''The Tragic Muse'' is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in '' The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1889–1890 and then as a book in 1890. This wide, cheerful panorama of English life follows the fortunes of two would-be

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

s: Nick Dormer, who throws over a political career in his efforts to become a

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, and Miriam Rooth, an

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

striving for artistic and commercial success. A cast of supporting characters help and hinder their pursuits.

Synopsis

Nicholas "Nick" Dormer wants to pursue a career in painting instead of his family's traditional role in British politics. This upsets his family and particularly his lady friend, Julia Dallow, a beautiful but demanding woman deeply involved in political campaigns. But Nick's old

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

friend Gabriel Nash encourages him to follow his desire to become an artist. Despite his misgivings Nick goes through an election campaign, supported by Julia, and wins a seat in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. He proposes marriage to Julia but they agree to wait. Meanwhile, Nick's cousin Peter Sherringham, a rising young man in the British diplomatic service, encounters a young actress, Miriam Rooth, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He falls in love with Miriam, who shows great energy but is a woefully raw talent. Peter introduces Miriam to French acting coach Madame Carre, and Miriam begins to improve her acting technique greatly. Nick seeks to become an artist and resigns from Parliament. He thus loses a large bequest from his political patron, Mr. Carteret. Nick becomes a full-time painter, and when Miriam comes to London in search of theatrical success, she sits to Nick for her portrait as "the tragic muse." Julia finds the two together in the studio. Although nothing improper is going on, Julia suddenly and bitterly realizes that Nick is dedicated to art and will never return to politics. Peter proposes marriage to Miriam, but she refuses. Peter accepts a diplomatic assignment in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. Miriam eventually triumphs as an actress, especially as Juliet. Peter returns to London to see her debut in this role, and to propose to her again; but she is already married to Basil Dashwood, her fellow actor and business manager. Peter marries Nick's sister Biddie instead, and the novel ends with a suggestion that Nick and Julia may eventually marry, after all.

Major themes

Because of its focus on theatre, ''The Tragic Muse'' has been discussed as theatre-fiction, which Graham Wolfe explains as "referring to novels and stories that engage in concrete and sustained ways with theatre as artistic practice and industry". James completed this novel just as he embarked on his ultimately disastrous attempt to conquer the stage. The book reflects his lifelong fascination with the

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

—and his ambivalent attitude towards theatrical people. Miriam Rooth is a magnificent creation, and the reader can't help but admire her tireless energy as she perfects her talent and earns great success. But James hardly portrays her as a saint, as he never minimizes her faults. In the preface to the '' New York Edition'' text of the novel, James regretted that he hadn't succeeded completely with Nick Dormer. The ambivalent politician turned painter does suffer in comparison with the radiant Miriam, but his dilemma is still interesting and sharply drawn. This novel seems strangely "un-Jamesian" in that it wanders amiably along, with a large cast—the ''Henry James Encyclopedia'' counts more than fifty named characters, although only a dozen or so play an active role—and a lot of things happening in a sometimes disjointed way. The overarching and solidly constructed form that James usually imposes on his material appears absent here. The double plot makes for a rather sprawling book, less reminiscent of James' other novels and more like the great Victorian epics by Dickens and Thackeray.

Critical evaluation

''The Tragic Muse'' largely failed with

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

s and public when it was originally published. To this day the novel has attracted relatively little critical attention. This lukewarm attitude may stem from the "un-Jamesian" nature of the book mentioned above. Aside from its preoccupation with the theater and art in general, ''The Tragic Muse'' does not address many of James' more characteristic themes. Critics have generally applauded Miriam Rooth as one of James' liveliest creations. There has been some speculation about the model for Gabriel Nash, who sounds at times like

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

. However, James actually seems to have based the character on an acquaintance named Herbert Pratt, a well-heeled, guitar-playing American wanderer, who was a

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

friend of

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...

. Having listened to Pratt's colourful stories, James jotted down in his '' Notebooks'' on November 25, 1881: "

ratt Ratt (stylized as RATT) was an American glam metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum and multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA. ...

was a most singular, most interesting type, and I shall certainly put him in a novel. I shall even make the portrait close and he won't mind...A good deal might be done with Herbert Pratt". Many commentators are willing to grant James' assertion in the ''New York Edition'' preface that the novel maintains a pleasant "tone" or charm or ambiance.

Stage adaptation

A dramatization of the novel was presented as part of the Gilded Stage Festival at The Metropolitan Playhouse in New York City in January 2014. The adaptation was written by Mark Dundas Wood and was directed by Jesse Jou.

References

* ''The Novels of Henry James'' by Edward Wagenknecht (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1983) * ''Modern Critical Views: Henry James'' edited by

Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world". Af ...

(New York: Chelsea House Publishers 1987) * ''The Complete Notebooks of Henry James'' edited by Leon Edel and Lyall Powers (New York: Oxford University Press 1987) * ''A Henry James Encyclopedia'' by Robert Gale (New York: Greenwood Press, 1989) * ''A Companion to Henry James Studies'' edited by Daniel Fogel (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press 1993)

External links