within our mind (12, 15). In Topophilia, Tuan explores the notions of affective tie between 3. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(14) people and material environment by emphasizing one’s personal perception of daily experiences, which sets forth an essential co-relationship of intimacy between place and people. Tuan notes that topophilia is “the affective bond between people and place”: This affective tie with one’s “material environment” (93) denotes one’s love of spaces. The transcendental activities of the human mind, both manifested in “daydreaming” (Bachelard 6) and Tuan’s “perception” (12) of a nostalgic longing for cultural heritage, lead people to transcend the physical boundaries of the world. Benjamin explores the intimate connection between space and perception further by revealing his spatial concepts of the flâneur and the “collector.” Both the. 治政大spatial intimacy, embracing flâneur and the “collector” share the same experiences of 立 the sense of liberty and the appreciation of cultural diversities. The empathy of. ‧ 國. 學. Benjamin’s flâneur creates an affective tie with the space, a crucial factor in the. ‧. Bachelardian notion of primitive home. Benjamin develops nostalgic intimacy toward. sit. y. Nat. the remnants of cultural heritages in the Parisian Arcade — the modern semi-opened. io. er. passages made of iron-and glasses constructed in early nineteenth-century Paris. Benjamin’s first walking experience of the Parisian arcades (“passages”) in 1928. al. n. v i n C hand experiences in U demonstrates his cultural initiation e n g c h i the space of Paris, a pheromone that he describes as “phantasmagoric.” These phantasmagorical images in the Parisian arcades provide Benjamin the topophilic feelings of homing as in “an enchanted world” (qtd. in Hanssen 3). In a similar way, the Benjaminian collector also embraces a sense of familiarity in the house. Similar to the flâneur’s sense of intimacy with the Parisian street, according to Benjamin, the notion of dwelling implies the collector’s sense of intimacy with the interior. Benjamin highlights in The Arcades Project, the collectors’ rooms are like a “magic circle” (205) where the collector feels a sense of comfort. Their collections demonstrate “an encyclopedia of all knowledge of the. 4. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(15) epoch, the landscape” (Benjamin 205). In this way, the Benjaminian collector is featured with both traits of nostalgia and of infatuation with things in connection to the sense of the collector’s preference of an intimate space, traits that are latent in the discussions of Bachelard and Tuan about topophilia. Benjamin’s notions of “flâneur” and “the collector” thus play a crucial role in my reading of James’ topophilia with Paris. In a similar vein, in his “The Art of Fiction” (1884), James puts emphasis on one’s keen observations in life. James treats writing novels as writing a personal impression of life. This brings us closer to his core concept of recording vivid objects because these spatial images may bring “the intensity of the impression” (James 4).. 治政大experiences contribute to In addition, in order to unveil how Strether’s spatial 立. the process of his self-revelations, I look into the British cultural anthropologist. ‧ 國. 學. Victor Turner’s concept of the “rite of passage” (46). Succeeding from the French. ‧. ethnographer Van Gennep’s observation of human rituals containing three successive. sit. y. Nat. but separate stages in human life: separation, liminality and aggregation, Turner. io. er. singles out the liminal, or marginal state as a period of examinations (46). The liminal state of “a transitional being” is for the initiate’s “cross-cultural comparison” (46). In. al. n. v i n few words, Turner considers thatCthe stage serves as a period of selfhmarginal/liminal engchi U discovery. Hence I conclude that Strether’s revisiting of Paris reveals both his seclusion from Woollett and his re-orientations in Paris. 1.4 Chapter Structure In the Introduction Chapter, I will explore the concept of home in James, Bachelard Bachelard, Yi-fu Tuan and Walter Benjamin. I will focus on James’ spirit of topophilia and cosmopolitanism, Bachelard’s phenomenological concept of primitive home, Tuan’s human geographical elucidation of a sense of belonging from the human perception of place/space, and Benjamin’s spatial idea regarding the flâneur 5. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(16) and the collector. Strether’s mental process of homing contained a nostalgic feeling, a strong delight in his sense of familiarity ignited by the past and the aesthetic objects in the spatiality of Paris. By looking into their concepts of home, we can understand Jamesian cosmopolitanism and its connection to the primitive home in Chapter Two. Chapter Two will look at James’ idea of home in relation to the spirit of being a cosmopolite. It will render an overall investigation of the Jamesian cosmopolitanism by offering a close reading of a number of James’ travelogue and letters. Also, a background of this novel will be offered here. In James’ “Occasional Paris” in Portraits of Places (75-95), he writes that being a “cosmopolite” is an accident, which. 治政大Instead, one has to “los[e] depends not on the idea of being a “concentrated patriot.” 立 that sense of the absoluteness and the sanctity of the habits of your fellow-patriots. ‧ 國. 學. which once made you so happy in the midst of them” (75). In other words, James’. ‧. core thinking is about being a cosmopolite: having an open-minded perspective to. sit. y. Nat. accept different things in different places/countries. One has not to stick to the. io. er. inherited habits and values of one’s countrymen. James’ characterization of Strether’s openness and acceptance of new things in Paris rather than Sara Pocock’s stubborn. al. n. v i n CJamesian rejection typically exemplifies the of cosmopolite. Meanwhile, James’ h e n gspirit chi U cosmopolitanism is close to Bachelard’s idea of “world conscious” (4) — that the. primitive home is our corner of the world, a real cosmos, if we may look intimately into the primitiveness dwelling in our mind and be willing to have daydreaming (an exertion of the mind). Besides, according to James, another feature of cosmopolitan spirit is making comparisons so that one will get inspiration from the merits of all peoples. In his “Occasional Paris,” James emphasizes that one has to form “the habit of comparing,” of looking for points of difference and of resemblance, for present and absent advantages . . .” (76). It is clear to see James’ writing his personal experiences. 6. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(17) into Strether’s continual comparisons between Woollett and Paris. In a nutshell, Chapter Two will argue that James does not stand particularly by one’s nationality, but rather, is imbued with a cosmopolite spirit. The national boundaries are extinguished so that a cosmopolite may home elsewhere by an exertion of the mind and an open attitude. In Chapter Three, by looking into Benjamin’s concept of flâneur, I will investigate exterior spaces where Strether walks in Paris in The Ambassadors. More than a physical movement, Chapter Three will assert that Strether’s walking exhibits an inner process of homing in Paris through an investigation of his strolling routes in. 治政 the central Paris. As mentioned before, the Benjaminian大 flâneur empathizes the things 立 surrounding him, which demonstrates his spatial intimacy, a nostalgic longing for the. ‧ 國. 學. cultural heritages. As such, this chapter will indicate that Strether’s walking. ‧. demonstrates the inner process of his own self-discovery.. sit. y. Nat. Chapter Four will analyze the features of a Benjaminian collector in relation to. io. er. interior spaces. I will then examine the intermediated spaces in this novel. First, I will scrutinize the interior of the major characters, Madame de Vionnet’s refined and. al. n. v i n luxurious old mansion and MissC Maria little charming lodging filled with h eGostrey’s ngchi U. many personal collections. Though the dwelling styles reveal different characteristics of their owners, their dwellings both offer a homely atmosphere for Strether due to his preference to the aesthetic cultural heritages and things of novelties. In his Preface to this novel, James indicates that the depiction of the space is to create an impression of the characters. Hence, in short, there is a subtle correspondence between the space and the people James introduces. This section will seek to demonstrate Strether’s love for the spatial images of the Parisian interior by using the Benjaminian concept of the “collector.” Second, this chapter then looks at the intermediate spaces involving the. 7. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(18) balcony of the Pocock’s hotel overlooking the Rue de Rivoli, the great Italian sculptor Gloriani’s old exotic garden in Paris, and some rural sites in the suburbs of Paris. I show how James’ depiction of landscapes reflects Strether’s inner process of homing and his initiations to truth in life. In the hotel balcony, standing in the semi-opened intermediate place between the interior the exterior space, Strether does his observation upon his arrival in the first night. Later on, remaining in an intermediate place in the suburbs of Paris, the pastoral places connecting the city and the country, he discovers the lies of Chad and Madame de Vionnet. By maintaining a distance from his American compatriots in Woollett, Strether realizes his own “difference”. 治政大widow Mrs. Newsome who after his revisiting in Paris. Strether’s lover, the American 立 is absent in Paris in the whole novel, serves as an everlasting menace in Strether’s. ‧ 國. 學. mind while he compares Woollett with Paris throughout the novel. Her character is an. ‧. embodiment of American practical and commercial values and an imposition upon. sit. y. Nat. Strether’s mind all the time in every corner of the Parisian spaces. Strether’s. io. er. distancing himself from Mrs. Newsome attests to an alienation from America. In short, these Parisian spatial things contribute to sharpening Strether’s perception of. al. n. v i n C hsocial complexitiesUand his own becoming. the “unseen” revelations regarding engchi. Chapter Five concludes the process of Strether’s “rite of passage” (Turner 46) by. discussing his alienation from his own country Woollett and his growing sense of attachment to Paris further. The spaces of Paris, a Benjaminian fanciful “fairyland” or Strether’s metaphoric space of “Babylon” (James 63), offer Strether a chance to undergo his liminal stage of the “rite of passage” in his life. In other words, for Strether, travelling in Paris serves as a liminal process of self-examination in association with his returning to the Bachelardian primitive home. He separates from his original American hometown and starts his transitional phase of self-discovery in. 8. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(19) Paris. His inner harmony found in Émile Lambinet’s (1813-77) paintings of French rural scenes is unveiled at the rural sites near Paris in the end of this novel. Meanwhile, it is shown from his reminiscence of his first visit in Paris during the honeymoon at twenty-five with his wife who died later. In fact, Paris offers him the cultural diversities containing various art forms and intelligent people. With his continual comparison between Paris and Woollett, Strether’s final acknowledgement of a transformed self exhibits his becoming with the changed perspectives. His finding of his own difference at the end of this novel shows both his growth and an awareness of his intimate feeling for Paris. In fact, Strether revives his young spirit. 治政大perception of the vicious and acknowledges his postponed maturity. In spite of his 立 side in the Parisian web of sociality, Strether is still fond of the spaces of Paris.. ‧ 國. 學. By unveiling both James and Strether’s topophilic feelings, this thesis concludes. ‧. that homely intimacy associated with the diversified spatial images demonstrates the. sit. y. Nat. Jamesian seeking of prolonged youthful spirit. The transformed Strether may home. io. er. himself elsewhere with a Jamesian spirit of being a cosmopolite through these sorts of cultural illuminations ignited in spaces of Paris in the future.. n. