HENRY JAMES, The Portrait of a Lady

Dear me, who is that strange woman?Mr.Touchett had asked.

Perhaps its Mrs.Touchetts niece the independent young lady, lord Warburton suggested. I
think she must be from the way she handles the dog.
The collie, too, had now allowed his attention to be diverted, and he trotted towards the young lady
in the doorway, slowly setting its tail in motion as he went.
But wheres my wife then? murmured the old man.
I suppose the young lady has left her somewhere; thats a part of the independence.
The girl spoke to Ralph, smiling, while she still held up the terrier. Is this your little dog, sir?
He was mine a moment ago; but youve suddenly acquired a remarkable air of property in him.
Couldnt we share him? asked the girl. Hes such a perfect little darling.
Ralph looked at her a moment; she was unexpectedly pretty. You may have him altogether, he
then replied.
The young lady seemed to have a great deal of confidence, both in herself and in others; but this
abrupt generosity made her blush. I ought to tell you that Im probably your cousin, she brought out,
putting down the dog. And heres another! she added quickly, as the collie came up.
Probably? the young man exclaimed, laughing. I supposed it was quite settled! Have you arrived
with my mother?
Yes, half an hour ago.
And has she deposited you and departed again?
No, she went straight to her room, and she told me that, if I should see you, I was to say to you
that you must come to her there at a quarter to seven.
The young man looked at his watch. Thank you very much; I shall be punctual. And then he
looked at his cousin. Youre very welcome here. Im delighted to see you.
She was looking at everything with an eye that denoted clear perception at her companion, at the
two dogs, at the two gentlemen under the trees, at the beautiful scene that surrounded her. []
Is one of those gentlemen your father?
Yes, the elder one the one sitting down. said Ralph.
The girl gave a laugh. I dont suppose its the other one. Whos the other one?
Hes a friend of ours Lord Warburton.
Oh, I hoped there would be a lord; its just like a novel!
(adapted from Novels 1881-1886, 1985: 204-205)

1. Consider the way in which, on a small scale, the excerpt develops the broader preoccupation of
the novel with the clash between worlds and cultures.
2. Search for ironical stances and remarks that contribute to the portrayal of the two worlds:
America and Europe.
3. Find the embedded criticism addressed to European narrow mindedness, preconceived ideas
and disregard of the other.
4. Point to the use of the dialogue as an intense, dramatic scene or event.
5. Give examples of textual details which might help in defining Jamess style as cautious,
therefore subjective.
6. Analyse the reflections of Isabel offered by the other characters as mirrors; refer to the
metamorphosis of cultural stereotypes.
7. Discuss the impact that this many-filtered presentation of character has upon the reader.
8. Comment on narrative technique, specifying intentions and repercussions.
9. What values may be associated with femininity and which with masculinity? How does the text
illustrate them?
10. How may the fiction/reality borderline alluded to in the excerpt be accounted for?
EDWARD MORGAN FORSTER, A Passage to India

But the crisis was still to come.

Adela had meant to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and she had rehearsed this as a difficult
task difficult, because her disaster in the cave was connected, though by a thread, with another part of
her life, her engagement to Ronny. She had thought of love just before she went in, and had innocently
asked Aziz what marriage was like and she supposed that her question had roused evil in him. To
recount this would have been incredibly painful, it was the one point she wanted to keep obscure; she
was willing to give details that would have distressed other girls, but this story of her private failure she
dared not allude to, and she dreaded being examined in public in case something came out. But as soon
as she rose to reply, and heard the sound of her own voice, she feared not even that. A new and
unknown sensation protected her, like a magnificent armour. She didnt think what had happened, or
even remembered in the ordinary way of memory, but she returned to the Marabar Hills and spoke from
them across a sort of darkness to Mr.McBryde. The fatal day recurred, in every detail, but now she was of
it and not of it at the same time, and this double relation gave it indescribable splendour. Why had she
thought the expedition dull? Now the sun rose again, the elephant waited, the pale masses of the rock
flowed round her and presented the first cave; she entered, and a match was reflected in the polished
walls all beautiful and significant, though she had been blind to it at the time. Questions were asked,
and to each she found the exact reply; yes, she had noticed the Tank of the Dagger, but not known its
name; yes, Mrs. Moore had been tired after the first cave and sat in the shadow of a great rock, near the
dried-up mud. Smoothly, the voice in the distance proceeded, leading along the paths of truth, and the
airs from the punkah behind her wafted her on []
You went alone into one of those caves?
That is quite correct.
And the prisoner followed you.
Now weve gotim from the Major.
She was silent. The court, the place of question, awaited her reply. But she could not give it until
Aziz entered the place of answer. []
Her vision was of several caves. She saw herself in one, and she was also outside it, watching its
entrance, for Aziz to pass in. She failed to locate him. [] Speech was more difficult than vision. I am not
quite sure.
I beg your pardon? said the Superintendent of Police.
I cannot be sure
I didnt catch that answer. He looked scared, his mouth shut with a snap. You are on that landing,
or whatever we term it, and you have entered a cave. I suggest to you that the prisoner followed you.
She shook her head.
What do you mean, please?
No, she said in a flat, unattractive voice. [] Im afraid I have made a mistake.
What nature of mistake?
Dr. Aziz never followed me into the cave.
(adapted from A Passage to India, 1989: 247-248)

1. Consider style, diction and register in connection with setting.

2. Analyse characters as embodying opposing worlds and world outlooks.
3. Develop on the oblique social and political criticism that the excerpt foregrounds.
4. Mention the roles played in unfolding meaning by the spatial and temporal juxtapositions.
5. Discuss narrative technique and give textual evidence in support of your statements.
6. Which is the connector in the text and what are its literary functions?
7. There are numerous figures of speech in the text. Which is which?
8. How obvious are the concepts of spontaneous life and free intelligence in the unfolding of
events?
9. Discuss the text as being climactic in the quest for the self.
10. Point to Victorian and modernist features of the text.
JOSEPH CONRAD, Heart of Darkness

His was an impenetrable darkness. I looked at him as you peer down at a man who is lying at the
bottom of a precipice where the sun never shines. But I had not much time to give him, because I was
helping the engine-driver to take to pieces the leaky cylinders, to straighten a bent connecting-rod, and in
other such matters. I lived in an infernal mess of rust, filings, nuts, bolts, spanners, hammers, ratchet-drills
things I abominate, because I dont get on with them. I tended the little forge we fortunately had aboard;
I toiled wearily in a wretched scrap-heap unless I had the shakes too bad to stand.
One evening coming in with a candle I was startled to hear him say a little tremulously, I am lying
here in the dark waiting for death. The light was within a foot of his eyes. I forced myself to murmur, Oh,
nonsense! and stood over him as if transfixed.
Anything approaching the change that came over his features I have never seen before, and hope
never to see again. Oh, I wasnt touched. I was fascinated. It was as though a veil had been rent. I saw
on that ivory face the expression of sombre pride, of ruthless power, of craven terror of an intense and
hopeless despair. Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that
supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision he
cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath
The horror! The horror!
I blew the candle out and left the cabin. The pilgrims were dining in the mess-room, and I took my
place opposite the manager, who lifted his eyes to give me a questioning glance, which I successfully
ignored. He leaned back, serene, with that peculiar smile of his sealing the unexpressed depths of his
meanness. A continuous shower of small flies streamed upon the lamp, upon the cloth, upon our hands
and faces. Suddenly the managers boy put his insolent black head in the doorway, and said in a tone of
scathing contempt:
Mistah Kurtz he dead.
All the pilgrims rushed out to see. I remained, and went on with my dinner. I believe I was
considered brutally callous. However, I did not eat much. There was a lamp in there light, dont you
know and outside it was so beastly, beastly dark. I went no more near the remarkable man who had
pronounced a judgement upon the adventures of his soul on this earth. The voice was gone. What else
had been there? But I am of course aware that next day the pilgrims buried something in a muddy hole.
And then they very nearly buried me.
However, [] I remained to dream the nightmare out to the end, and to show my loyalty to Kurtz
once more. Destiny. My destiny! Droll thing life is that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a
futile purpose.
(adapted from Heart of Darkness and Other Stories, 1999: 97-98)

1. Notice the simple and double inverted commas used. Mention their role in connection with the
double-layered narrative pattern.
2. Pick out the autobiographical references in the text.
3. Mention where and how subtle metafictional observations are made.
4. Analyse the unconventional narrative practices and techniques.
5. Focus on Marlow as narrator and protagonist; how does his story tell of his own character?
6. Discuss the numerous implications of Conrads reversed symbolism as obvious in the excerpt.
7. Observe the irony of tone and pinpoint its goals.
8. Develop on as many intertextual references as you can find.
9. How may Kurtzs last words be interpreted?
10. Is there any proleptic force about the fragment above?