“He had been rash, been stupid, had gone out too soon, stayed out too long. He oughtn’t to have exposed himself to strangers, he ought to have taken his servant. He felt as if he had fallen into a hole too deep to descry any little patch of heaven.”
James, Henry. “The Middle Years.” (pg. 345).
James’s description of how Decombe feels about his illness brings insight to how defeated the main character is. The continuous drawl of self scolding for simply going out details how much Decombe has fallen from the peak of his career.
strange abyss
It was the abyss of human illusion that was the real, the tideless deep.
James, “The Middle Years” 355
Human illusion can allude to many things. Is it rooted in deceit and consciousness or is it a more natural state of being? And is the relation this refers to between people or unto them as a whole?
Framing of Setting
“Then his companions, going a little further, waited for him to come up, poking their parasols into the beach, looking around them at the sea and sky and clearly sensible of the beauty of the day.”
James, “The Middle Years,” p. 336
The description of the two ladies as “poking their parasols into the beach” reminds me of the description of Mrs. Dalloway plunging “at Bourton into the open air” from the passage from “Mrs. Dalloway” that we read in class. The writing for both of these segments seems to frame the characters as ‘breaking into’ their settings rather than just framing the settings as backdrops for the character to exist in. And rather than expositing the natural features of the setting, James describes how the two characters are experiencing their time and place, and how they appreciate the natural beauty surrounding them.
Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (London: Hogarth, 1925), 3.
The World Is NOT His Oyster
“Oh, the pearl!” poor Decombe uneasily sighed. A smile as cold as a winter sunset flickered on his drawn lips as he added: “The pearl is the unwritten–the pearl is the unalloyed, the rest, the lost!”
James, “The Middle Years,” 353.
Decombe has a contentious relationship with his art; idea of missed opportunities, interpretations, last chances. Presence of art is less valuable than the absence? What value does art have on Decombe vs Doctor Hugh?
Reviving an Art
“He grew vivid, in the balmy air, to his companion, for whose deep refreshment he seemed to have been sent; and was particularly ingenuous in describing how recently he had become acquainted, and how instantly infatuated, with the only man who had put flesh between the ribs of an art that was starving on superstitions.”
James, The Middle Years, 342
Doctor Hugh, a young man, holds great admiration for Dencombe’s work as a revitalization of the art form. Does this imply that the newer generation of readers were longing for a flight from tradition with new and exciting prose?
the art of observance
“This act, and something in the movement in either party, instantly characterized the performers…for Dencombe’s recreation…What, moreover, was the use of being an approved novelist if one couldn’t establish a relation between such figures”
– Henry James, “The Middle Years“, page 336
The character Dencombe observes the actions of three individuals, a young man, and 2 ladies, and their relations to each other. While his observations may be untrue, the imagination of the character fascinates me, as he could define a narrative in realtime.
Never getting better
“He should never again, as at one or two great moments of the past, be better than himself. The infinite of life had gone, and what was left of the dose was a small glass engraved like a thermometer by the apothecary.“
– Henry James, The Middle Years page 335
I think this portion was a strong way to introduce the theme of the next few pages. It’s later described as something “passing away,” this deep loss of ever having another chance, and how strong and helpless it makes an aging person feel.
A Life Without Extension
“No, no–I only should have had more time. I want another go.”
“Another go?”
“I want an extension.”
“An extension?” Again Doctor Hugh repeated Dencombe’s words, with which he seemed to have been struck. “Don’t you know? I want to what they call ‘live.’ ”
The young man, for good-bye, had taken his hand, which closed with a certain force. They looked at each other hard a
moment. “You will live,” said Doctor Hugh.
-James, “The Middle Years,” p. 348
I thought this was a very pivotal moment in the story, as Dencombe finally admits out loud that he is unsatisfied with his end (something he had been internally struggling with during the whole story), but yet this vulnerability allows for a beautiful friendship to grow.
death of the author
“Dencombe had told him what he ‘tried for;’ with all his intelligence, on a first perusal, Doctor Hugh had failed to guess it. The baffled celebrity wondered then who in the world would guess it: He was amused once more at the fine, full way with which an intention could be missed.”
– Henry James, “The Middle Years“, page 349
Dencombe conteplates the death of the author phenomenon while approaching his deathbed himself. Missed intentions are found throughout the work, most notably Dencombe missing what Doctor Hughes seems to be “trying for” in regards to their relationship.
Fear of the Unfinished
“What he dreaded was the idea that his reputation should stand on the unfinished. It was not with his past but with his future that it should properly be concerned. Illness and age rose before him like spectres with pitiless eyes: how was he to bribe such fates to give him the second chance?”
