The Point of View

Henry James is a writer still critically acclaimed and best remembered nowadays for novels like "What Maisie Knew" and "Portrait of a Lady," He was a writer who often touched on themes involving differences between the Old and New Worlds -- but even more he wrote of consciousness and morality. He's memorable of those -- and for his imaginative narrative style and unreliable narrators.


"Point of View" takes form as a series of letters written by European characters visiting America to their counterparts in Europe. He juxtaposes the different points of view, so to speak, by using various characters' perception of the New World. The tale begins with an excited young woman named Aurora Church telling of her excitement at seeing America -- and follows with her mother's apprehension of the people there. . . .