Abstract

Jamesian "renunciation" can best be understood in terms of existential choice. James lived during the century that gave birth to the movement we call existentialism--the century that produced Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. More to the point, his writings provide abundant evidence that he was concerned throughout his career with the same issues that have engaged all existentialists--freedom, finitude, responsibility, and authentic selfhood. ;"The Beast in the Jungle," "The Jolly Corner," and The Ambassadors demonstrate James's concern with the issues of freedom and finitude. John Marcher wastes his life because he is terrified to limit himself through choice. Spencer Brydon's dilemma is similar, though his fear of finitude develops as he looks backward to what he "might have been" rather than ahead, as Marcher does, to what he might someday turn out to be. Lambert Strether ultimately reveals an existentially valid acceptance of the paradoxical relationship between freedom and finitude. Catherine Sloper of Washington Square, Fleda Vetch of The Spoils of Poynton, and Isabel Archer of The Portrait of a Lady seem perversely renunciatory to us because they reject the conventional ideals of romance, rationality, and happiness, embracing instead the existential value of authentic, solitary choice. Milly Theale of The Wings of the Dove also shows, through her final, generous gift to Merton Densher, that she understands the importance of authentic selfhood and authentic being-with-others