H.ジェイムズ The Wings of the Doveの悲劇性

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The Wings of the Dove is a novel which accepts various kinds of interpretations according to the readers' points of view. My main interest in this novel is Milly's very natural and human desire to "live" and to love, and also her very natural and human dread of death and loss of love. Though there are melodramatic and comic tendencies in this novel, I think this novel is most suitably called a pure tragedy, describing Milly's physical collapse through illness and the ordeal of her consciousness through loss of love. Two beautiful and healthy lovers, Kate and Densher are involved in Milly's fate, and at the end of the novel, they also experience sense of loss, losing their love for each other. I analyze The Wings of the Dove from Milly's and Kate's points of views, and show how they are tragical in their own ways. Milly's beautiful adventures and success in the London society are mostly based on her illusion. Milly is aware of dangerous elements in the society, but in her limited time and circumstance, there is no alternative for her but to remain among Aunt Maud's company, playing the part of a innocent dove. In the same way, Milly subtly guesses the makebelieve of the great doctor's advice for her, "You can live, if you will." But she pretends that she believes in his words and rushes into the adventure "to live". She may also know from the beginning that Kate and Densher are real lovers, but she makes her selfdeceptive theory that Densher is not loved by Kate so that Milly herself can love Densher. The climax of the ordeal of her consciousness comes when she turns her face to the wall knowing that Kate and Densher have been engaged all the while. Her ordeal is not caused only by the betrayal of her friends; she knows that her illusion of love is mercilessly destroyed by severe reality. But she gets over her suffering, and when she dies she presents Densher with her money for the sake of her true love for him. Milly's generous and beautiful act brings tragedy over Kate. Though Kate is the anti-heroine and the rival of Milly, her eminence as a character is very clear. She occupies a predominant place in her relationship both with Milly and Densher. Milly is deeply impressed by her great beauty and her eminence, and seeks for her friendship. Densher is her passionate lover, and admires her "talent for life". Densher cannot but obey Kate's order to be Milly's lover for the moment. She is very confident of the success of their "game" to get dying Milly's fortune through Densher to secure their future. Kate succeeds in so far as Milly leaves Densher her money. But after Milly's death, Kate's relationship with Densher changes. Densher is in love with dead Milly and needs no one else. Kate's talent for life is defeated by Milly's passionate desire "to live" through the fulfillment of love. Once Kate realizes her own defeat, she retreats from Densher's presence. Kate's fall from eminence to defeat, and her keen recognition of it are fairly called tragical. The Wings of the Dove is a tragedy composed of Milly desire "to live", the ordeal of her consciousness in face of severe reality, and her sad triumph after death over Kate's eminence and her talent for life.

H.ジェイムズ The Wings of the Doveの悲劇性

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