– Henry James, “The Middle Years“, page 346
This passage personifies the future as a being that can be bribed, showing Decombe’s perception of himself and the world he is in. His fear of being unfinished seems to be rooted not only in whether or not his works will become great, but of being forgotten– and it’s to the point where he feels the need to rely on fate to make the change for him.
Failed Recollection
“The cover of “The Middle Years” was duly meretricious, the smell of the fresh pages the very odour of sanctity; but for the moment he went no further- he had become conscious of a strange alienation. He had forgotten what his book was about.” (James 337)
Last sentence can allude to how we can forget pieces of our own life, especially if we are suffering in the present. First sentence relates to how we can look back on fond memories but forget the painful parts.
James, H. (1893). The Middle Years. 335-355.
Commonplacing 9/10/23
“He recognized his motive and surrendered to his talent. Never, probably, had that talent, such as it was, been so fine. His difficulties were still there, but what was also there, to his perception, though probably, alas! to nobody’s else, was the art that in most cases had surmounted them.”
– Henry James, The Middle Years
Interest Envy
“To these things the young man with the book was still more clearly indifferent; lingering, credulous, absorbed, he was an object of envy to an observer from whose connection with literature all such artlessness had faded”
James, “The Middle Years,” p. 336.
Dencombe is a man who is ill and lost the thrill for life, and watching a young healthy man be so encapsulated by art and literature makes him envious because his illness and criticalness of his own art doesn’t allow him to be. Through the lens of the observer, it is tragic to have a love of yours dwindle because you can no longer find meaning for it, while others young and willful can be so engrossed so effortlessly.
art is mad (and death is scary)
“A second chance — that’s the delusion. There never was to be but one. We work in the dark — we do what we can — we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.”
James, “The Middle Years”, p. 354.
Throughout the story, we get glimpses and examples that lead the reader to associate perfectionism with Dencombe — he is extremely critical of his work, has fears of how his work will last in the future after he dies, etc. etc. This quotation acts as a conclusion to the argument surrounding second chances throughout the story and I would argue that it calls out the uselessness of perfectionism — that the idea that you have a second chance at correcting, developing, enhancing, etc. your art is quite literally “delusional” and despite how much our passion can cause us to doubt and worry — our work is taken up by the “madness of art” which has no regard for doubt or perfection. Also — that we only have ONE life!!!!
“A Life Time to Get Alongside of Her”
” He had followed literature from the first [of years], but he had taken a life-time to get alongside of her. Only to-day, at last, had he begun to see, so that what he hitherto done was a movement without a direction. He had ripened too late and was so clumsily constituted that he had to teach himself by mistakes.”
Henry James, The Middle Years, The Library of America, Pp. 347
Why does Dencombe feel this way? Had he never fully taken the time to appreciate his craft, or let himself appreciate his craft? Or was his hinderance caused by an obligation to make ends meet? That Dencombe saw writing literature as a job rather than an art, thus why it took him so long to get alongside it.
Terrible Views
“It was indeed general views that were terrible; short ones, contrary to an opinion sometimes expressed, were the refuge, were the remedy.”
James, “The Middle Years,” p.341
How are general and short views different? Is it expressing the idea that focusing on smaller, more fanciful ideas takes one’s mind off of troubling things, like watching the three people on the beach? This shows how observation can be used as a tool to help someone stay refreshed and not overwhelmed by the future of their life.
Dim Underworld of Fiction
“He lived once more into his story and was drawn down, as by a siren’s hand, to where, in the dim underworld of fiction, the great glazed tank of art, strange silent subjects float.”
James, “The Middle Years,” 337.
The murky diction (silent, float, dim) and fantastical imagery (siren, underworld) that James uses to describe Dencombe observing his literary work, implies a kind of transformation made possible through the consumption of art. The quote suggests that a work of art may transport the consumer to another world, another kind of thinking.
Being an Artist
“‘A second chance- that’s the delusion. There never was to be but one. We work in the dark-we do what we can-we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art”
When making any type of art, becoming stuck in the mindset of making the piece perfect hinders the artist from creating. The text beautifully illustrates the observation of letting go through the development of Dencombe’s character.
Shrinking Opportunity
“This was the pang that had been sharpest during the last few years–the sense of ebbing time, of shrinking opportunity; and now he felt not so much that his last chance was going as that it was gone indeed.”
James, The Middle Years, p. 337
“Sense of ebbing time” and “shrinking opportunity”, do these phrases mean career as a writer are over or his very life. Is shrinking opportunity really the waning of his talent as a writer.
VDW/September 9, 2023/Henry James, theme, career past prime, fleeting life force
Expectations
“It had taken too much of his life to produce too little of his art”
Henry James, The Middle Years, The Library of America, New York City 1996, pp.338
Why does Dencombe believe there to be a limit on how much time one should spend on their art? His inability to take pride in his work seems to stem from these self-imposed expectations.