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 9. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(20) 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 10. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(21) Chapter Two Henry James’ Topophilia Consistent in James’ writings of his later period has been a problematisation of the vacillation between his American and European identities, a problematisaion marked by characters — usually the American expatriates — struggling with crisis of identity in different spaces. James’ pivotal settings are mostly set in Europe, in which. 政治大. James explores the international theme by comparing the cross-cultural conflicts. 立. between sophisticated Europeans and innocent Americans. Not only do his early. ‧ 國. 學. works The American (1877) and The Portrait of a Lady (1881) explore the distinct temperaments of the two cultures, but his later novels The Wings of the Dove (1902). ‧. sit. Nat. insinuates the interconnectedness between people and spaces.. y. and The Ambassadors (1903) explore the discrepancies, in which he artfully. n. al. er. io. Fussell’s argument about James’ tourist’s perspective in The French Side of. i n U. v. Henry James may be regarded as one of the typical scholarly perception of James’. Ch. engchi. romanticizing of Europe. In other words, James’ enjoyments of spaces come from not only a different “unfamiliar” (Fussell 8) feeling, but also his cultivation of a sense of alienation through his detachment from a familiar environment. However, more than merely an outsider towards “the unfamiliar” (Fussell 8), I accentuate James’ topophilia and how he instills the idea into his hero Strether’s spatial nearness with Paris.1 Most importantly, James accommodates himself at home everywhere.. 1. In The French Side of Henry James, Edwin Sill Fussell, based upon the bilingual texture of the novels, looks into the textual evidence of the literary connection in the novels of Balzac and James’. Fussell acknowledges James’ spirit of being a cosmopolite. However, he identifies James’ appreciation of Paris as “foreignness” for the “Tourist Reader” (199). 11. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(22) This chapter therefore investigates not only the interconnectedness between James’ early spatial experiences in Europe and their consequent influences upon his topophilia, but also how he presents his protagonist Strether’s spatial nearness with Paris in The Ambassadors. I probe James’ affective tie with the physical environment of Europe, especially his walking experience in Pairs at age twelve in 1855.2 This chapter suggests topophilia contains one’s intoxicated feeling with various images. The emotional geographer Yi-fu Tuan associates one’s birthplace and one’s emotional attachment to cultural heritages, which bring one an intimate feeling of nearness. One’s topophilia is always tightened by the notion of home because it is often ignited. 治政大 Based on Tuan’s by surrounding images containing both old and new qualities. 立. concept, this chapter suggests James’ intoxication with spatial things is an exhibition. ‧ 國. 學. of topophilia, which brings a spatial intimacy. James’ early spatial experiences in. ‧. Europe, and their possible influences upon his concept of cosmopolitanism will be. sit. y. Nat. then probed. More clues regarding the interconnectedness between James’ topophilia. io. er. and his spirit of cosmopolitanism may be further investigated. Special attention is paid to the reading of Benjamin’s early spatial experiences in Berlin since it is helpful. al. n. v i n to understand his unique spatial C observances connection between home and the h e n gofcthe hi U world. By which, I detect its subtle interconnectedness with James’ observance of the interrelationship between home and the world. In The Ambassadors, all plots take place in Paris. This chapter unveils how the Jamesian cosmopolite may home elsewhere in consistence with James’ early spatial experiences in Paris. The details about the protagonist Strether’s topophilia in this novel will be further scrutinized in. 2. Between 1843 and 1844, James was taken abroad by his parents to Pairs and London. Between 1855 and 1858, the James family travelled moves in Europe. James attended schools in Geneve, London, Paris and Boulogne-sur-mer and received his private education. James returned to Paris in 1875 (at age of thirty two) — according to the Chronology of Henry James compiled by Leon Edel in The Ambassadors. 12. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(23) Chapter Three and Chapter Four. This chapter mainly deals with James’ own topophilia for Europe, which is bound up with his spirit of cosmopolitanism in his work. 2.1 Emotional Geographers’ Discussions of Home and Topophilia This section highlights how one’s early spatial experience is essential to one’s topophilia and homely nearness. Spaces are where and how one experiences a topophilic intimacy because one’s experiences are often shaped by many standstills in time and space. I focus on Tuan’s perspective, who emphasizes the connection. 政治大. between topophilia and emotional geography. The concept of topophilia, the love of. 立. place, is highlighted by Gaston Bachelard. It is then popularized by the emotional. ‧ 國. 學. geographer, Yi-fu Tuan.3 The affective ties with one’s material environment emphasized by Tuan demonstrate how one’s perception is connected with one’s daily. ‧. spatial experiences. Tuan’s theories of emotional geography apparently involve a. Nat. sit. y. sense of familiarity toward the physical environment, which is an intimate impression. n. al. er. io. of one’s home as if one returns to one’s birthplace. Tuan’s exploration of these. i n U. v. transitory images in physical spaces suggests the nostalgic feeling of one’s spatial. Ch. engchi. intimacy, by which he defines places as “the locus of memories” (93) in his topophilia. In terms of other emotional geographer’s discussions, there is an intrinsic connection between this sense of “familiarity” and homely intimacy. This familiar sense could be seen as one’s nostalgia, which is originated from one’s homesickness. Fred Davis investigates how nostalgia has been historically connected with home. In his eponymous book-lengthy work Topophilia, Yi-fu Tuan emphasizes one’s personal perception of daily experiences, which set forth an essential and correlational relationship between place and people. Tuan is the first one who brings topophilic emotions into discussions among the studies of emotional geographies. 