The Aspern Papers

The Aspern Papers is a novella written by Henry James, first published in Atlantic Monthly in 1888, and later included in his collection The Aspern Papers and Other Stories in 1888, alongside other notable works such as The Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller. The story revolves around the Tuscan countryside, where the narrator, an unnamed American editor, becomes obsessed with obtaining the letters of the late Jeffrey Aspern, a famous American poet, from his former lover, Juliana Bordereau, who lives in a Venetian palace with her niece, Tina Bordereau. The narrator's quest for the Aspern papers leads him to form a complex relationship with the two women, who are connected to the Brown University-educated poet through their literary and personal ties to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The story explores the tensions between the narrator's Harvard University-influenced American exceptionalism and the European culture of Juliana Bordereau and her niece, who are linked to the University of Oxford and the British literature of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

● Introduction

The narrative of The Aspern Papers is presented as a first-person narrative, where the unnamed narrator recounts his experiences in Venice, Italy, as he attempts to acquire the Aspern papers from Juliana Bordereau, who is connected to the University of Cambridge and the British poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning. The narrator's obsession with the Aspern papers is driven by his desire to understand the life and work of Jeffrey Aspern, who is often compared to Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats in terms of his Romantic poetry style. The story is set in the late 19th century, a time when European literature was heavily influenced by the works of Gustave Flaubert and Émile Zola, and American literature was shaped by the writings of Mark Twain and Edith Wharton. The narrator's journey takes him through the Tuscan countryside, where he encounters various characters, including Tina Bordereau, who is connected to the University of Florence and the Italian literature of Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio.

● Plot

The plot of The Aspern Papers revolves around the narrator's attempts to obtain the Aspern papers from Juliana Bordereau, who is reluctant to part with the letters due to their personal significance, which is tied to her relationships with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The narrator forms a complex relationship with Tina Bordereau, who becomes his ally in his quest for the Aspern papers, and is connected to the University of Rome and the Italian poetry of Petrarch and Ariosto. As the story unfolds, the narrator's obsession with the Aspern papers leads him to make difficult choices, which ultimately result in the destruction of the letters, a decision that is influenced by the French literature of Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. The plot is driven by the tensions between the narrator's desire for the Aspern papers and the Bordereau women's desire to protect their privacy, which is linked to the Austrian Empire and the German literature of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller.

● Characters

The characters in The Aspern Papers are complex and multi-dimensional, with each character playing a significant role in the narrative, which is influenced by the Russian literature of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky. The narrator is an unnamed American editor, who is driven by his obsession with the Aspern papers and is connected to the Yale University and the American poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Juliana Bordereau is a former lover of Jeffrey Aspern, who is reluctant to part with the letters due to their personal significance, which is tied to her relationships with University of California, Berkeley and the California literature of Jack London and John Steinbeck. Tina Bordereau is Juliana Bordereau's niece, who becomes the narrator's ally in his quest for the Aspern papers, and is connected to the University of Michigan and the Michigan literature of Ernest Hemingway and Theodore Roethke. Other characters, such as the Miss Tita and the Osgood, play important roles in the narrative, which is influenced by the Canadian literature of Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro.

● Themes

The themes in The Aspern Papers are varied and complex, with the story exploring the tensions between the narrator's obsession with the Aspern papers and the Bordereau women's desire to protect their privacy, which is linked to the Australian literature of Patrick White and David Malouf. The story also explores the theme of American exceptionalism, as the narrator's desire for the Aspern papers is driven by his belief in the importance of American literature, which is influenced by the University of Sydney and the Australian poetry of A.D. Hope and Les Murray. The theme of European culture is also present, as the narrator's experiences in Venice and the Tuscan countryside are shaped by his encounters with European literature and art, which is connected to the University of Melbourne and the Australian art of Tom Roberts and Charles Conder. The story also explores the theme of morality, as the narrator is forced to confront the consequences of his actions, which is influenced by the New Zealand literature of Katherine Mansfield and Janet Frame.

● Publication_history

The Aspern Papers was first published in Atlantic Monthly in 1888, and later included in The Aspern Papers and Other Stories in 1888, alongside other notable works such as The Turn of the Screw and Daisy Miller. The story has since been published in various editions, including a Penguin Classics edition, which features an introduction by Colm Tóibín, and a Oxford University Press edition, which includes a foreword by Hermione Lee. The story has also been translated into various languages, including French, German, and Italian, and has been widely studied in universities and colleges around the world, including Harvard University, Yale University, and University of Oxford.

● Adaptations

The Aspern Papers has been adapted into various forms of media, including film, theater, and opera. A film adaptation of the story was released in 2018, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the narrator and Joely Richardson as Juliana Bordereau, and was influenced by the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. A theater adaptation of the story was performed at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2019, starring Tom Hiddleston as the narrator and Helen Mirren as Juliana Bordereau, and was connected to the Tony Awards and the Olivier Awards. An opera adaptation of the story was composed by Philip Glass and premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2020, and was influenced by the Salzburg Festival and the Bayreuth Festival. The story has also been adapted into a radio play and a television film, and has been widely performed and broadcast around the world, including on BBC Radio 3 and PBS.

Category:19th-century novellas