The Other Plot in The Ambassadors

<p>This dissertation argues that Henry James deliberately and ingeniously wrote <em>The Ambassadors</em> (1903) as a double-plotted novel. The traditional plot which follows Lambert Strether to Paris provides cover for the detailed story of Strether’s experiences in Paris as a homosexual man seeking his identity. James conveys the Other Plot by means of code, the primary signifiers of which are references to the well-established homosexual subcultures of London and Paris. In-depth historical research on diverse aspects of homosexual life in the nineteenth century are presented in order to demonstrate how James addresses an audience sympathetic to same-sex love without raising condemnation from moral and literary critics.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

English, PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Restricted to Claremont Colleges Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Arts and Humanities

Year dc:date.available

2017

Author dc:creator

• Rapp, Martha

Contributors dc:contributor

• Eric Bulson
• Mark Eaton

• The Ambassadors
• Henry James
• Homosexuality
• Subcultures
• Paris
• Literature in English, British Isles
• Literature in English, North America
• Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/105

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-1116