February 4 2013 ebook 645 this file was first posted on.
The figure in the carpet.
In a gesture of compensation one supposes vereker confides to the narrator that his fictions are all linked by a single idea or scheme that no critic has ever noticed but that is the very secret.
Henry james 1843 1916 published the figure in the carpet in 1896.
The figure in the carpet is a short story sometimes considered a novella by american writer henry james first published in 1896.
In that sense it s a kind of warning not to associate writers lives too closely with their work so i won t try to figure out what it might mean in connection with henry james own life and work.
The figure in the carpetauthor.
He is best known for his novel the portrait of a lady first published in 1880.
The figure in the carpet by henry james.
He frequently filled his tales with ambiguity and even obscurity as he does in this 48 page short story.
It is told in the first person.
The figure in the carpet is partly about readers and the obsessions they can sometimes develop with writers who intrigue them.
The narrator whose name is never revealed meets his favorite author and becomes obsessed with discovering the secret meaning or intention of all the author s works.