3. 13. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(24) sickness in his Yearning for Yesterday: A Sociology of Nostalgia. Davis states “Nostalgia is from the Greek nostos, to return home, and algia, a painful condition — thus, a painful yearning to return home” (1). Coined by the Swiss physician Johannes Hofer in the late seventeenth century, the term was meant to a “familiar” feeling, which refers to a “condition of extreme homesickness” (1) among Swiss mercenaries fighting abroad. Because nostalgia is originated from one’s homesickness, there is an intrinsic connection between this sense of “familiarity” and homely intimacy. In response to Davis, the emotional geographer Katy Bennett provides an example of a lodge banner in an ex-mining village on Wheatley Hill, explaining that it is. 治政 symbolically important to draw the people together. On大 the one hand, the lodge 立. banner serves as a symbol of continuity of identity, drawing people together. On the. ‧ 國. 學. other hand, it conveys “a sense of its particular sentiments, beliefs and heritage. ‧. (Bennett 195). Bennett suggests that “a homeland has its landmarks, . . . These visible. sit. y. Nat. signs serve to enhance a people’s sense of identity” (195). An emotional attachment. io. er. may come simply from a homely familiarity with spatial things. One’s topophilia could be ignited by spatial things because of this familiar sense of homely nearness. It. al. n. v i n C hspatial experiencesUof one’s original home. is always bounded with one’s early engchi. Tuan’s expression of spatial intimacy could be found in “a delight in the feel of. air water, earth” (Tuan 93). Even though Tuan’s topophilia is particularly connected to one’s primitive home, this kind of topophilic attachment can be closely linked to a sense of homely intimacy elsewhere. In a nutshell, Tuan and these critics propose that personal spatial experiences in daily life are linked to one’s intimate feeling of familiarity and emotional attachment to one’s homeland. This nostalgic inclination is often associated with the locus of memories embedded in the physical environment.. 14. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(25) 2.2 James’ Topophilia in Nineteenth-Century Paris This section traces three aspects covering the discovery of James’ topophilia through his daily spatial observance, his imaginative capabilities in reading spaces, and his spatial experiences that ignites James’ topophilia in Paris in the nineteenth century. The interconnectedness between James’ topophilia and his spirit of cosmopolitanism may be found in almost all of James’ travelogues, and his literary theories. James’ topophilia, affected by European spectacles, mainly comes from his spirit of being a cosmopolite who enjoys spatial experiences. 2.2.1. 政治大. James’ Spatial Observances. 立. James’ topophilic emotion based on his true-to-life experience in the material. ‧ 國. 學. environment shares common characteristics with Tuan’s topophilia. In his “The Art of Fiction,” James defines a novel as a “personal impression of life” (4), stressing the. ‧. significance of one’s physical environment. One’s observance/experiences in different. y. Nat. sit. spaces bring not only the most charming pleasures but also the freedom of limitless. n. al. er. io. imagination and revelations. James encourages a novice to write one’s experiences in. i n U. v. life. While he emphasizes the sharp observance of a novelist from the “air-borne. Ch. engchi. particle” (James 5) in life, it also reveals James’ reliance on one’s spatial experience. A novelist should be equipped with one’s perception imbued with “the power to guess the unseen from the seen” in order to trace “the implication of things” (James 5). In other world, James stresses a novelist’s keen perceptions of numerous “implications of things” (5) in daily life. His idea marks the influences of one’s material environment filled with many spatial revelations based upon one’s mental impression of things. Renowned for his cosmopolitanism, James’ spatial intimacy provoked by spatial images are frequently revealed in his travelogues. In Portraits of Places, James 15. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(26) narrates his fondness of the Gothic Cathedral in Reims in France. James enjoys and indulges himself in the emptiness of the church. He writes: “I sat down on a stool near the threshold; I leaned back against the side of one of the stalls; the church was empty, and I lost myself in the large perfection of the place” (103). The surrounding images containing the stalls and the walls all bring him a topophilic feeling for this gothic spatiality. There is an intrinsic connection between the immensity of James’ mind and his experiences of space. The penetrative seeing sharpens both James and his fictional character’s insights and broadens their creative imaginations in a cosmopolitan world of various experiences. 2.2.2. 立. 政治大. James’ Reading of Spaces. ‧ 國. 學. In terms of James’ idea, one space could speak for itself if one uses one’s imaginative capabilities to invest one’s own affections in reading the spaces. For. ‧. example, in his travelogue “Venice” in Portrait of Places, James assimilates the. Nat. sit. y. spaces to the “personif[ied]” places (8), with which one associates one’s own. n. al. er. io. affections with his surrounding spaces. James expresses not only his fondness of. i n U. v. things but also his consciousness of his own affection for Venice, especially the. Ch. engchi. mutual correspondence between space and one’s mind. He states that space seems to “personify itself, to become human and sentient, and conscious of your affection. You desire to embrace it, to caress it, to possess it. . .” (8). James’ emotions are mingled with the spaces in Venice for example. Hence James’ readings of numerous spaces are an exhibition of his imaginative capabilities. Out of his interests in Roman relicts and aesthetics, James’ depictions of “the perpetual interest of the place” of Venice expose his affective tie with space most explicitly:. 16. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(27) All the splendour of light and colour, all the Venetian air and the Venetian history, are on the walls and ceilings of the palaces; and all the genius of the masters, all the images and visions they have left upon canvas, seem to tremble in the sunbeams and dance upon the waves. That is the perpetual interest of the place—that you live in a certain sort of knowledge as in a rosy cloud. . . you go into them because they offer you an exquisite reproduction of the things that surround you. (24) The Venetian air and the Venetian history seem to be condensed in every article of the physical corners. James’ depiction of living “in a certain sort of knowledge as in a. 治政大 also exhibits his interests rosy cloud” (24) among all the splendor of light and colour 立 in both history and beauty of the architecture, which marks out James’ intellectual. ‧ 國. 學. pursuit for the cultural heritage in Venice. James shows topophilia from his keen. ‧. perception of Venice. His fondness of each “air-borne particles” (5) in his affective. sit. y. Nat. mind is indeed bound with his Venetian spatial experiences. His spatial intimacy with. io. er. these sensual and visual things surrounding him apparently exposes his topophilia. The emotional engagement with ones’ homelands could be seen as an embodiment of. n. al. i n C James’ topophilic feelings provokedhby spatial images.U engchi 2.2.3. v. James’ “Dream-Adventure” in Paris Paris provides young James a dream landscape to adventure into the diversified. spectacles from his walking in Paris, which leads him to access a distant world through the interface of spatial things. Nineteenth-century Paris is a marvelous place imbued with the diversity not only of luxurious, delightful and radiant surfaces but also sensuous amusement. James’ topophlia for Paris is preoccupied with the refreshment of novelties as well as his longing for cultural heritage. To begin with, I suggest James’ spatial experience of empathy with things in 17. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(28) physical environment is close to “felt geography” highlighted by emotional geographers. According to Joyce Davidson and Christine Milligan’s concept of “felt geography” (523), the body is as “the site of emotion” because one’s body is the most immediate and intimately “felt geography,” which takes place within one’s body and is subject mainly to one’s living experiences affected by one’s environments.4 I consider this “felt geography” experience to be the feelings taking place when James makes spatial movement, which results from what he feels in mind and what he “experiences” in Parisian spaces. For example, it could be seen from James’ reminiscence “A Small Boy and Others” in Henry James: Autobiography in which he. 治政大 of experience” of “a describes his walking on the Parisian streets as a “felt adventure, 立. told story” of the glory of the Second Empire (196, 195). James perceives his spiritual. ‧ 國. 學. renewal not only from his wonderful spatial experiences in the Galerie d’Apollon in. ‧. the Louvre (which is famous for its high vaulted ceilings with painted decorations),. y. sit. io. er. James.5. Nat. but also from his cheerful walks across over the bridges with his brother William. al. Aside from the mentioned spectacle of grandeurs, diversity is the pivotal element. n. v i n C hphantasmagorias ofUParisian spaces are engraved for James’ topophilic feelings. The engchi upon young James’ mind by both brilliances of French cultural heritage and cultural. varieties. James is deeply affected by the diversified spatial things combining not only the “new and queer” things (196) but also the old things. All these spatial things bring James a glorious world from the distance. They [those magnificent parts of the great gallery] only arched over us in. “After all, our first and foremost, most immediate and intimately felt geography is the body, the site of emotional experience and expression par excellence. Emotions, to be sure, take place within and around this closest of spatial scales. . .” (Davidson and Milligan 523). 5 He had a “long and beguiled walks” with his brother William James in “that autumn renewed” across the boulevard “Champs-É lysées to the river, and so over the nearest bridge and the quays of the left bank to the Rue de Seine” (“A Small Boy and Others” 190). 4. 18. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(29) the wonder of their endless golden riot and relief, figured and flourished in perpetual revolution, breaking into great high-hung circles and symmetries of squandered picture, opening into deep outward embrasures that threw off the rest of monumental Paris somehow as a told story, a sort of wrought effect or bold ambiguity for a vista, and yet held it there, at every point, as a vast bright gage, even at moments a felt adventure, of experience. This comes to saying that in those beginnings I felt myself most happily cross that bridge over to Style constituted by the wondrous Galerie d’Apollon, drawn out for me as a long but assured initiation and seeming to form with. 治政大 parquet a prodigious tube its supreme coved ceiling and inordinately shining 立 or tunnel through which I inhaled little by little, that is again and again, a. ‧ 國. 學. general sense of glory. The glory meant ever so many things at once, not. ‧. only beauty and art and supreme design, but history and fame and power,. sit. y. Nat. the world in fine raised to the richest and noblest expression. The world. io. er. there was at the same time, by an odd extension or intensification, the local present fact, to my small imagination, of the Second Empire, . . . (James. n. al. 195-96). Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Young James’ walking through a historical tunnel shows his joyful spatial experiences of both the richest and noblest expressions. Here what stunned James are not only its supreme design of beauty, structure and glory, but its “odd extension or intensification, the local present fact, of the Second Empire.”6 These images all bring him a mixture of new expressions associated with a distant world of a great empire. James’ spatial experience of twenty bridges and quays of the Seine is extraordinary,. 6. Paris was refurnished based on an attempt of providing grand perspectives by Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann (1809-91) between 1852 and 1870 in the reign of Emperor Napoléon III. 19. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(30) which is shown: the “dream-adventure founded in the deepest, quickest, clearest act of cogitation and comparison” (196). Many years later, he evokes his spatial intimacy for what he calls “the climax” of this walk. His “extraordinary experience” of a “dreamadventure,” which is “an act” of “life-saving energy” exhibit his revived spirits from spatial revelations in Paris (196). Likewise, his touring of the Louvre is quintessentially topophilic, in which numerous revelations and inspirations transport a distant world of “intellectual experience” (196) to young James. In the eyes of young James, the charm of Parisian spatiality was stamped upon. 治政 strolling in Paris on a “charming” last Christmas Day in大 his Parisian Sketches, both 立 by the abundance of diversified images in daily life. Observing James’ cheerful. things and “friendly stranger” serve as the reminder for the reflective mind to. ‧ 國. 學. scrutinize “the amazing elasticity of France” (40). The words James uses, “charm,. ‧. beguilement, diversion” (39) disclose his delightful impression of the whole spectacle. sit. y. Nat. on the boulevards. Likewise, in his Preface to this novel, James writes that Strether is. io. er. from the other end — from “the very heart of New England filled with “a perfect train of secrets” (xxxv), and he comes to Paris “in some state of mind” as “a result of new. al. n. v i n C h a change almostUhour by hour” (xxxvi). James and unexpected assaults and infusions, engchi emphasizes the prudent Strether’s (who comes from a local place of moral. constraints) expectations to meet something new and unexpected in Paris. Strether’s fascination with cultural varieties/flexibilities in Paris demonstrates his topophilia for Paris, which is akin to James’ own intimate feeling of spatial nearness that has been highlighted. Moreover, James’ wonderment about Paris could be found in his December Tribune letter. He marvels at “the amazing elasticity of France” (qtd. in Brooks 10). For James, Paris as a modern city in the nineteenth century provides more dimensions. 20. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(31) of cultural diversities than a historical city like Venice or a conventionally historical English town Chester or London. For example, in “The Passionate Pilgrim: England and London 1872-1897,” James records his trip in Chester, where he “[finds] nothing but the hard, heavy prose of British civilization” from the sermons in stones and pictures in meadows (Art of Travel 104). Alternatively, in “Occasional Paris,” James points out the difference between Paris and London, which subjects to a “different pitch” of the “freshness” in Paris (78). There is “a sort of renovated entertainment” while one’s eyes are attuned at “the most brilliant city in the world” (78). The walker. 治政大 of Napoleon III. imperial system during the twenty years of the Second Empire 立. James perceives, and is impressed with all these things on new streets build by the. James’ spatial intimacy could be traced from his depictions such as “safely. ‧ 國. 學. housed in this glittering capital” and “the problem of existence is solved more. ‧. comfortably here than elsewhere” (qtd. in Brooks 10). Brooks therefore concludes. sit. y. Nat. James’ discovery of his spatial experiences in Paris in 1875 to be “prosperous and. io. er. comfortable” (10). Hence I regard James’ repeated wordings of “comfortable and “comfortably here than elsewhere” as cogent to his topophilia for Paris than anywhere. al. n. v i n C hthe vast rebuilt urban else because of its “elasticity.” After e n g c h i U projects of Baron. Haussmann, Paris offers James a desirable mixture of possibilities in life. Being compared with James’ Puritan reservations in New England, the diversified Paris life of writers and artists, of free spirit and comfortable mind, of new and old, and of freedom from family and constraints provides a charming mixture and brings James a spatial intimacy like being at home. In the novel, Strether has a penetrative insight into the implications of these spatial surfaces. Strether’s observation reveals his reflective mind on old disciplines of British culture while he enjoys the peaceful moment of walking in an old English. 21. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(32) town Chester. We could find the different perceptions between his strolling in Chester and Paris respectively. He may observe two types of lives beneath the surfaces in two different historical and aesthetic dimensions. Chester provides Strether with a feeling of inherited confinements from its sense of history. James’ characterization of Strether’s sense of confinement in Chester is apparently revealed from his accounts of “careful civic hands-wanders, in narrow file, between parapets smoothed by peaceful generation,” and “ordered English country” (10). On the contrary, Strether’s depictions of these sensuous images of delights, whose excitements over the Parisian. 治政大 experience in the from what he felt in Chester. For example, Strether’s spatial 立. spectacles filled with a relaxing atmosphere, show his topophilic emotions differed. Tuileries garden in central Paris offers him a “cheerful note — in a soft breeze and a. ‧ 國. 學. sprinkled smell, in the light flit, over the garden-floor, of bareheaded girls…” (55).. sit. y. Nat. Strether.. ‧. This quote unveils James’ infusion of his own topophilic feelings into his hero. io. er. In a nutshell, this section attests nineteenth-century Paris provides both James and his hero Strether’s a dream landscape — a whole landscape filling with visual and. al. n. v i n sensual stimulations in everydayC objects experiences. Paris, indeed, h e nandgdifferent chi U. exhibits its charming flexibilities containing both new and old things, which attract cosmopolites like James to come by and to write down his works in celebration of its brilliancy and splendors in connection to his spatial intimacy Paris evokes. 2.3 Homely Intimacy in a Distant World This section makes an extensive discussion of the homely impression brought by one’s intoxication with spatial images, probing the subtle interconnectedness between the Jamesian cosmopolitanism and his spatial experiences in his early life. Meanwhile, Benjamin’s spatial experiences in his childhood in Berlin will be 22. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(33) explored in correspondence with the spirit of Jamesian cosmopolitanism. Before discussing one’s affective tie with various localities, I suggest there are some similarities among James, Tuan and Bachelard’s concept of home. In his “The Art of Fiction,” James puts much more emphasis on one’s imagination of viewing the unseen from the seen space, from which one may access the cosmos (5). In a similar vein, Tuan’s topophilia relies on one’s perception of the material environment and one’s nostalgic feeling for the original hometown, which bears “the locus of memories” (93) in connection to a world. Likewise, Bachelard’s affective tie with one’s primitive home where one inherits the “World-Conscious” (4) by day-dreaming. 治政大 could be regarded as an exemplification of one’s topophilia. 立. 7. For Bachelard, one’s. inward perception and mental activity like day-dreaming are quintessential to help. ‧ 國. 學. one to get access to the whole world without crossing real material boundary. Both. ‧. Tuan’s idea that perception is as an activity “reaching out to the world” (12) and his. sit. y. Nat. emphasis on one’s bodily experiences within material environments, and Bachelard’s. io. er. idea of returning to one’s primitive home are close to James’ imaginative capabilities. al. associated with a spirit of a cosmopolite. Spatial experiences therefore map out how. n. v i n C h together withUimmense imagination James delineates his emotional geography engchi. through his observance of spaces. Experiences and imaginations have no limits because of James’ responsive sensibility toward places. In his “The Art of Fiction,” James compares it to a kind of a “huge spider-web of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness and catching every air-borne particle in its tissue” (5). James uses “air-borne particle” (5) again because he is deeply aware of his. In The Poetics of Space, Bachelard emphasizes one’s transcendental mental activity of daydreaming to access a cosmos in one’s home: “For our house is our corner of the world. As has often been said, it is our first universe, a real cosmos in every sense of the word. If we look at it intimately, the humblest dwelling has beauty. . . , a primitiveness which belongs to all, rich and poor alike, if they are willing to dream” (4). 7. 23. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(34) own excitements and inspirations by the surrounding objects. For him, some of the most interesting experiments are hidden in “the bosom of things” (7). James’ topophilia is profoundly provoked by the surrounding images because his penetrative vision and imaginative power could not only make him transcend the surfaces of spatiality but see an ancient world in a distance. 2.3.1. Homely Intimacy and James as a Cosmopolite I detail James’ cosmopolitanism and its association to his homely intimacy. To. begin with, a cosmopolite ignores one’s prejudices or values initiated in one’s original. 政治大. homeland. Instead of seeing things in duality, a cosmopolite casts away local. 立. prejudices and embraces an open mind to see through the different dimensions in life. ‧ 國. 學. all over the world. For instance, James states in his travelogue: “You have formed the habit of comparing, of looking for points of difference and of resemblance, for present. ‧. and absent advantages, for the virtues that go with certain defects, and the defects that. Nat. sit. y. go with certain virtues” (“Occasional Paris” 76). A Jamesian cosmopolite, therefore,. n. al. er. io. may not only get illuminations from different cultural perspectives but also assimilate. i n U. different ideas and cultural diversities in different localities.. Ch. engchi. v. Having an open-minded attitude to the world is significant for being a cosmopolite. In short, James’ cosmopolitanism requires not only losing the absoluteness of habits and values from one’s original place, but also appreciates different local idiosyncrasies exhibited by different people in the world. The consequence of the cosmopolite spirit will accordingly initiate one into “the merits of all peoples” (77), by which a cosmopolite may seize a delight of different spaces filled with history and aesthetics. Since there are numerous national values, no one could judge which are absolutely bad or good since different values come from different perspectives — virtues or defect. In a few words, there is no absolute from 24. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(35) the perspective of a true cosmopolite. Second, these two words — “home” and “cosmopolitanism” — seem contrary from their literal meanings. Yet, as mentioned, this thesis asserts the concept of home is close to Bachelard’s primitive home. It is a mental activity emphasizing an essential quality of “space of intimacy” engraved within our mind, originating from the “personal experience” of our early childhood experiences (12, 4). Borrowing his idea, this thesis foregrounds the concept of “home,” accentuating one’s intimacy with things, which subjects to not only one’s infatuation with novelty and cultural relics, but also one’s spatial experiences in childhood and early days.. 