Originally serialized in the Atlantic Monthly and subsequently first published as a book in 1890, The Tragic Muse is one of the most highly polished, aesthetically attuned novels ever written, featuring one of the most provocative, aesthetically attuned characters in all of literature – Gabriel Nash. I love reading this novel and how Gabriel Nash challenges everyone he encounters, all those men and women who discount feelings and sensations and who take the world and life in other than purely aesthetic and artistically refined terms.

So, rather than synopsizing the plot or making allusions to the many intricate relationships, for example, diplomat Peter Sherringham with Biddy Dormer or actress Miriam Rooth (many pages are dedicated to reflections on theater and the dramatic arts) or politician/painter Nick Dormer with his politically ambitious cousin, Julia Dallow, I will focus on the tensions established in the very first chapters between two contrary sets of values: on one side, adhering to the conventional and establishmentarian as represented by Lady Agnus and her friends and family, and on the other side, taking a stand for the beautiful and fine by developing aesthetic awareness and cultivated feelings as represented by Gabriel Nash.

Firstly, Nick Dormer and his sister Biddy meet Gabriel Nash in a museum garden where both Nick and Gabriel are delighted to reconnect, not haven’t seen one another since their college days at Oxford. Gabriel goes on about how he drifts and floats through life, letting his feelings direct him and how, unlike other people who define themselves by what they do, he defines himself by what he doesn’t do – outside the realm of action, he is an exalter in shades of impression and sensibilities, living in the world of his feelings, urging others to train that special sense, their faculty of appreciation. To which, Biddy asks: “Are you an aesthete?” Gabriel answers graciously, recoiling at being defined or delimited by any unoriginal category or set formula.

Meanwhile, Nick’s mother, Lady Agnes, knows full well her son should be following in his dearly departed father’s footsteps, pursuing a political career and doing the sensible, honorable thing by marrying his beautiful, charming, rich cousin Julia. Nick and Biddy return to luncheon with their mother, sister Grace and their cousin, the diplomat Peter Sherringham, but, unexpectedly, Nick brings along Gabriel Nash. Nick is informed that he can run for political office in Harsh since the current representative, Mr. Pinks, has suddenly died and the seat is now open. Gabriel Nash comments jocularly and somewhat roguishly on the sound of these two words: Harsh and Pinks. And this jibe is only the beginning - in the course of conversation as they all sit down (Nick seats Gabriel next to his mother) Nash attacks the provinciality of English pocket-boroughs along with positing how politics is a rather nasty, foolish business inferior to everything else, even the theater, since all those political comedians are less honest than comedians one finds on stage. Gabriel Nash might as well have picked up his water glass and emptied its contents over Lady Agnes’ head.

A couple of days later at a gathering arranged by Peter Sherringham, Nick introduces Gabriel Nash to his cousin, Julia Dallow. Once seated next to Julia, Gabriel brims forth with observations on feelings and art, until, taken aback at his remarks, we read:

Julia Dallow was conscious, for a moment, of looking uncomfortable; but it relieved her to demand of her neightbour, in a certain tone, “Are you an artist?”
“I try to be,” Nash replied, smiling; “but I work in such difficult material.” He spoke this with such a clever suggestion of unexpected reference that, in spite of herself, Mrs. Dallow said after him –
“Difficult material?’
“I work in life!”
At this Mrs. Dallow turned away.

You bet she turned away. And if at that moment she had a loaded derringer in her possession and realized what a profound influence Gabriel Nash would have on her cousin, Nick Dorner, the future successful member of Parliament and perhaps, if Nick would become more serious in his political aspirations, even her husband, she might well have fired a bullet into Gabriel Nash’s highly refined chest. Afterwards. Julia tells Nick that she found Nash to be odious as well as impertinent and fatuous – or, in our current-day language: revolting, rude and stupid. Of course, Gabriel Nash is anything but stupid but since his very presence is a direct challenge and threat to Julia’s worldview and what she most highly esteems, she lashes out, degrading and debasing Nash as much as possible.

That very evening, Nick Dormer meets up with Gabriel Nash and the two friends take a stroll through the streets of Paris. Gabriel pontificates on how it is his business to cultivate his personal style and have an interest in the beautiful. He states directly that, unlike other people, he is not ashamed to have feelings and to have sensations. And then he continues by telling Nick it is better to be on the side of beauty, to be on the side of the fine. Gabriel makes it clear, however, what he is describing isn’t so much a doing as it is a being, and goes on to underscore this important point by noting how if one were to judge in terms of having something to show for being on the side of the fine and the beautiful, that would amount to a confession of failure. Nick, in turn, admits if he followed his heart’s desire, he would devote himself to portrait painting. Nash is delighted and assures Nick that he will take his side in actualizing his artistic dream.

