39 pages • 1 hour read
Henry JamesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Having traveled from England to Venice, the narrator prepares for an attempt to access formerly undiscovered papers related to author Jeffrey Aspern. His friend Mrs. Prest has given him an idea he claims he wouldn’t have devised himself: to become a lodger in the home of Juliana and Tita Bordereau, an unmarried aunt and niece who he believes are in possession of the letters. Juliana, the aunt, had a romantic relationship with Aspern many years earlier. The narrator is both an editor and a devotee of Aspern’s work, and his attitude toward the deceased poet is worshipful. The narrator reflects on research he and his friend John Cumnor conducted on Aspern, insisting that “his early death had been the only dark spot in his life” (52). He expresses some trepidation that the papers may change that image, as there have been rumors that Aspern treated Miss. Bordereau badly.
Though he has seen the place before, he accepts Mrs. Prest’s offer to show him the Bordereau house, since she has visited the women before. They observe the house, which the narrator feels seems to have an air of “quiet discouragement,” though it is imposing (54).
By Henry James
Daisy Miller
Daisy Miller
Henry James
Roderick Hudson
Roderick Hudson
Henry James
The Ambassadors
The Ambassadors
Henry James
The American
The American
Henry James
The Beast in the Jungle
The Beast in the Jungle
Henry James
The Bostonians
The Bostonians
Henry James
The Golden Bowl
The Golden Bowl
Henry James
The Jolly Corner
The Jolly Corner
Henry James
The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of a Lady
Henry James
The Real Thing
The Real Thing
Henry James
The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw
Henry James
The Wings of the Dove
The Wings of the Dove
Henry James
Washington Square
Washington Square
Henry James
What Maisie Knew
What Maisie Knew
Henry James