Paste

Paste, fortunately, is incredibly different from the excerpt of his we read in class a few weeks ago. Here his writing is straightforward and filled with emotion as apposed to the obscure impersonal style of his later work. James layers social commentary on top of social commentary, creating the sense within the piece that all of the characters are self-centered and self-serving. James’ voice is vividly pronounced through the narrator and more significantly through the subtleties within the dialogue. As the characters communicate, they outwardly express ideals of friendship, consideration, and well-meaning intentions; yet, implicitly they reveal themselves to be calculating and self-interested. This is James’ voice asserting sarcastically, that one’s social appearance is often contradictory to one’s true nature. Arthur acts maliciously out of denial, Mrs. Guy the opportunist takes advantage of Charlotte, and Charlotte attempts to relieve her sense of dishonesty by exploiting Arthur’s denial. On top of this the deceased woman is accused of obtaining the pearls through illicit means. No one is spared by James, as he builds up the story through the character’s emotional responses and psychological insights. It seems the statement, “He’s really morbid” expresses more than just the character’s nature, but also Henry James’ view of society at large, materialistic and treacherous.