In the tradition of Indian classical music there is the tala, that is, the regular, repeating rhythmic phrase in any given raga or other piece of music and once the set pattern of tala is established, the music grows and evolves accordingly. What I have noted regarding the tension between the above two sets of values is the tala of this Henry James novel, manifesting not only with Nick Dormer and his family but also in the story of Miriam Rooth and her rise to fame and fortune as an actress. Henry James had a keen and abiding interest in acting and the theater (at one point in his life he expended great energy attempting to become an Ibsen) and the dramatic arts take center stage (no pun intended) in this novel.

Henry James also had an abiding interest in the visual arts and aesthetic theory, particularly the writing of John Ruskin and Walter Pater, and how aesthetic experience impacts character, so much so that, along with a number of his short stories, several of his novels feature men and women changed by aesthetic experience, for example, Isabel Archer in The Portrait of a Lady and Milly Theale in The Wings of the Dove. And this is one prime reason I focused on Gabriel Nash and what he stands for.

Certainly, in vintage Henry James style, a reader will be treated to the richness and complexity of intertwining relationships between characters, in this case Lady Agnus, sister Biddy, cousin Julia, Peter Sherringham, actress Miriam Rooth, Nick Dormer and his friend, but Gabriel Nash is the rare jewel, each and every one of his appearances in the novel displaying a different facet of the aesthetic experience and what it can mean as a possible life transformer. As I read this nearly 600 page novel, I lingered with and relished everything Gabriel Nash.


“There will be the beauty of having been disinterested and independent; of having taken the world in the free, brave, personal way.” Gabriel Nash speaking to Nick Dormer. To my eye, this photo captures much of the spirit of Gabriel Nash. ( )

Originally serialized in the Atlantic Monthly and subsequently first published as a book in 1890, “The Tragic Muse” is one of the most highly polished, aesthetically attuned novels ever written, featuring one of the most provocative, aesthetically attuned characters in all of literature – Gabriel Nash. I love reading this novel and how Gabriel Nash challenges everyone he encounters, all those men and women who discount feelings and sensations and who take the world and life in other than purely aesthetic and artistically refined terms.

So, rather than synopsizing the plot or making allusions to the many intricate relationships, for example, diplomat Peter Sherringham with Biddy Dormer or actress Miriam Rooth (many pages are dedicated to reflections on theater and the dramatic arts) or politician/painter Nick Dormer with his politically ambitious cousin, Julia Dallow, I will focus on the tensions established in the very first chapters between two contrary sets of values: on one side, adhering to the conventional and establishmentarian as represented by Lady Agnus and her friends and family, and on the other side, taking a stand for the beautiful and fine by developing aesthetic awareness and cultivated feelings as represented by Gabriel Nash.

Firstly, Nick Dormer and his sister Biddy meet Gabriel Nash in a museum garden where both Nick and Gabriel are delighted to reconnect, not haven’t seen one another since their college days at Oxford. Gabriel goes on about how he drifts and floats through life, letting his feelings direct him and how, unlike other people who define themselves by what they do, he defines himself by what he doesn’t do – outside the realm of action, he is an exalter in shades of impression and sensibilities, living in the world of his feelings, urging others to train that special sense, their faculty of appreciation. To which, Biddy asks: “Are you an aesthete?” Gabriel answers graciously, recoiling at being defined or delimited by any unoriginal category or set formula.

Meanwhile, Nick’s mother, Lady Agnes, knows full well her son should be following in his dearly departed father’s footsteps, pursuing a political career and doing the sensible, honorable thing by marrying his beautiful, charming, rich cousin Julia. Nick and Biddy return to luncheon with their mother, sister Grace and their cousin, the diplomat Peter Sherringham, but, unexpectedly, Nick brings along Gabriel Nash. Nick is informed that he can run for political office in Harsh since the current representative, Mr. Pinks, has suddenly died and the seat is now open. Gabriel Nash comments jocularly and somewhat roguishly on the sound of these two words: Harsh and Pinks. And this jibe is only the beginning - in the course of conversation as they all sit down (Nick seats Gabriel next to his mother) Nash attacks the provinciality of English pocket-boroughs along with positing how politics is a rather nasty, foolish business inferior to everything else, even the theater, since all those political comedians are less honest than comedians one finds on stage. Gabriel Nash might as well have picked up his water glass and emptied its contents over Lady Agnes’ head.

A couple of days later at a gathering arranged by Peter Sherringham, Nick introduces Gabriel Nash to his cousin, Julia Dallow. Once seated next to Julia, Gabriel brims forth with observations on feelings and art, until, taken aback at his remarks, we read:

Julia Dallow was conscious, for a moment, of looking uncomfortable; but it relieved her to demand of her neightbour, in a certain tone, “Are you an artist?”
“I try to be,” Nash replied, smiling; “but I work in such difficult material.” He spoke this with such a clever suggestion of unexpected reference that, in spite of herself, Mrs. Dallow said after him –
“Difficult material?’
“I work in life!”
At this Mrs. Dallow turned away.

You bet she turned away. And if at that moment she had a loaded derringer in her possession and realized what a profound influence Gabriel Nash would have on her cousin, Nick Dorner, the future successful member of Parliament and perhaps, if Nick would become more serious in his political aspirations, even her husband, she might well have fired a bullet into Gabriel Nash’s highly refined chest. Afterwards. Julia tells Nick that she found Nash to be odious as well as impertinent and fatuous – or, in our current-day language: revolting, rude and stupid. Of course, Gabriel Nash is anything but stupid but since his very presence is a direct challenge and threat to Julia’s worldview and what she most highly esteems, she lashes out, degrading and debasing Nash as much as possible.

That very evening, Nick Dormer meets up with Gabriel Nash and the two friends take a stroll through the streets of Paris. Gabriel pontificates on how it is his business to cultivate his personal style and have an interest in the beautiful. He states directly that, unlike other people, he is not ashamed to have feelings and to have sensations. And then he continues by telling Nick it is better to be on the side of beauty, to be on the side of the fine. Gabriel makes it clear, however, what he is describing isn’t so much a doing as it is a being, and goes on to underscore this important point by noting how if one were to judge in terms of having something to show for being on the side of the fine and the beautiful, that would amount to a confession of failure. Nick, in turn, admits if he followed his heart’s desire, he would devote himself to portrait painting. Nash is delighted and assures Nick that he will take his side in actualizing his artistic dream.

In the tradition of Indian classical music there is the tala, that is, the regular, repeating rhythmic phrase in any given raga or other piece of music and once the set pattern of tala is established, the music grows and evolves accordingly. What I have noted regarding the tension between the above two sets of values is the tala of this Henry James novel, manifesting not only with Nick Dormer and his family but also in the story of Miriam Rooth and her rise to fame and fortune as an actress. Henry James had a keen and abiding interest in acting and the theater (at one point in his life he expended great energy attempting to become an Ibsen) and the dramatic arts take center stage (no pun intended) in this novel.

Henry James also had an abiding interest in the visual arts and aesthetic theory, particularly the writing of John Ruskin and Walter Pater, and how aesthetic experience impacts character, so much so that, along with a number of his short stories, several of his novels feature men and women changed by aesthetic experience, for example, Isabel Archer in “The Portrait of a Lady” and Milly Theale in “The Wings of the Dove.” And this is one prime reason I focused on Gabriel Nash and what he stands for. Certainly, in vintage Henry James style, a reader will be treated to the richness and complexity of intertwining relationships between characters, in this case Lady Agnus, sister Biddy, cousin Julia, Peter Sherringham, actress Miriam Rooth, Nick Dormer and his friend, but Gabriel Nash is the rare jewel, each and every one of his appearances in the novel displaying a different facet of the aesthetic experience and what it can mean as a possible life transformer. As I read this nearly 600 page novel, I lingered with and relished everything Gabriel Nash.


( )

Recently I have been working my way through Henry James. Having only nibbled at the edges of his work before, I was not even aware of The Tragic Muse. Having read it, I went online to read about it (proceeding in the reverse order strikes me as cheating), and confirmed what I had suspected: This is a stepchild among James scholars largely because its subject matter and construction are not particularly Jamesian. In those respects, The Tragic Muse owes much more to James's high-Victorian predecessors that anything of his I have read before.

The Wikipedia page on the novel cites Dickens and Thackeray, but its real ancestor is Anthony Trollope. James visits here the world of English politics and government, which was one of Trollope's native habitats; Nick Dormer, its hero resembles Phineas Finn, in that both are poor men supported in their political ambitions by rich women. This could be coincidence, but the ending, in which the romantic threads are tidied up is very Trollopian in its slightly elephantine coyness.

...Anyway, I enjoyed it. One of James's accessible novels.

A book for our times! Reminded me of Lindsay Lohan a lot. The obsession with people being famous just for being famous felt really contemporary, while at times it felt more overtly Victorian than most HJ.

Much more accessible than some of the Master's later work and very funny at times. ( )