Life, 1906-05-10 · page 17 of 26
Life — May 10, 1906 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine piece satirizes novelist Henry James for deliberately obscure prose. The main article mocks Dr. Jastrow's earnest intention to read James's recent *North American Review* essay—suggesting he likely won't, given James's difficulty. The critique claims James's writing actively *conceals* rather than conveys thought, making him "the very worst living writer who can get his copy into print." The comparison to Hans Andersen's "Emperor's New Clothes" reinforces this: James's complexity is presented as pretentious obfuscation masquerading as sophistication. The cartoon "A Write-Up Spoiled" (caption unclear) appears to satirize social pretension or gossip—a woman's attempted boasting about jewelry and borrowed silver undermines itself through the admission itself. The piece represents the contemporary American literary debate over James's deliberately complex, psychological style versus demands for clarity and accessibility.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- 593 Mr. James Should Clothe His Thoughts going about in his shirt. These many moons Mr. James’ ideas have gone about clothed in nothing but fog. It is a GENTLEMAN of Philadelphia, Dr. Jastrow, is pleased pity, because they are good ideas—at least we believe so. with Mr. Henry James’ recent piece in the North — But, Lord Harry! he ought to clothe them. To send them American Review about his town, and has gone into training out as he does is not decent. with a view to reading it. : He has, as yet, only glanced through it, he says; but he intends to read it carefully. “I know I shall find it de- ightful,” he says, “and difficult, very difficult. Henry James is a great writer—one of the great- est, but he is not easy reading. Iam not a lit- erateur; I am onlyalay- man, and I. find Henry James hard work.” We have no doubt Dr. Jastrow is sincere in his intention to read Mr. James’ article, but it is dollars to doughnuts that he never does read it. It is, of course, conceivable that he may, for Phila- delphia is a tranquil town, and folks there have | ure and energy for em- ployments that could not be profitably accomplished elsewhere; but we bet he doesn't read the piece. And is he not mistaken in supposing that Mr. James is a great writer? Can any one be a great writer without being a good writer, and is it not ob- vious that Mr. James is at present the very worst living writerwho can get his copy into print? If it is true that language is a means of concealing our thoughts, then Mr. James uses it with skill, but if it be regarded as a means of conveying thoughts, he is nowhere. There is a story of Hans Andersen about the man who made the king a suit of clothes which only persons of special discernment could _ see. After awhile a child let A WRITE-UP SPOILED itout that the king was “suactars! aND MY NEW DIAMOND PIN HASN'T COME HOME; AND SISTER BORROWED THE BEST SILVER VESTERDAY.” comicbooks.com