治政大 with his childhood In fact, James’ concept of home is always interconnected 立. experiences. His visiting of places seems a way for James to recapture not only the. ‧ 國. 學. lapses of time but the abundance of his nostalgic memory. For example, young James’. ‧. topophilia is ignited from his first impression of Paris upon his arrival on a hotel. sit. y. Nat. balcony in one soft summer night of 1855 (just as he turned twelve) after re-visiting. io. er. London in the same year.8 In “A Small Boy and Others,” James looks back at his own past with the search for the truths of emotions with his memories regarding the. al. n. v i n C ishfond of all sorts ofUsensual street images upon places he visited in Europe. James engchi his first arrival — from the balcony of a hotel overlooking the Rue de la Paix:9. I make room for here, since I note after all so much less than I remember, is the intensity of a fond apprehension of Paris, a few days later, from the balcony of a hotel that hung through the soft summer night, over the Rue. In 1851, James’ family went to London, where James experienced the first World Fair in London. In 1855, the James lived and travelled in Europe for the next three years and James received private education. In the same year, James experienced the first World Fair of 1855 in Paris. In 1858, James’ family returned to the United States. 9 In The Ambassadors, James makes his protagonist Strether have the same wonderful spatial experiences in Paris. Strether’s second-day walking route starts from the Right Bank of the Seine — from the Rue Scribe, along the Rue de la Paix, which will be further explored in the following section. 8. 25. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(36) de la Paix. I hung with the balcony, and doubtless with my brothers and my sister, though I recover what I felt as so much relation and response to the larger, the largest appeal only, that of the whole perfect Parisianism. (158-59) His depictions such as “make room,” “the intensity of a fond apprehension of Paris,” and “I felt as so much relation and response” all demonstrate his homely intimacy ignited by these spatial revelations. I accentuate such enjoyment James acquired from Paris to illustrate James’ “perfect Parisianism” (159). His enjoyment of spatial intimacy certainly stays in line with Benjamin’s homely comfort in Paris. The. 治政大 associated with James’ Parisian spectacle from a balcony of Hotel Paix later becomes 立 childhood memory: I regard it is an exhibition of James’ topophilia for Paris.. ‧ 國. 學. James’ concept of home is always interconnected with his early spatial. ‧. experiences. The overlapping hours of the past and the present, the comparison of the. sit. y. Nat. European and American culture, inevitably, are always interwoven in both James’. io. er. autobiographical prose and works. In fact, James confesses his own “young consciousness” (156) in “A Small Boy and Others.” It is disclosed through the. al. n. v i n C afternoon description of London in one June James’ intoxication with images h e n gofc1855. hi U could be found in the marvelous spatial experience on a particular “coign of vantage” of the carriage—his seat beside the coachman, on which he was “completely occupied” and “thrilled” with his feeling as “an item in the overflow of a vehicle” completely occupied in a box of a carriage riding on London streets (157). James admits his “very ease of re-capture of my young consciousness” (156) in the carriage ride. In other words, James’ re-capturing of young consciousness demonstrates an inner intimate interaction between places and emotion. It is pivotal to point out his “young consciousness” could be seen as a nostalgic emotion of recollecting spatial. 26. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.

(37) images in connection to his younger age. James’ cheerful feeling on the London streets is quite close to Benjamin’s intoxication with images. Young James encountered the rapid images of people on the streets, which reminded him of a “snatch of elation” (157) during the temporary settlement of his family in London. I see it as a space of memory exhibiting James’ nostalgic feelings, which evokes the delights brought up not only in the existing place but a sense of intimacy in his mind. This may explain why a cosmopolite like James, in most of his works, consistently uses the vivid sensual depictions about spatial. 治政大 identified with one’s there. This kind of infatuation with spatial images is always 立. images in order to exhibit his enjoyment of a great variety of things wherever he visits. feeling of home, or topophilia as this thesis suggests.. ‧ 國. 學. 2.3.2. Benjamin’s Homing in a Distant world. ‧. The cosmopolite James’ topophilic emotions share the same traits with. Nat. sit. y. Benjamin’s penchant for spatial intimacy. Both of their topophilic expressions. n. al. er. io. demonstrate a “profane manifestation of ‘nearness’” (Benjamin, Arcades Project 205).. i n U. v. In his biographical essay “Blumeshof 12” in Berlin Childhood around 1900,. Ch. engchi. Benjamin describes how his joyful spatial experience brings him into the worlds at the home of the Blumeshof abode of Benjamin’s maternal grandmother.10 I regard Benjamin’s childhood experiences in his grandmother’s “high-class residences” (86) as a gateway to a distant world. Obviously, young Benjamin connects the whole. Benjamin records in his autobiographical essay “Blumeshof 12” in his Berlin Childhood around 1900: “No bell sounded friendlier. Once across the threshold of this apartment, I was even than in my parents’ house. . . Of all the high-class residences I have seen, this was the only cosmopolitan one. Not that you’d think so looking at it. But Madonna di Campiglio and Brindisi, Westerland and Athens, and wherever else on her travels she bought postcards to send me — they all breathed the air of Blumeshof. . . When their mother country then reopened its doors, I would tread its floorboards with just as much awe as if they had danced with their mistress on the waves of the Bosporus, and I would step onto the oriental carpets as though they still concealed the dust of Samarkand” (86-87). 10. 27. DOI:10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.004.2019.A09.