Culture Clash - American Expatriates in Europe in: Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Marble Faun and Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady

American Expatriates in Europe in: Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Marble Faun and Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Anthologies
Cover of the book Culture Clash - American Expatriates in Europe in: Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Marble Faun and Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady by Tonia Fondermann, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Tonia Fondermann ISBN: 9783638381468
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: May 28, 2005
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Tonia Fondermann
ISBN: 9783638381468
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: May 28, 2005
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 24 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: When Henry James first travelled to Europe on his own in 1869, for the purpose of improving his education and his health, he was considerably young. With twenty six years of age he was independent of any family restrictions and could freely enjoy the intellectual life of Europe's metropolises. Even though he was already determined to become a writer it was in fact the European experience that launched his career and supplied him with ideas throughout his life (Wright 199). Nathaniel Hawthorne, in comparison, was nearly fifty years old when the opportunity to go to Europe was offered to him. In 1853 he left for Liverpool with his family to take over the office as American consul. He was already an established writer back then, having chiefly used New England settings for the composition of his stories. During the nineteenth century journeys through Europe became increasingly popular with Americans. Travelling the Old World belonged to the educational program for young men of the upper classes. By the 1850s the European experience was also affordable for the middle classes thus giving way to the phenomenon of commercial tourism. Accompanied by this movement was the growing popularity of travel literature by American writers. Among those who returned and wrote fiction or essays inspired by their journeys were Margaret Fuller, James Fenimore Cooper, and Washington Irving, to name but a few. So, both Hawthorne and James followed an American literary tradition. Europe constituted in these days an inseparable part of the American consciousness. Political independence had long been achieved but the fascination with and the orientation towards the 'mother' continent in the east failed to cease. Everything rendered culturally or artistically important was an European import or imitation, no matter if in architecture, painting, or dressing style. This dependence resulted in ambivalent feelings. Great admiration mixed with feelings of inferiority, reverence with repudiation. The cultural density and the historical richness of metropolises like London, Paris, and Rome attracted thousands of American tourists each year. At the same time Americans were shocked by the - at least from an American point of view - obvious moral decadence of the Europeans. These circumstances provoked James and Hawthorne into dealing with themselves as Americans in Europe, with their emotions, opinions, and prejudices, experiences which were fruitful for their creative outpouring. [...]

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Ruhr-University of Bochum, 24 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: When Henry James first travelled to Europe on his own in 1869, for the purpose of improving his education and his health, he was considerably young. With twenty six years of age he was independent of any family restrictions and could freely enjoy the intellectual life of Europe's metropolises. Even though he was already determined to become a writer it was in fact the European experience that launched his career and supplied him with ideas throughout his life (Wright 199). Nathaniel Hawthorne, in comparison, was nearly fifty years old when the opportunity to go to Europe was offered to him. In 1853 he left for Liverpool with his family to take over the office as American consul. He was already an established writer back then, having chiefly used New England settings for the composition of his stories. During the nineteenth century journeys through Europe became increasingly popular with Americans. Travelling the Old World belonged to the educational program for young men of the upper classes. By the 1850s the European experience was also affordable for the middle classes thus giving way to the phenomenon of commercial tourism. Accompanied by this movement was the growing popularity of travel literature by American writers. Among those who returned and wrote fiction or essays inspired by their journeys were Margaret Fuller, James Fenimore Cooper, and Washington Irving, to name but a few. So, both Hawthorne and James followed an American literary tradition. Europe constituted in these days an inseparable part of the American consciousness. Political independence had long been achieved but the fascination with and the orientation towards the 'mother' continent in the east failed to cease. Everything rendered culturally or artistically important was an European import or imitation, no matter if in architecture, painting, or dressing style. This dependence resulted in ambivalent feelings. Great admiration mixed with feelings of inferiority, reverence with repudiation. The cultural density and the historical richness of metropolises like London, Paris, and Rome attracted thousands of American tourists each year. At the same time Americans were shocked by the - at least from an American point of view - obvious moral decadence of the Europeans. These circumstances provoked James and Hawthorne into dealing with themselves as Americans in Europe, with their emotions, opinions, and prejudices, experiences which were fruitful for their creative outpouring. [...]

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book The effects of slavery on the female characters in Toni Morrison´s Beloved by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Tennessee Williams' play 'Orpheus descending' - an analysis by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Manhatten Transfer. Dos Passos' depiction of the city of New York and Ellen Thatcher's & Jimmy Herfs' perception of the world by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book The theme of rape in elizabethan and jacobean literary texts by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Europe's Last Dictatorship - U.S. Democratization Efforts in Belarus by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Mythology and reality in Githa Hariharan's 'The thousand faces of night' by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Corporate social responsibility by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Detected fallacies in President George W. Bush`s speech by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Religious and Racial Profiling in Mohsin Hamid's Novel 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Transport policy in Europe by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Happily Ever After-Life by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book National Park Management - A study of US National Parks with particular emphasis on sustainable tourism by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats and D.H. Lawrence: How Love is combined with a sense of Frustration and Fear by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Japan: Health-, Elderly- and Child- Care in comparison to the German system: based on a case study by Tonia Fondermann
Cover of the book Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Movies by Tonia Fondermann
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy