The Sustaining Duplicities of The Wings of the Dove

Author(s): Lee Clark Mitchell

Source: Texas Studies in Literature and Language, Vol. 29, No. 2, Henry James (SUMMER
1987), pp. 187-214
Published by: University of Texas Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40754824 .
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Lee ClarkMitchell

The SustainingDuplicitiesofThe WingsoftheDove

Kate Croymaywellbe themostelusiveheroine HenryJamescre-

ated,ifonlybecausethechoicesshe makesappearafterthefact
unlikechoicesat all. Herfather declinesherofferto livewithhim
nearthebeginning ofTheWingsoftheDove (1902),andonlylong
afterthefactis itclearthatshemusthaveanticipated hisflustered
rebuff. Onlygradually do wesensehowhollowherdefiance ofAunt
Maud's prohibition mustbe, as we growawareof whatshe has
clearly knownall along:thatherfather wouldneverriskdefying his
wealthysister-in-law. Kate's pledgeis simplya ployto embarrass
himintoa flatrejection. Andyetsheactsthroughout as ifherchoice
werereal,thereby making it seemthatheroffer mightbe accepted:
"She wantsmetochoose.Verywell,I willchoose"(31).Ineffective
as sheknowsanyotherintention wouldhavebeeninthesecircum-
stances,shephrasesheravowal"in a manner"thatlendsherthe
appearance ofmakinga choice. l
A yearlaterthenovel'sconclusion offersa similardilemmaof
' or
' 'love' a choicenolongeroffather orauntbutofmarriage
money:
to MertonDensherorthebequestofMillyTheale.Andonceagain
Kate'sperformance enlivens thathadseemforeclosed.
possibilities
Despiteall thataugursagainstsucha choiceandevendespiteher
closingassertion (that"wewillneverbe againas wewere"),shestill
seemswonderfully freetochoose.Thetwisttothisviewofherfree-
dom,however, is thatreadersassumeKateis drivenbylittlemore
thannarrow Whydoweascribemeanintentions
self-interest. toher,
givenhowlittlewe areprivyto herthoughts? Whyindeeddo we
evenassumeKate'sactionsarevoluntarily willed?Thewomanwho
is arguably leastherownmistress andmostconstrained bycircum-
stanceis nonetheless regularly condemned fortheheartlessway
she manipulates everyone else. Of course,ourveryinclination to
indictKate forthenovel'sunfolding affirms
duplicities herskillin
seizingat least somesemblance ofcontrolfromevents.But that
shouldnot in itselfconvinceus thatshe acts withautonomous
freedom, muchless thatshewarrants ourcondemnation.2

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 188

In thefollowing, I arguethatcensureofKate misrepresents the

novel, which achieves a suspended vision ofher through distinctly
opposednarrative strategies.Thefirstofthesetendstofocusatten-
tiononconsequence at theexpenseofintention, thereby encouraging
disregard fortheostensible motives ofKate'sbehavior. Andjudged
by consequences alone,she clearlydoes enrichothers'experience
-most notably intheextraordinary giftoflifethatresultsfrom her
deception of Milly.Indeed,fromthisperspective, deceitappears
less a toolofself-interest thana modeofartful generosity,anddis-
approvalofKate soonseemsfarless appropriate thanpraise.
Yet before thisstresson consequence can alterourconventional
moralviews,thenovel'srepetitive structuresubvertsanyinclina-
tionto approveordisapprove. Justas webecomemorefullyaware
ofthe"wonder ofKate'sdissimulation," werealizehowlittlecredit
as agentsheis permitted to take(248).Theparadoxemerges from
thenovel'semphasison twocontrasted formsofdoubling: decep-
tionsinvolvedin deliberately appearing btherthanone feels,and
repetitions experienced in helplesssubmissionto whatone has
alreadyundergone. Muchas Kate's dissimulations seemto estab-
lishherreleasefromconstraint, thenarrative deprives herofa will
by perpetually returning her to the same place and pattern.And
whileherartful dodging seems to a
prove freely willedgenerosity,
repetitiveforces preclude thepossibilityofresponsibilityaltogether.
Contradictory as are theseperspectives, The Wingsof theDove
sustainsthemboth,andto adoptonlyoneis to misstheextentto
whichtheycontainandundooneanother.3 Mutualdeceptions are
madeto appearat oncenobleandself-serving, somehow willedand
yetinvoluntary- andtheydo so fromthefirstscene.
I
In noothernoveldidJamesfeelso fullytheneedof" 'beginning far
back,'as farbackas possible"(8). Andperhapsit is thereforeun-
surprisingthattheopening ofTheWingsoftheDove establishes its
characteristic
emphases: "She waited,Kate Croy, forherfatherto
comein,buthekeptherunconscionably, andthereweremoments at
whichsheshowedherself, intheglassoverthemantel,a faceposi-
tivelypalewiththeirritation thathadbrought herto thepointof
going away withoutsight of him. It was at this point,however,
thatshe remained" (21).The openinglinesestablishwhatJames
delightedlytermeda "playoftheportentous" (15).Thereflection
of
a faceso "positivelypale" in themirror of a Bayswaterflat,for
instance, thefinalscenewhena resoluteKate andDen-
prefigures
sher"showedeachotherpalefaces"(401).Herinitialstance,more-

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 ofTheWingsoftheDove . 189
Duplicities

overcorresponds to herpositionall thewaythrough thenovelas

wellas anticipating thedelaysenforced uponnearlyeveryone else.
And thepatternof postponement revealedin the stutterof the
"
openingapposition-She waited,Kate Croy"-has theeffectof
immuring Kate in thesamegrammatical place.Enforcing thatde-
ferred is thephrasethatendsthepassage("she remained"), con-
firmed in its ownturnbytheanaphoraofthenexttwosentences:
"shehadtriedit ... Shehadlooked. . . shehadaboveall ... takena
briefstand."Hesitation punctuates theverysyntaxofKate'spre-
sentation, as theconjunctive "but"and"however" foldtheopening
sentences backonthemselves. All shecando is topacethefloorin
a self-encircling prosethatleavesnothing to occuronlyonce.4
As iffurther toestablish howdifficult itwillbe forKatetoescape
hercircumstances, "thevulgarlittleroom"is physically and rhe-
torically repeated in an equally"vulgar little street." Private and
publicspheres in this novel will be inextricably linked, and their
initialreflection ofeachotherestablishes theextenttowhichothers
define one'sworld.Whileshewaits,Kateglancesat themirror ina
gesture that images this socialself-alignment and that initiates a
seriesofdividedreflections entertained aboutherbyeveryone else.
"Is it thewayshelooksto him?"Millywillwonder ofKate as she
triesto imaginethedifference betweenKate's publicpersonaand
herprivateappearance to Densher.5 Andthatis thequestionthat
echoesmoreoftenthananyotherthrough a novelwherecharacters
linkintentions, feelings, and demeanor in the processofsocialcrea-
tion.Thedualperspective maintained byeveryone towardeveryone
elseextendsas welltotheirviewofthemselves, from theveryopen-
ing sentence in which Kate becomes at once subjectand object:
"She waited . . . but he kept her . . . she showed herself . . . thathad
brought her." The alternating rhythm augments the intense self-
in
divisionofthescene, whichKate willadoptthe kind of external
viewofherthatothershave.Her dilemmaofwhether to leaveor
of
stay, accepting her aunt or her father, is clarified in the confron-
tationofphysical body with mirror image as she "showed herself, in
theglass."
Nowhere elsewillweshareso fullya viewofKate'sfeelings, how-
evermuchwemaybe ableto guessandhowever oftentheyare,as
here,ofrisingirritation. DensherandMillybothwilllaterregister
herimpatience, butonlyas we initially draw"breaththrough the
young woman's lungs" can we know how intense is her response to
constraint.6 Indeed, Kate's perspective vanishes too soon in a novel
devotedto herdesign,leavingus moreinformed thanwe know,
immersed all too briefly in a consciousness thereafter thesubject
ofmereconjecture. Andbecauseconfined through most of thenovel

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 190

to an outsider'sviewof Kate, we can speculateabout hersolelyon

thebasis ofothers'impressionsand whatwe learnfromthisscene.
More important, this scene initiatesthe novel's paradoxicalper-
spective on Kate by settingpossibilitiesforchoicein motioneven
as it disables them.Whethershe will await herfather'sreturnde-
pendsuponherself-control, and whenwe discoverthat"reallywhat
had made herwait" (25) was the desireto offerherfathera choice,
her strengthof will seems established.Not sheerperversitybut a
consciousintentionseemsto definehercourseofaction.Yet against
this assurance,the scene's repetitionsforeclosedeliberativechoice
in a processapparentnearthe end of the paragraph:

Each timeshe turnedin again, each time,in herimpatience,

she gave himup, it was to soundto a deeperdepth,whileshe
tastedthefaintflatemanationofthings,thefailureoffortune
and ofhonour.If she continuedto wait it was reallyin a man-
nerthat she mightn'tadd the shameof fear,of individual,of
personalcollapse,to all the othershames.To feelthe street,
to feeltheroom,to feelthetable-cloth and thecentre-piece
and
thelamp,gave hera small salutarysense at least ofneither
shirking norlying.This wholevisionwas theworstthingyet-
as includingin particulartheinterview to whichshehad braced
herself;and forwhathad she comebut fortheworst?She tried
to be sad so as notto be angry,but it madeherangrythatshe
couldn'tbe sad. And yetwherewas misery,miserytoo beaten
forblameand chalk-marked by fatelike a "lot" at a common
auction,if not in these mercilesssigns of mere mean stale
feelings? (21)
The verbalrepetitions constrainKate rhetoricallymuchas she feels
bodilycoerced.The anaphoraof "Each time. . . each time,"or "To
feel... to feel... to feel";theanadiplosisof"misery,misery";the
chiasmusof "she triedto be sad so as notto be angry,but it made
herangrythatshe couldn'tbe sad": thisfiguraidoublingis intensi-
fiedin turnby an alliterationthat enforcesher "caged freedom"
in theroom.The Kate whowantsto chooseis lockedintomorethan
a physicalpostureof delay,compelledto pause in a stancethatis
grammatically static as well.
Compoundingthe effectof theseconstraintsis the offensiveness
of the settingitself.An affront to sight,hearing,taste,and touch
(eachinvokedmetaphorically), thesittingroomviolatesevenKate's
sense of smell,as the reference to "stale" feelingsattests.Yet the
sheer feltpresenceof thingsformsmore than a measureof her
quicksilverintelligence.It establishes a premisethat Kate will

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 ofTheWingsoftheDove • 191
Duplicities

adoptto control theconditions coercing her:thatthevulgarity of

herfather's roomresultsfrom thearrangement bywhicha shabby
assortment exceedsthesumofitsparts."It was a medium, a set-
ting" of objectsas "grotesquely inapt" as hersister'sChelsea
apartment (26,381).Thisprinciple ofinterdependency is developed
intheverynextparagraph through an assessment ofKate'selusive
beauty,whichemanatesnotfromspecificfeatures butfromtheir
combination: "as regards thesourcesofitnosuminaddition would
havemadeup thetotal."No moreis herappeala matteroftraits
thanthe"failure offortune" in thesittingroomcanbe attributed
to separatefurnishings.
The importance of thisrecognition is thatcontextsalterwith
alteredperspectives, thatmeaningsare therefore as slipperyas
furnishings, and that possibilitiesshould not be foreclosed.Kate
is at firstunawareofthispremise, havingbeenleftbyherfather's
delayfeeling"besideherself"withimpatience and "possessed"
amidhis belongings.7 He laterparriesherquestionsand coldly
evadesherpleafora preference, defying hershameat the"bleeding
wound"thathe has givento theirname.Yet LionelCroythereby
establishes thenovel'stwinmotionsofdeceitanddelay,andKate
willwresta semblance ofcontrolfromcontingency by mastering
themin turn.Grantedthatrarelyare thingswhattheyseemin a
novelofso manyshifting contexts, shelearnsto define herwillnot
byresisting but
uncertainty byaccepting it. The lesson ofthesit-
ting room has taught her how to live with constraints, whichshe
latertransforms through herfather's dual talent forprocrastination
andprevarication.8 Ofcourse, thereis inallthisonceagaina baffling
convergence ofagencyandwill-lessness. Butthatthisconvergence
shouldfirstoccuras theresultofthetackyvulgarity ofa roomre-
quires that we now the
explore paradoxical implications of"posses-
sion"in thenovel.
II

Fromthebeginning Kateconceivesofherselfintermsofpossession
-as someone an
possessing grace realizessheis there-
attractive who
foresociallypossessed.The straineduse of the wordbeginsto
reflect
its multiple to inhabita placeorowna thing;
implications:
to engrossone'sthoughts or be controlledby a spirit;to display
orkeepa secret;andas a euphemism
certainattributes forsexual
intercourse.Thesemanifestations,however, a
disguise persistent
disjunctionbetweenhavingand owning, identity and control, that
is dramatized the
through ways in whichcharacters possess both
themselves and each other.The word'ssimplestconnotation is

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 192

physical,revealedinDensher'sembrace ofKate:"it somehow clari-

fiedall thingsso to possesseach other"(199).Andwhenclarity
subsides,he demandsshevisithim,enforcing hisrequestby"pos-
sessing himself ofher arm" (295). Even when he finallyletsgo,he
feels*'thathewas alreadyin a sensepossessedofwhathewanted.
Therewasmoretocome-everything; hehadbynomeans,withhis
companion, hadit all out.Yet whathewas possessedofwas real."
AndafterKateleaveshisrooms, hecontinues torecallher"pledge"
to him:"whathemustnowknowhiscase forwas thatofa posses-
sionofthevaluetothefull.Wasn'titperhapseverrather thevalue
thatpossessedhim,kepthimthinking of it and waitingon it?"
(313).Alreadythewordhas alteredfromits earlier, limitedsexual
meaning, withtheaddedsuggestion thattheprocessofpossession
mayinvokeitsownnegation. As Densherrealizeswhenalonewith
Kate:"It was as if,beingin possession, theycouldsaywhatthey
liked;and it was also as if,in consequence of that,each had an
apprehension ofwhattheotherwantedto say" (290).
Possessingoneanother incursa certainlossofself-possession- a
paradoxthatexplainswhythemostself-possessed areso adeptat
alteringtheirpresenceforothers.Kate is hardlyalonein thispat-
tern.A sickMillyfeignsthepinkof good healthwhileDensher
simulatesa falseaffection, and othersact likewisein unthinking
responseto normalsocialdemands.Takento extremes, however,
thisprocessnegatesthe independence it is meantto ensure,as
Kate's fatherflagrantly shows.He so embodiesdeceptive perfor-
manceas to havean excuseforall situations andtherefore reveals
"howlittlehisappearance everbyanychancetoldabouthim"(26).
His brazendefense offamily dissolution as infacta form ofintegrity
convinces Kate at last ofthe"futility ofanyeffort to holdhimto
anything" (23).
this
Against bankrupt logic,it is mildlyironicthatthecontrast
ofthenovel'scentral"families"shouldbestdefinepossibilities of
possession.The black dresses in which Kate and Milly first
appear
alertus to theirsimilarcircumstances: Kate's wornin memory of
hermother; Milly's to mourn the loss of her entire family. Yet the
substitute"family" thatMillyhiresis moregenuinely familial
than
thesurviving Croys,whoconsidereach otheras simply"assets"
(29) and Kate as no morethan"chalk-marked forauction"(23).9
Milly's"thumping bank-account" elicitsa similarmercenary re-
sponse,as sheknows, butshealsosucceedsininspiring trueloyalty.
Eugeniomaybe "forevercarrying onewell-kept Italianhandtohis
heartandplunging theotherstraight intoherpocket,"butheoffers
warmfraternal guidance(258).Less obviously, SirLukeStrettex-
tendspaternaladviceonlyafterhe is assuredthatMillyis finan-

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 ofTheWingsoftheDove . 193
Duplicities

daily "as good as himself"and wouldrestcomfortably "in his

pocket"(148-49).Evensisterly Susan Stringham concerns herself
with"thepriceofprovisions" (77).Although theinitialmotivesof
thesehired"family" members maybe lessthanideal,theirrelation-
shipswithMillysucceedinredeeming thesystem ofsocialexchange.
Theyrecognize a mutualdependence and offera reciprocal use of
themselves bestexpressed bySusanin hereagerness to be "used"
bySirLukeonbehalfofMilly(245-46).Indeed,thatall ofLondon
functions thiswayis reflectedin Kate'swrywarning to Millythat
LordMarkwas "working LancasterGateforall it was worth: just
as it was,nodoubt,working him,andjust as theworking andthe
worked wereinLondon. . . thepartiestoeveryrelation" (116).Such
a patternmaywellriskbeingno morethana seriesofmercenary
relationships,butas Kategoeson to remark, "thestrangest thing
furthermore wasthatthismight beincasesa happyunderstanding' '
ofmutual"working" (116).
Thisnecessary, sometimes redemptive,processofreciprocal en-
gagement draws into the that
question largerassumption things
existfreeofrelationshiporobservation.Thenovelprecludes a privi-
legedperspective through what James himself described as "the
author'sinstincteverywhere forthe indirectpresentation his
of
mainimage"(16).Theprocessis nowhere as clearas in Densher's
firstimpression ofMaudLowder,whenhe is compelled to waitin
herdrawing room, inadvertently Kate's
repeating initial
experience.
"The hugeheavyobjectsthatsyllabledhishostess'sstory,"how-
ever,elicitfrom himnotKate'simpatient shamebutrather a horri-
fiedidealism:

He had neverdreamedofanything so fringedand scalloped,

so buttonedandcorded,drawneverywhere so tightandcurled
everywhere so thick.He had neverdreamedofso muchgilt
and glass,so muchsatinand plush,so muchrosewoodand
marbleand malachite. But it was aboveall thesolidforms,
thewastedfinish, themisguided cost,thegeneralattestation
ofmorality and money, a goodconscience and a bigbalance.
Thesethingsfinallyrepresented for him a portentousnegation
ofhis ownworldofthought. . . . Theyrevealedit to himby
theirmercilessdifference. (62-63)
Densher'ssurveyoftheroomthatsomehow is MaudManningham
Lowdertakesplacein wordsthatmarkthethingshe otherwise
wantsto deny.The"wastedfinish, themisguided cost,"theoffen-
sive"giltandglass" thatclutterhis "worldofthought"do so in
whoseverypairingatteststo a densemateriality.
qualifiers Ideas

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 194

comereadilyalive to Densherin the etherealmentalworldhe pre-

fers,and his accountofthethingshe sees paradoxicallyestablishes
theirrealityforhim.He may wishto escape fromMaud's furnish-
ings,but his thoughtsimmersehimevermorefirmly.
This mutual dependenceof thing and thought-thingidiosyn-
craticallyshaped by thought-prevailsdespiterepeatedattempts
to isolate the two. No singletruthis initiallyofferedabout Lionel
Croy's sittingroomor Kate's charm,and the supposed truthof
Milly'shealthor Kate's heartare hardlyas eitherprofesses.10 Yet
the assumptionthat a singular"truth" exists leads to repeated
attemptsat explicitnessthatworkat cross-purposes withthe very
"indirectness"James extolled.Indeed,plot crises are spurredby
thoseanxiousto fixpossibilitiesand paremeaningsdownto limited,
consistent,and self-serving names.11Kate stands almost alone in
avoidingcrisesby simplyavoidingnamesin a patterncharacteristic
ofthenarrative'spresentation. And laterwe shall see howfullyshe
embodiesthe novel's styleas well as the interpretive stanceit de-
mands.Herewe needrecognizeonlythatthenovelis as radically"re-
flective"as Kate,whichmakesit ironicthathersuitors(andMilly's)
shouldbe the ones to forcethe plot by demandingexplicitness.
Lord Mark's veryname attests to his need to label conditions,
eventhoughhe himselfis unmarked."He pointedto nothing,"Kate
says to Milly,whichis "a signofhis real cleverness"-a cleverness
that consists,however,in littlemorethan being the bearerof the
titlethatdistinguisheshim.His personalitysuggestsan elaborate
absence,confirmedmetonymically by a complexion"so fairthat
therewas littleotherindicationofhis moustachethanhis constant-
ly feelingit" (100). Indeed,his characteristic
expressionis a verbal
nullity,a pursed-lip"Oh!" that the narratorwrylyadduces as a
"judgementof his identity"(217-18). Friendsat Matchamwhose
conversationmighthave been expectedto draw him out express
themselveswithphaticphrases no moretellingthan a "pointless
41 " his requests
say,Mark.' And evenapartfromthispresentation,
forexplanationamountto a consummatevulgarity,culminating
in his demandthatMillysomehowjustifyherrejectionof him.He
blandlyassumes that easy friendship allows an exchangeof easy
familiaritiesand of explanationsthat name even painfulthings
fully-leavingMillyto concludethat "his erroramountedto posi-
tive wrongdoing"(274). The inquisitorialprecisionwithwhichhe
directshis questions as he squints throughnippersestablishby
negationthe premisethat intelligentperceptivenessis wortha
thousandwords.Or as Susan pondersthedelicacyofMilly'sbeauty,
she had "not namedit grosslyto anyone;havingseenearlythatfor
stupidpeople ... it wouldtake a greatdeal ofexplaining"(83).

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 ofTheWingsoftheDove • 195
Duplicities

Densherpossessesa similardiscretion andinitially seeksshelter

in silence,notwords.UnlikeLordMark,he appreciates thevalue
ofleavingmeaningssuspended, at one pointobserving how"the
namesofthings. . . were,compared withloveitself,horribly vul-
gar" (189).He evenshareswithKate an exquisitesenseofsilent
communication: "thingswereunderstood withoutsaying,so that
hecouldcatchinher,as shebuttoofreely couldinhim,innumerable
signsofit,thewholesoftbreathofconsciousness meeting andpro-
motingconsciousness" (282).Yet thisdelightin a "commoncon-
sciousness" waversalltoosoon,andhelateravoidsdirect references
outofthefeartheymaybeliehis fixedsenseofhimself (191).He
resistsmisleading othersbecauseofanexcessive devotion to"truth"
andtakescomfort in"as yet[having] donenothing deceptive" (228).
Forcedto lie onlyonceto Milly,he evincesa lawyer'spridein a
scrupulously precisenotionofculpability (afterall,he neverdoes
uttera literalmisstatement).
His differences fromLordMarknotwithstanding, Densherfalls
backon thesamenarrownotionofreferentiality. Whether or not
itis becauseas a journalisthewrites"withdeplorable ease,"hehas
littlerespectforthemultif ariousimplications ofwordsheotherwise
sellsbythedozen(55).Andhis"grosswayofputting it"exasperates
Kate notbecauseofa breachofmanners butbecauseshedeplores
theimpoverished imagination thatrequiressuchexplicitness. His
mosttellingmoment occurs,therefore, whenhe demandsphysical
"proof"ofher:thatshecometo hisroomto convert"a luminous
conception intoan historictruth"(312). The shabbinessof this
"contract" liesonceagainlessinitsphysicaleffect thaninthecon-
firmation ofhowfullyhisstubbornly literalsensibility diminishes
herdesign.Andshe nicelyresistsit by refusing thewordshe re-
quires:"If youwantthingsnamedyoumustnamethem"(308).It
is becauseDenshercannotimagineconflicting orunresolved possi-
bilitiesthathe assumesothersrequirea claritythatis similarly
fixed.In Venice,forinstance, heworries thatMillymaywant"some
name"to explainhishavingremained (315).Andtheonlyexplana-
tionhecanconceiveforLordMark'svisitis thatsomehow hehad
acquired "full knowledge."
Howeverobtusetheassumption thatmeaning can be so simply
possessed, the desire
for itcomes to seem natural ina narrative that
persistently how
questions things are known. "In allof lateJames,"
RuthYeazellhas observed, "thepressureoftheunspoken canbe-
comealmostunbearably intense."12 Yet thenovelsilently exposes
Densher'sattempt to avoidthatpressureand seemsto rebukehis
impatience withtheunspoken in Milly'sinitialassessment ofLord
Mark:"You're blasébut you'renot enlightened. You'refamiliar

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 196

witheverything,butconsciousreallyofnothing. WhatI meanis

thatyou'venoimagination" (106).WhatMilly means is thatLord
Mark'sveryclaimto possessthefactsprevents himfromunder-
standingthem.His needforconfirmation blindshimto thewayhis
ownpointofviewsharplyaltersevents.Andit is, therefore, with
a horrible
ironythat he laterbearsoutherindictment whenhe an-
nounceshisfatal*'truth,"inscribinghisowndesireforMillyinthe
namehegivesto Densher'sengagement to Kate.

Ill

Namesarenoteasilyassignedin James'snovelsormeanings nar-

rowlyaffixed, butthatprevents noonefrom assuming theopposite
atonepointoranother. EvenMillyentersLondonsociety expecting
to avoidinterpretive workandrevealsthesecretofherillhealthto
Kateinhopesofan easyreciprocal disclosure. Shecomestorealize,
however, thatpeoplecomprise multiple possibilities- or as James
in hisprefaceannounced aboutMilly,"thelittleworlddetermined
forherwas to 'bristle'. . . withmeanings"(7). Andthefutility of
grounding assertionsor attempting to stake out claims to truth is
imaged in her journey to the waterycity of Venice, selected by
Jamesforits "appearances, richandobscureandportentous" (12).
YetEnglandalsopresents obscurities, theaccurate interpretation
ofwhichdependsjust as muchupona suspension ofdisbelief.And
the
onlyby resisting pull toward and
explicitness avoidingready
conclusions can characters defertheautomatic impulseto project
theirownmisleading assumptions. From the beginning Katerecog-
nizes"themistakeoftrusting to easy analogies"withMilly,and
she and Susanwisely"settledto a careofwhattheysaid" (262).
There"couldbe no grossphrasing"either"to Milly"or of her,
giventhe"marvelous mixture ofherweaknessandofherstrength,
herperil,ifsuchit were,andheroption."But eventhoughSusan
acknowledges thatMillyexceedstheassumptions maintained about
her,she cannot helpimagining her friend as a princess outof Maeter-
linck(263).Millylikewise conceives ofKate's"secret. . . smothered
trouble"(112)inclichédterms-' 'ofEnglish,ofeccentric, ofThack-
erayan character" with "a certain possibility of Pickwickian out-
line" (123).Later,herattraction to Densherencouragesanother
leap to sentimental conclusions, as she considers his relationship
withKate:"theprobabilities fellbackintotheirorder.MertonDen-
sherwas in loveand Kate couldn'thelpit" (180).Each wordmay
beprecisely accurateandyet,hereas elsewhere, thehazardofloose
phrasing is that thewhole is nonetheless seriously misleading.
Unlikeanyoneelse in the novel,Kate maintainsan enviable

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 ofTheWingsoftheDove . 197
Duplicities

negativecapabilitythatis reflected in thenarrative's preference

foranalogyat theexpenseofflatassertion.Mattersare sugges-
tivelyclarifiedbybeingtreated"as if" theyweresomething else:
"It wasas ifsherecalled herselftomanners"; "as ifshereallycared";
"as ifshehadhadtopluckoffherbreast";"as ifstillwithherfear."13
It has alreadybeennotedthatKate's wayofimagining relations
approximates James'stechnique, anditwillsoonbecomeclearthat
Kate's artfullysuspended designresembles James'sown"use" of
Milly.Forthemoment, however, we needto recallthepersistence
withwhichmeaning clingstoappearance and,therefore,howreadi-
ly assumptions can blindoneto cogentalternatives. LordMarkis
rightly skepticalwhenMillyassureshimthatKate does notlove
Densher:"Areyouvery,verysure?"he asks,alerting thereader
to thepossibility thatMillymaysimplyhaveimagined Kate "has
given me herword for it" (276).Those who quietly accept appear-
ancestendto lookwithoutseeing,at theirhazard.WhenMilly
smilesat Kate and Densheracrosstheroomat herpartyforSir
Luke,she unknowingly sees them"contract"themselves (310).
Earlier,on St. Mark'sSquare,MaudandSusanhavelikewiseseen
DensheraskKateto "cometome"(295).Theirengagement, infact,
has beenpublicall along,imagedin theirmeetings at HydePark
undertheeyesoftheworld.
By resisting simplemeaningsand acknowledging howfullyap-
is
pearance performance, Kate realizesunaided a wholehostofde-
sires.Anddespitebeingpresent from book2 onward almostentirely
through others'eyes,herassessmentsbespeakan extraordinary
socialintelligence.Indeed,herinsightseemsall themoredazzling
preciselybecause she is seenfrom outside,as revealedat thedinner
given forDensher upon his return fromAmerica.He wondersat
Milly's absence and then at her postponed departure fromLondon,
whichprompts Kate to maketheplayful suggestion thatheis the
oneresponsible. Finally, his blunt curiosityevokes Kate's reading
ofa womanshehas knownthreeweeks:
"Thenwhat,"hedemanded, frankly mystified now,"arewe
talkingabout? In what extraordinary stateis she?"
Kate wenton as if,at this,makingit out in a fashionfor
"I believethatifshe'sillat all she'sveryill.I believe
herself.
thatifshe'sbad she'snota littlebad.I can'ttellyouwhy,but
that'showI seeher.She'llreallyliveorshe'llreallynot.She'll
haveit all orshe'llmissit all.NowI don'tthinkshe'llhaveit
all."
Densherhad followed thiswithhiseyesuponher,herown
havingthoughtfully wandered, andas ifitweremoreimpressive

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 198

than lucid. "You 'think'and you 'don't think/and yet you

remainall the whilewithoutan inklingofhercomplaint?"
"No, notwithoutan inkling;butit's a matterin whichI don't
wantknowledge." (215)

Kate's prophecyresults less fromknowledgeof facts than from

assumptionssuspendedand conclusionswithheld.She will intuit
Milly'srejectionof Lord Mark and thenthatDensherhas fallenin
love withher,all by reconstructing possibilitiesfromsingularges-
tures and odd turnsof phrase. Perhaps understandably, Densher
is made to feel "the masteryof her mereway of puttingthings"
(292).14
Much as what Kate "knows" dependsupon her"way ofputting
things,"thatverbalskillreflectsa due respectforsilence.She lets
othersdirectdiscussion which she punctuateswith queries, not
forthrightclaims,encouragingthembyforming less a partnerthana
spurto dialogue.Even "Kate's 'explanations'are brilliantlyvague,"
Ruth Yeazell again observes; "again and again she manages to
evade the specificand the possiblysinister,to assert firmlyand
yetto keepthingscomfortably ambiguous."15 The narrativefurther
abets this impulse by abandoningdirect for indirectdiscourse,
paraphrasingher straightforward assertionswhile presentingdi-
rectlyher queries and exclamations.At Matcham, forinstance,
Kate is surprisedby Milly'srequestto accompanyherto Sir Luke
Strett's.Promptedsimplyby Kate's sympathetic inquiry"that she
hoped she wasn't ill," Milly's startlingrequest induces Kate to
breakher normalreserve:"What in the worldis the matterwith
you?" (140-41). The narrativethen shiftsdiageticallyto report
Milly'sprotest

that if she were merelyfancifulKate would see her put to

shame. Kate vividlyuttered,in return,the hope that, since
she could come out and be so charming,could so universally
dazzle and interest,she wasn't all the whilein distressor in
anxiety-didn't believe herselfto be in any degreeseriously
menaced."Well, I want to make out- to make out!" was all
that this consistentlyproduced.To whichKate made clear
answer:"Ah thenlet us by all means!"
"I thought,"Millysaid, "you'd liketo helpme. But I must
ask you,please, forthe promiseof absolutesilence."
"And how,if you are ill, can yourfriendsremainin igno-
rance?"
"Well,if I am it mustof coursefinallycomeout ..."
"You're an extraordinaryyoungwoman,"herfriend, visibly

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DuplicitiesofThe Wingsof theDove • 199

heldby her,declaredat last. "What a remarkabletimeto talk

of such things!"
"Well,we won'ttalk,precisely"- Millygot herselftogether
again. "I onlywantedto make sure ofyou."
"Here in the midstof !" But Kate could only sigh for
wonder. (140-41)

Kate's directclaims disappearin a flourishof questionsthat are

clearlynot questionsat all- thatmay be rhetoricallyinterrogative
but are notsubstantively so. Like herexclamations,theytreadcon-
versationalwater,workingto keepthedialogueafloatwithoutstrik-
ing offin a particulardirection.She lets herpartnertake the lead
and therebyrevealsherprioritiesin whatturnsout to be theirmost
importantconversation, whenKate firstlearnsof Milly'sillness.16
Kate has perfectedan equivocalpose in whichherownassumptions
seem suspendedeven as she remainsvigilantto the desiresof her
interlocutors.Having recognizedthe paradox that possessing
othersinvolves acknowledgingtheir independence,she achieves
interpretivepowerby encouragingthemto expresstheirdesires.

IV

Kate's willingness to leavethingsunstateddoesmorethanelicitinfor-

mation, however. Others feelencouragedas wellto accommodate her
to theirdesires,and shegainsbothtimeand sympathy by seemingto
agreewith the less astute even as
if, she reflectsofher aunt: "It wouldn't
be thefirsttimeshehad seenherself to
obliged accept with smothered
ironyother people'sinterpretation of her conduct. She often endedby
givingup to them- it seemed the
really way to live- the versionthat
mettheirconvenience" (34).Acceding to others even as she givesthe
of
impression having a mind of her she a
own, acquires compelling aura.
Millyattempts at one point to define this elusive provocativeness:

Kate had forhernew friend'seyes the extraordinary and at-

of
tachingproperty appearing at a given moment to show as
a beautifulstranger,to cut herconnexionsand lose heriden-
tity,lettingthe imaginationforthe timemake whatit would
of them-make hermerelya personstrikingfromafar,more
and morepleasing as one watched,but who was above all a
subjectforcuriosity.Nothingcouldhavegivenher... a greater
freshnessthan this sense ... of one's beingas curiousabout
heras ifone hadn'tknownher. (132)

Kate embodiesthevalues sheespouses,allowingothersto recognize

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 200

inherthemultifariousness sheseesinexperience. Nordoesitcome

as a surprisethatMillyhas a similareffectand inspiressimilar
descriptions. Yet Kate'sformulation ofherresponsesuggestsa far
moresophisticated self-awareness,ifshewerewatching
as herself
as she watched:"You'rerightabouthernotbeingeasy to know.
One sees herwithintensity- sees hermorethanone sees almost
anyone;butthenonediscovers thatthatisn'tknowing herandthat
onemayknowbettera personwhomonedoesn't'see,'as I say,half
so much"(208).In elaborating a distinction betweenseeingand
knowing, Kate reflectson theeffects ofherownfascination. Milly
canonlydelight unselfconsciously intheplayofKate'simagination
("as ifonehadn'tknown her"),whileKateexpresses a sensiblewari-
nessofthe"intensity" ofhervision.
Partofthereasontheinterest bothwomeninspirein eachother
affects themdifferently is thatMillyallowsherself to be defined
fromwithout. Thisoccursperhapsmostdramatically at Matcham
whenLordMarkcompares herto hisBronzino. Orrather, he com-
pareshisBronzino toherina seemingly trivialreversal oftheusual
form ofanalogy: "thebeautiful onethat'sso likeyou"(135).Through
thisslighttwist,however, it is as ifthefixity ofartwereextended
toher-a senseconfirmed byLadyAldershaw, who"lookedat Milly
quiteas ifMillyhadbeentheBronzino andtheBronzino onlyMilly."
Indeed,thetentativeanalogy"so like" herhas alreadybeenre-
ducedto equivalence-"She was theimageofthewonderful Bron-
zino"- and Millyruefully accepts the identification, notingonly
thatthenoblewoman was "unaccompanied by a joy. Andshewas
dead,dead,dead." Milly's glanceat herpaintedlikenessrecapitu-
latestheopeningsceneofKatebeforeherfather's mirror.Thedif-
ference, however, is that Kate was creatingthe appearanceshe
wantedseen whileMillyacceptsan identification othersmerely
to
happen recognize. Similarly, she accepts Kate's visionof her
right after theirfirstLondon excursion: "Milly actually beganto
borrowfromthehandsome girl a sort of view ofher state" (113).
Andlater,whenKate cautionsMilly-"Becauseyou'rea dove"-
theanalogyaffects hermuchas didtheBronzino: "Thatwas what
was thematterwithher.She was a dove.Oh wasn'tshe?"(171).
Thereasonthatoneacceptsa worldtheotherwarilyresistsis in
parteconomic: theimpoverished Croyshaveconvinced Kateto see
herself as simplyan "asset,"whileMilly 's experienceas anorphaned
heiressblindsherto theshapeself-interest givesappearance. And
becauseunschooled ina closedmoraleconomy, Millyis unprepared
fora Londonsociety thatwillnotlether"getawayfrom herwealth"
(86).She toocomesto feellikean "asset,"as no morethantheob-
ject of others'desires,causingherto wantto lose herself in the

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Duplicitiesof The Wingsof theDove . 201

workadaycrowd:"nobodyin theworldknewwhereshe was. It was

the firsttimein herlifethat this had happened;somebody,every-
body appearedto have knownbefore,at everyinstantof it, where
she was; so thatshe was now suddenlyable to put it to herselfthat
thathadn't been a life" (154). In Veniceshe willlaterfeelgrateful
to Eugenio forhavinganticipatedherneed forsolitude:"Yes, get
me an houralone;takethemoff-I don'tcarewhere;absorb,amuse;
detainthem;drownthem;killthemifyou will:so that I mayjust a
little,all by myself,see whereI am" (263). But whatMillyfailsto
realizeis that "life" consistsless in stolenmomentsalone than in
a social acuity that ensuresfreedomwithinothers'gaze- not in
secretwanderingsthroughLondonbut throughdeliberatemeetings
in viewofLancasterGate. She mayat last repudiateDensher'sand
Lord Mark's needfora narrowexplicitness,but by neverquestion-
ing theirpremisethat self-definition precedessocial relations,she
cannotidentifythe pressuresshe feels.Ironically,she regretsnot
havingcontrolofherlifeonlymomentsbeforedelightingin Kate's
reference to her as a "dove," neversuspectingthe reference itself
may form one of many subtle means of She
constraint. presumes
at once moreand less than Kate's social powerwarrants:

It pressedupon herthenand therethat she was stillin a cur-

rentdetermined, throughher indifference,
timidity,bravery,
generosity- she scarce could say which-by others;that not
she but thecurrentacted,and thatsomebodyelse alwayswas
thekeeperofthelockor thedam. Kate forexamplehad but to
open the flood-gate:the currentmovedin its mass- the cur-
rent,as it had been,of herdoingas Kate wanted. (167)

By failingto acknowledgethe way that Kate must also accommo-

date to others,Millyapprehendstoo littleherown autonomyand
concedesfartoo muchto Kate.
Densherhas his "current"controlled by Kate evenmoreregularly
and feelsit nowheremorepowerfully thanwhenhe is leftalonewith
Milly:"The current thusdetermined ... he wouldfreely havelikened
of
to therapids Niagara. . . . [NJothinghad occurredcomparableto
Kate's predominance"(230). Yet what surpriseshim as much as
Kate's predominance is theangleofvisionthatalignsheraimswith
those of everyoneelse: "She wanted,Susan Shepherdthen,as ap-
peared,the same thingKate wanted,onlywantedit ... in so dif-
ferenta way and froma motiveso different. . . . ThenMrs. Lowder
wanted. . . exactlywhateach oftheothersdid; and he was between
them all, he was in the midst" (299). This commerceof various
"wants" accounts so little for Densher's preferencesthat he is

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 202

forcedto realize,witha start,how fullyhe is forothersthe joint

visiontheyimpose.Yet insteadofresentingthisstate ofaffairs,he
learnsto benefitfromit- as whenhe allows Millyto save himthe
troubleofexplaininghis stay in Venicewithherconceptionofhim
as an unrequitedlover."Milly's imagination"did "everything," he
perceives,and likeKate he learns to leave thatvisionunchallenged.
As an Americaninnocentof social "brutality"and an heiress
released fromeconomicconstraint,Milly is doublyindependent.
And because ofthis,she lacks "the imaginationofterror,ofthrift,
theimaginationorin anydegreethehabitofa consciousdependence
on others."Understandably, Kate at firstenviesher:"she had to
ask nobodyforanything,to refernothingto any one; herfreedom,
herfortuneand herfancywereherlaw" (114).Yet ifher"rangewas
thus immense,"her independenceprecludes an appreciationof
others'desiresand therebylocks her into a seriesof untestedas-
sumptions.By contrast,Kate's experienceof dependencyhas fos-
tereda sharpattentiveness and instilleda due cautionaboutnaming
herpreferences. Her skillat silentlyencouragingothersto imagine
possibilitiesforherresults,unlikeMilly,fromherownimaginative
encompassingof them.And theiremergingrecognitionof those
patternsleads to a seriesofréévaluationsofwhatit meansto pos-
sess one anotherin a morallyunstableworld.

Any society embodies a characteristicpatternof psychological

exchangeas it accommodatesshiftingdesiresin the ongoingpro-
cess ofmutualcreation.This processis elaboratedin The Wingsof
theDove throughMilly'simaginativeeffecton others,an issue first
self-consciouslyaddressed at Aunt Maud's dinnerfor Densher.
Susan is arousedto proprietary defensiveness
by the playfulclaim
thathe,not she,"had in a mannerinventedthewonderful creature
-through havingseen herfirst,caughtherin hernativejungle."
Susan's retortthat he has insteadbeen blindto Millycompelshis
concessionand his wonderat her developmentsince leavingNew
York.Moreprecisely,he marvelsat theprocessby whichthe"hud-
dled herd" of London societyhas "developed her" when he had
clearly"missed so much" (209-11). Later,that wonderment alters
to horroras he realizesthevaguelyrepellentsocial web intowhich
Millyhas fallen:
He hadn't only neverbeen near the factsof her condition-
whichcountedso as a blessingforhim;he hadn't only,with
all the world,hoveredoutside an impenetrablering fence,

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 ofTheWingsoftheDove . 203
Duplicities

withinwhichtherereigneda kindof expensivevagueness

madeupofsmilesandsilencesandbeautiful andprice-
fictions
less arrangements, all strainedto breaking;buthe had also,
witheveryoneelse,as he nowfelt,activelyfostered suppres-
sionswhichwerein the directinterestof everyone's good
manner, everyone's pity,everyone's reallyquitegenerous
ideal. It was a conspiracy of silence,as theclichéwent,to
whichno one had madean exception, the greatsmudgeof
mortality acrossthepicture, theshadowofpainand horror,
finding in no quartera surfaceofspiritorofspeechthatcon-
sentedto reflect it. (347)

Morethansimplyavertingtheirgaze awayfromMilly'sillness,
othershaveactively, misledher-orso,at least,Densher
deliberately
thinks.
Yetthusto smoothhiscontorted syntaxis toriskDensher' s own
mistaken reverence fora simple,straightforward account-in this
case,"thetruththatwas thetruestaboutMilly"(347).By clarify-
ingwhatheassumesarehisintentions, sucha paraphrase misrepre-
sentshis literalthoughts, erasing apparentdoublenegatives
the
("hadn'tonlynever")andrendering theprocesslessinterdependent
thanthesyntactic linkssuggest("buthe hadalso").Evenas Den-
shertriesto affixblameforthecollective treatment ofMilly,his
formulation confirms theabsenceofcomplicity. Any attribution of
is
responsibility tacitly denied by the way the second sentence
swingsbackon thehingeofits crucialphrase."Thegreatsmudge
ofmortality acrossthepicture"servesa jointfunction, referring
bothto Milly'sfatalillness("theshadowofpainandhorror") and
to thecollective "silence"aboutit thatmadeanycourtship ofher
seemmercenary. Notonlyis no onesimplyat faultbutDensheris
forcedto acknowledge thattheintentofthisgrandsocial"lie" is
to someextenthonorable- thatthedeception whichmayend in
crueltybegan in the beneficence of "every one'sreallyquitegener-
ousideal."Densher'sformulation inadvertently belieshisstraight-
forward assessmentof Milly,as onceagainhe failsto orderthe
randomintractability oflife.
Kate,on the other hand,hascherished allalonganawareness that
things are not so simply reduced. Her patience with others,her
resistanceto naming,herskillat interpretation- all flowfroma
willingnesstoavoidresolutions. Implicitly, shegraspstheequation
withwhichSirLukeStrettencourages Milly:to "see all youcan,"
andtherefore "to 'live'" (151).Or as he laterelaborates, "WhenI
talkoflifeI thinkI meanmorethananything else thebeautiful
showofit" (256).WhatKate appreciates as well,however, is how

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 204

fullyseeingdependsonone'sfaculty forobservation.Awareofthe
sheercontingency of thingsand of herinherent limitations,she
treatslifeas an experiment demanding themostattentive respon-
siveness."You mayask whatin theworldI haveto give/'sheex-
plainsto MillyofMaud'sinterest in her,"and thatindeedis just
whatI'm trying tolearn.Theremustbe something, forhertothink
shecangetit outofme.She willgetit- trusther;andthenI shall
seewhatitis; whichI begyoutobelieveI shouldneverhavefound
outformyself "
(116).
Thatprocessof "gettingit" rarelyis gentle,as Kate knowsin
contemplating AuntMaud,whofigures forherthedangersinvolved
in the"assaultoflife.""Mrs.Lowderwas London,was life-the
roarofthesiegeand thethickofthefray,"and sheembodiesthe
ruthlessvitalityofLondonsocietyin themannerwithwhichshe
imposesherwill(38).Millyremains unawareofthesehazardswhile
Densher'sawareness him,leavingKatealoneto accept
intimidates
theimperative needto use oneanother.As willingas Maudto sub-
mitherself tolife's"destructive
element," shethoroughlywarrants
theadmiration thatleads to heradoptionat LancasterGate. So
fullyis Kateheraunt'sniece,infact,thatSusan'sgentleself-efface-
mentappearstohera signofstupidity. Andoneofthenovel'stelling
moments occurswhenMillyadmiresKate's contempt:

Wasn'tit sufficiently
thereasonthatthehandsome girlwas,
withtwenty othersplendidqualities,theleastbitbrutaltoo,
anddidn'tshesuggest,as nooneyethadeverdoneforhernew
thattheremightbe a wildbeautyin that,andevena
friend,
grace?Katewasn'tbrutally
strange brutal. . . shewasn'teven
so,
aggressively but ratherindifferently,
defensively and,as
be
might said,by the habitofanticipation. (117)
Kateis carefullyattunedto theharshtermsofsocialsurvivaland,
though "brutallybrutal"thanMaud,she too situatesothers
less
intermsofherinterests. Yetherbrutalityextendstothetreatment
ofherowndividedself-themostextraordinary instanceofwhich
occursin theencouragement ofherfiancéto marryanother. Com-
mittedas sheis to gainingmutually exclusiverealmsofloveand
money, sheremains"a person,thankgoodness, whocando whatI
don'tlike"(309).
Kateusesherself muchas othersuse herandbymakinga virtue
ofnecessity defiestheadequacyofanysimplemorality. EvenMilly
accepts this assumption:"Strangewere theturnsof lifeand the
moodsofweakness;strangetheflickers offancyandthecheatsof
hope;yetlawful,all thesame-weren'tthey?-thoseexperiments

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Duplicitiesof The Wingsof theDove . 205

triedwiththe truththat consisted,at the worst,but in practising

on one's self" (263). Milly may not acknowledgethe implications
ofheractions,but she uses Susan, Sir Luke,and Kate in ways they
finddelightful.Andwhileit is onlya conversational
ploy,she agrees
withLord Mark "to sacrifice[Kate] if necessary"(107). Later,she
does deceive Kate directlyand otherwiselies about her affection
forDensher.The pointis not the shoddinessof generalstandards
ofbehaviorbut ratherthatlifeitselfrequiresa brutalresponse.To
engage lifefullyis an exhilaratingexperiencethat bears littlere-
semblanceto a gameplayedby rules- as Susan recognizesfromthe
vista she shareswithMillyatop the Swiss Alps:

For now she saw that the greatthingshe had broughtaway

was preciselya convictionthat the futurewasn't to exist for
herprincessin the formof any sharp or simplerelease from
thehumanpredicament. It wouldn'tbe forhera questionofa
flyingleap and thereby a quick escape. It wouldbe a ques-
of
tionoftakingfullin thefacethewholeassault oflife. (88)

That assault allows of no exception,norcan one persistsomehow

morallypure;and whilethe stakes may sometimesbe lessened,the
termsofengagementremainunchanged.
The imageofMillyperchedon theBrunigpreparingto acceptthe
"assault of life" resemblesDenser's self-conception whenleftbe-
hindin Veniceby Kate. He too has a fearof whatwillbe required:
"He was walkingin shorton a highridge,steepdownon eitherside,
wherethe proprieties-once he could face at all remainingthere-
reducedthemselvesto keepinghis head" (280). Having accepted
Kate's conception,he assumes responsibility forMilly's "deep de-
pendenceon him" and perceivesthat "anythinghe should do or
shouldn'twould have close referenceto her life,whichwas thus
absolutelyin his hands. . . . [H]e mightkillher" (321). Involvedin
a designthatis notofhis making,withconsequencesbeyondthose
he wouldotherwise choose,Denshercomesto realizetherisksinher-
entin anyrelationship. Yet insteadofabandoninghis high"perch,"
he acceptstheneedfora certainself-interest and,in one ofhis more
incisivemoments, reflectson thegenerosity ofhis position:

Somethingincalculablewroughtforthem-forhim and Kate;

somethingoutside,beyond,above themselves,and doubtless
everso muchbetterthanthey:whichwasn'ta reason,however
-its beingso muchbetter-forthemnotto profitby it. Not to
profitby it,so faras profitcouldbe reckoned,
wouldhave been
to go directlyagainstit. (314)

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 206

Denshergraspsan insightlongsincecultivated byKate:thatself-

interestmaynotbe immoral- is in anycaseinherent inbehavior-
andcan sometimes contribute to a positivegood.
As well,Densherappreciates thestakesinvolvedin theirdecep-
tionofMilly;theclearriskofdeathimplieshowfullytheyarealso
sustaining herlife.Thislogicoffends himinitially initssacrificeof
meansto ends,andidealistically he resiststhenotionofachieving
virtuethrough deception.But theprocesshas beenmasteredby
everyone else and specifically anticipated in Sir Luke's"beautiful
" tobe Milly's friend
beneficent dishonestyofseeming (154).Later,
thedoctorliesmoredirectly toensurethatDensherwillvisitMilly,
just as she herself deceivesothersforwhatshe takesto be their
good.In orderto introduce Sir Luke and Susan,Millymisleads
themboth,whileherdramatic lie to Maud denying thatDensher
has returned to Londonis intended to givehimtimewithKate.
Even moregrandly, sheconfirms thatlie in herfinaldeception of
LordMark,vowingthatDensherlovesheralone.17
Initially,thehopethata playofdeception might"profit" every-
one appealsto Densher,whoseemsaliveto its sustaining power.
Yet therecognition is onlymomentary, as ifto revealhowinade-
quateis hisneedforsincerity, andhe fallsbackon hisoriginal re-
fusalto haveKatebe "elusive."Thedemandforexplicitness leads
from their"longembrace"to hispleathatshe"cometo me,"both
ofwhichurgethesame"routofevasion"thatLordMarkachieves
withhis fatal"truth."Ironically, Denshersees no analogyand
meetsSusan'spityforLordMark's"goodconscience" witha sternly
dismissive: "That'sexactlytheinevitable ass" (340).Yet thetwo
are firmly linkedat thispoint,as PeterBrooksobserves:"Lord
Markstandsin forDensher,assumingtheroleofvillainprecisely
so thatDenshermaydo nothing."18 Each manhas challenged the
statusofaffections, that
denying things are other than theyseem,
andnowLordMarkfulfills theimplications ofDensher' s "sincerity"
through hiscruderevelation to Milly.Densher' s earlierdistrustof
Kate's love has anticipated Lord Mark'saffirmation to Milly-
equallybrutalattemptsto establisha "historictruth"thatwill
negatethefragile balanceofaffection. Having"gougedouthiscon-
viction,"each man tacitlydenies the relevance ofhisdesires(390).
Nowwe can see thatby contrastKate sustainslifethrough de-
sign, not sincerity, aware as she is of how fullyperceptions are
alwaysenmeshed in a webofdesire.Ofcourse,thehoped-for fruit
ofherefforts is marriage enhancedby financial security, her
but
actionsdo notresultfromsimplyself-serving motives. Othersmay
see onlymutualexclusions, buther"compassionate imagination"
evershapespossibilities bykeeping experience ina stateofsuspended

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 ofTheWingsoftheDove . 207
Duplicities

definition.It is notclearat whatpoint,forinstance, Katesensesthe

implications ofencouraging Densher.Millyservesat firstas little
morethana pretextfortheircontinued meetings,muchas Milly
tendsto use Kate,andSusanandMauduse eachother.Andeven
later,whenKate's
" designis clear,it is partlyintended to enhance
Milly's life: we'redoingourbestforher.We'remakingherwant
to live" (305).Densheridealistically resentsthe discrepancy be-
tweenprivateintention andpublicact,conceiving hisbehavioras
a cruelhypocrisy. YetKatetreatsthatdiscrepancy muchlikethose
that occuramongintentions themselves. Insteadof foreclosing
possibilitiesthathappento conflict withthenamesone givesto
behavior, she artfully allowsinconsistencies to developindepen-
dently of each other.She realizesthat ends are notreducible to
meansand thatconsequence and meaningexceedmotivesforac-
tion.As RuthYeazellarguesofMilly,"Insofaras thelovers'plot
encourages herdesireforlife,ittoomaybe calledbeautiful. For. . .
Kate andDensherhaveat leastgrantedhertheillusionoflove."19
In a worldwherethingsdo notexistinthemselves, illusionsmay
be all thatareleft,yettheyhaveconsequences no less dangerous
thananya positivist mightimagine.Kate recognizes therisksin
heremergent design,and aware that Milly is sustained bylove,she
restrains Densherfromslippingintoa misplacedsincerity: "Do
youwanttokillher?"(293).After hehas,infact,allowedhertodie,
Kate listensto his accountofunflinching integrity, befuddled at
whatseemshissheerperversity. Andintheexchange between them
concerning whathe mighthavedeclaredto Milly,theysubstitute
wordsthatsignificantly indicatethedifferences intheirperspectives:

"Wouldn'tit havebeenpossiblethento denythetruthof

theinformation?I meanofLordMark's."
Densherwondered. "Possibleforwhom?"
"Whyforyou."
"To tellherhe lied?"
"To tellherhe's mistaken."20
Densher'sobsessionwithintention and sincerity
leadshimto con-
siderKate's alternative
in termsofhaving"lied."Or as he claims
inanother "I don'tsee,from
context, themoment I can'tlietoher,
whatelsethereis butlying"(291).Kate'sconcern withbeing"mis-
taken"is basedon a conceptionofintentionas indeterminate and
ofsincerity, as irrelevant.
therefore,
Moreimportant, Kateagainexpressesthenovel'scentralvision:
thatlies and truthssharemorethanwe assume,thatsuspended
judgments notdeny,andthatdeception
sustain, canalterexperience

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 208

forthebetter.Densher'sdeepestbetrayalof Millyresidesin his

unwillingnesstomisrepresenthisintegrity- hisstaunchresistance
inthefaceofherdeathto a dynamic conception ofhisfeelings.
By
thispointinthenovel,ourresponsecanonlymirror Kate'sincom-
prehension:"But to save herlife !" (358).Yet stillhe failsto
appreciatethatlanguageanticipatesactionby providing appro-
priateforms.
Notintegritybutcompassion is at stake,as Kateknows
inexplainingtheintimate thatcanexistbetween
relationship deceit
andlove:

"She neverwantedthetruth"-Kate had a highheadshake.

"She wantedyou.She wouldhavetakenfromyouwhatyou
couldgiveherand beenglad ofit,evenifshe had knownit
false.You mighthaveliedtoherfrom pity,andshehaveseen
you and felt
youlie,and yet-sinceit was all fortenderness-
shewouldhavethanked you and blessedyouandclungtoyou
butthemore.Forthatwasyourstrength, mydearman-that
shelovesyouwithpassion." (361)

Ofcourse,Katewillshortly expressa seemingly hardhearted view

of Milly'sbeneficence- "She won'thave lovedyou fornothing"
(364).Yet herwillingness to entertain contradictory alternatives
should extend to our treatment of her, in an acknowledgment that
in
trust Milly'sgenerosity neednot detract from Kate's compas-
sion.Theprooflies in thelate return to hersister-in defiance of
Maud'sprohibition her
andyetwith support-establishing Kate's
capacityfora charitable visionthatembraces "all."
Suchcontradictions bespeakforDensher, onthecontrary, a sim-
plelackofintegrity. Wordsforhimmirror experience, as whenat
Brompton Oratory a slipofthetongueleadshimto attendChrist-
mas servicemerely to makehimself "straight."Perverseas is his
laterclaimthathewouldhavehonored anyprofession toMilly,this
sceneconfirms hisnaiveunderstanding ofloveandofwhatitmeans
to be "true."Thesurprise is thatat lasthe comesto believeinhis
mourning forMillyonceMaud "presented himto himself" as be-
reaved:"Stranger thananything moreover was to be thewaythat
bytheendofa weekhe stoodconvicted to hisownsenseofa sur-
renderto Mrs.Lowder'sview"(366).His deceitcreatesthevery
lovehehadstatically assumeda lie.Andthough hedoesnotrealize
it,thisprocessironically fulfills
Kate's premisethatexperience is
openedbylanguage-thatwe livesomehow as we speak. She may
be stymiedat thenovel'scloseby Densher'sfierceidealism,but
herfundamental premiseis redeemed in theveryprocessthatde-
featsher.

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DuplicitiesofThe Wingsof theDove . 209

VI

The radicalimplications ofdiscourseforactionreverberate through-

out James's fiction,whichpersistently exploresthe intersection of
language,vision,and behavior.The termsby whichcharacterscon-
ceiveofeachother,theirdescriptions ofthemselvesandthepressures
theyfeel,and particularly,theirexpressionsofdesire:theseestablish
theirconsiderationas autonomousselves. Yet The Wings of the
Dove drawsattentionas wellto thealienprocessoflanguageitself,
suggestinghowfullycharactersare constrainedby forcesforwhich
theyare notresponsible.The questionagain becomesone ofposses-
sion-of whetherone possesses the wordsone uses or is somehow
insteadpossessed by them.When Densherconsidershis effecton
Milly,havingbeenreducedto emotionalparalysis,he realizesthat
"he was mixedup in herfate,or herfate,ifthat shouldbe better,
was mixedup in him' (322). This dividedway of thinkingabout
oneselfextendsas wellto the reader,whoseassumptionsdrivethe
novel.For in fictionas in life,we assume that a fixedselfengages
otherssimilarlyfixedand resistthe notioninsteadthat we create
each otherthroughrhetoricalpossibilities.Charactersseem much
like us in havingpossessionof theirlives- maintainingcontrolof
theiractionsand,therefore, bearingresponsibilityforconsequences.
The novel,however,questionsassuranceabout not onlythe pro-
cess ofchoicebut theattribution ofresponsibility.And nowwe can
see howfullytheopeningsceneanticipatesa patternto follow-how
the tenuousbalance betweenthe assertionof choiceand the way
that assertionis presentedcontributesto a radicallycontradictory
set of assumptionsabout selfhoodand agency.At nearlyevery
pointthe autonomyof individualsand the possibilityof choiceis
denied.The novel's complexsyntacticrepetitions, its doublingof
charactersand reiterationofscenes,all contributeto a dulyacclaimed
"portentousness"that rendersthe individualwill powerless.Still,
we somehowpersistin assumingthat charactersseize autonomy
fromconditions.
The compelling aspectofKate's behavior,therefore, is nothercul-
pabilitydespiteherconstraints but heracquiringautonomybecause
ofthem.Amongotherparadoxesin thenovel- thatthingsexistless
separatelythan as theyare relatedto one another;that truthis a
processofmutualdeceit;thattheselfbecomesviableas an extension
ofothers(andviceversa)- perhapsthemoststriking paradoxis that
thewillbecomesapparentin an environment thatseemsso determi-
nistic.Choicescomealive as self-constraintsare increasedin a novel
that celebratesthe paradoxicalrelianceon each otherof mutually
exclusiveconcepts.Anotherwayto put thisis to recognizein Kate's

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 210

embraceofdiscordancya modelofreading.By avoidingeasy equa-

tionsand sustainingMillythroughan accommodating vision,she
teachesus howto approacha novelriddledwithcontrarypossibili-
ties.To choosebetweenincompatibles is finallyto settlefora vision
thatis sadlyreduced,and just as KaJte resistslove withoutmoney,
we shouldresistseeingheras eitherculpableor determined.
Part ofthewaythenovelestablishessuchenhancingpossibilities
is by denyingcertaincommonsenseassumptions,ofwhichthe first
is that the selfexists somehowpriorto action.The narrative,like-
wise,drawsinto questionthe beliefthat causes lead always to ef-
fects,and insteadsuggestsat variouspointsthateffectsthemselves
invoketheirown causes- or rather,that meaningshelp to create
plots thatdefinethem.WhenDensherfirstvisitsMillyin London,
he has thecurioussensethattheirAmericanfriendship has already
beenalteredby Maud's and Kate's expectations:"nothingperhaps
was just so sharpas the odd influenceof [his and Milly's]present
conditionson theirviewoftheirpast ones. It was as iftheyhadn't
knownhow *thick' theyhad originallybecome" (229). The usual,
seeminglynatural,sequence betweenevents,memory,and "conse-
quencehas beeninverted.Halfa yearlater,he is turnedaway with-
out anycause" fromPalazzo Leporellionlyto wanderto St. Mark's
Square. NoticingLordMarkin a cafe,hisconsciousnessis suddenly
floodedwith a Jamesianvision: "The weatherhad changed,the
rainwas ugly,thewindwicked,thesea impossible,becauseofLord
Mark. It was because of hima fortiori thatthepalace was closed"
(328). Densher hereadopts Kate's mode of thoughtby recognizing
the shape consequencegives to cause. Yet muchas this helps him
to understandwhathas happenedto Millyas wellas to himself,he
is unable to maintaina suspensionofjudgment.By the end ofthe
novel,in fact,he has committedhimselfunalterablyto an idea.
The Wingsof the Dove is so bafflingbecause it questionsour
formsofinterpretation evenmorefrequently thanit does Densher's.
Assumptions about possession, the self,causality,and especially
about the productionof meaningare all variouslyasserted and
denied.Perhapsunderstandably, then,readersseemtrickedas with
fewothertextsintoconclusionsthatremainunfalsifiable. Andjust
as understandably, the charactermost oftenthe subject of such
readingoffersa usefulcorrective.21 Kate Croybeginsthe novel in
a postureofirritateddelay and ends it all a yearlaterwitha stern
assertionof belatedness:"We shall neverbe again as we were."
Betweenthese two points,the novel elaborateswhat it means to
live withintime- whichis to say withina realmof language that
everprovokesand shapes desire.To wantthenovelto be morecon-
crete,moreimmediate, andless ambivalent is,as J.A. Wardobserves,

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Duplicitiesof The Wingsof theDove .211

to be "of one mindwithMillyTheale and MertonDensher."22 That

is amongthe mostperilousdesiresifonlybecause it apparentlyis
themostnatural,and Kate's resistanceshouldoffersomethinglike
a modelforourown.The languageofthenovelat everypointdefies
ourefforts to freecharactersfromit,and we end as we begana year
earlier-admiringa seriesofbrutalchoicesthatseemunlikechoices
at all.

PrincetonUniversity
Princeton,New Jersey

Notes

1. The issueis notwhether Kate actuallyfeelswhatsheclaimsto feel,butwhether

sheexpectsanythingto resultfromherdeclaration.As it happens,herconversation
withDensheruponleavingherfatherdoes confirm hersincerity(see HenryJames,
The WingsoftheDove, NortonCriticalEdition,ed. J. Donald Crowleyand Richard
A. Hocks [NewYork:Norton,1978],59). Subsequentreferences to thisreprinting
of the New Yorkeditionappearin the text.
2. For representativecondemnations of Kate, see FredericC. Crews,The Tragedy
ofManners:MoralDrama in theLaterNovels ofHenryJames(1957;rpt.Hamden,
Conn.:ArchonBooks, 1971),61, 79; JohnGoode,"The PervasiveMysteryofStyle:
The Wingsof theDove" in The Air ofReality:New Essays on HenryJames,ed.
JohnGoode (London:Methuen,1972),249; and CharlesThomasSamuels,TheAm-
biguityofHenryJames(Urbana:Universityof IllinoisPress, 1971),61.
3. ior descriptionsot thenovels deterministic elements,see MillicentBell, lhe
DreamofBeingPossessedand Possessing:HenryJames'sThe WingsoftheDove,"
MassachusettsReview 10 (Winter1969): 98; Nicola Bradbury,HenryJames:The
LaterNovels (Oxford:Clarendon,1979),120; LaurenceB. Holland,TheExpense of
Vision:Essays on theCraftofHenryJames(Princeton:PrincetonUniversity Press,
1964),283ff.;ErnestSandeen,(iThe Wingsof theDove and ThePortraitofa Lady:
A Study of HenryJames's Later Phase" (1954; rpt. in The Wingsof theDove,
Nortoned., 512ff.;Sallie Sears, The NegativeImagination:Formand Perspective
in theNovels of HenryJames(Ithaca: CornellUniversityPress, 1968),65, 83-85;
and J. A. Ward,The SearchforForm:Studies in theStructureofJames'sFiction
(ChapelHill: University of NorthCarolinaPress, 1967),190.
4. For otherassessmentsoftheopeningparagraph,see Bradbury, 74-77; Kenneth
Graham,HenryJames,theDrama ofFulfilment: An Approachto theNovels(Oxford:
Clarendon,1975), 165ff.;Holland,288-89; F. O. Matthiessen,HenryJames: The
MajorPhase (NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1944),57-58; JohnCarlosRowe,
"The Symbolization ofMillyTheale:HenryJames'sThe WingsoftheDove," ELH
40 (Spring1973): 147; and Ian Watt,'The First Paragraphof The Ambassadors:
An Explication,"Essays in Criticism10 (July1960):269-70.
5. See pp. 140, 166. An even moredramaticinstanceoccurs followingMillys
returnfromherfirstvisitto Sir Luke Strett,as she waitsforKate in a scenethat
recallsthe opening.Yet she is imagedconstrainednot by the roombut by time-
"pacingthroughthequeerlong-drawn almostsinisterdelayofnight"(157)- which
suggestsan importantdifference as well as similaritiesbetweenthe two women.
Then,lookingdownfromthe balcony,she sees Kate arrive:"the imagepresented

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Lee ClarkMitchell.212

to her,the splendidyoungwoman. . . withthe finefreedomofhersignal,was the

peculiarpropertyof somebodyelse's vision" (emphasisadded).The following dis-
cussionclarifiestheimportanceofpossessionand propertyin theprocessof social
creation.
6. See 14. For examplesof others'awarenessof Kate's irritation, see 61, 141,
157, 202. Jamesmisleadingly assertsthat "Kate's consciousness"is offeredto us
in Venice.But as Wardpointsout, "Thoughwe get veryclose to Kate in hercon-
versationswithDensher,her consciousnessis closed to us afterthe firstbook"
(176).
7. Later,musinginherhighroomat LancasterGate,Kate "saw as shehad never
seen beforehow materialthingsspoke to her" (35). In the parlorbelow,Densher
willrealizewithrevulsionthat "it was the languageof the house itselfthatspoke
to him" (62). And Milly will delightat Palazzo Leporelliin the quiet October
morning, realizingas "always a need of hernature,moreover, whenthingsspoke
to herwithpenetration. It was mostlyin stillnesstheyspoketo herbest" (260).As
R. W. B. Lewis observes,"inanimatethingsbespeak,in thisnovel,theforcesthat
invadethem"(see "The Visionof Grace:James'sThe WingsoftheDove" Modern
FictionStudies 3 [Spring1957]:37).
8. Ward (194) notes this conjunction.A strikingexceptionto Kate's restraint
occurswhenshe discoversthatMillyis sick,in a scenethatremarkably replicates
her openingconfrontation of Lionel Croy.His earlierdismissiveclaimthat "you
make me sick" ironicallycontrastswithKate's inquiringof Milly:"What in the
worldis the matterwithyou?" (31, 141). More important, Kate is attemptingin
bothcases to discoverwhattheotherprefersto conceal,and despiteresistanceshe
does succeed.
9. Matthiessenfirstelaborateda contrastbetweenKate and Millyin TheMajor
Phase, 58-59. On theissue ofMilly's"family,"VirginiaC. FowlerarguesthatMilly
is incapableof love and, therefore, preferssimplecash relationships withEugenio
and Sir Luke Strett("MillyTheale's Malady of Self,"Novel 14 [Fall 1980]:70).
10. One of the brilliantexceptionsto thisgeneralization is Kate's declarationto
Merton:"I engagemyselfto you forever"(72).The "extraordinary beauty"ofthis
"truth,"however,is that as a performative utterance,it is what it asserts. The
claimto engage constitutesthe engagement,confirmed by its relationalcontext:
"The beautywas in everything, and he couldhave separatednothing."
Two othernotableinstancesofnamesand truthsare highlighted inthenarrative.
The firstis Kate's initialregretoverherChristianname:"she mightstillpullthings
roundhad sheonlybeena man.It was thename,above all,shewouldtakeinhand-
the preciousname she so likedand that,in spiteof the harmherwretchedfather
had done it, wasn'tpast prayingfor"(22). The secondis herclosingadjurationto
Densherthat"you'reafraidofall the truth"(402).
11. PeterBrooksdiscussesthese"unarticulated"scenesas "semanticvoids" and
states,"The movementof the book is largelyone of semanticizing the abysses of
meaning"(see The MelodramaticImagination:Balzac, HenryJames,Melodrama,
and theMode ofExcess [New Haven: Yale UniversityPress, 1976],183-86). See
also RuthBernardYeazell,Language and Knowledgein theLate Novels ofHenry
James(Chicago:University ofChicagoPress, 1976),59. It is worthremarking that
a concernforliesis no morethantheobverseofone fortruth,bothofwhichattempt
to fixexperienceby denyingits ambiguoussuggestiveness.Notably,thereaderis
nevermade privyto any lie Kate tells Milly,and Densher'sonlylie occurswhen
Millypresseshimon his reasonsforremaining in Venice- a lie thatexperiencecon-
vertsintoa truth.
12. Yeazell,82-83. Even Yeazell,a sensitivereader,succumbsto thepressureshe

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DuplicitiesofThe Wingsof theDove . 213

identifies,as in herclaim:"Whenthe secretof The Wingsof theDove finallydis-

closes itselfto MillyTheale" (32). AllonWhiteoffersa complementary analysisof
the "widernarrativelinkagein James'slaterworks,betweendesire,obscurityand
knowledge"{The Uses of Obscurity:The Fiction of Early Modernism[London:
Routledge& Kegan Paul, 1981],21, 160). See also SeymourChatman,The Later
StyleofHenryJames(Oxford:Basil Blackwell,1972),40, 42.
13. See 156,102, 152,336. For a randomassortmentof "as if"constructions, see
also 26, 27, 28, 32, 53, 70, 155, 165, 166, 189,215, 229, 257, 307, 310,311, 315,329,
333, 349, 391. Chatmanobservesthat "the importanceto Jamesof this locution
(whichoccursonlyonce in all the 800 sentencesof othernovelists)cannotbe over-
estimated"(73).
14. Yeazell observes,"The effectofKate's wordsis thuscuriouslyto blurtheline
betweenfactand desireand betweentheexplanationofcircumstances and thecrea-
tionof them"(78). Moreover,just as Kate's appreciationof Millyrevealsherown
intelligence, so Susan showsheracuityin recognizing howperceptiveKate is: "She
knew. . . She knew."See also 240 forDensher'sadmirationof Susan's perceptive-
ness.
15. Yeazell,79. See also Bradburys discussionof the openconversationin the
novel(90-93).
16. Milly,in turn,learnsthis styleof engagementand laterrespondssimilarly
to Lord Mark'sproposalin orderto directhis attentionselsewhere.By refusingto
clarifyher enigmaticstatementconcerninghis "best friend,"she elicits Kate's
name fromhim:"they had a momentof this duringwhichneitherpronounceda
name,each apparentlydeterminedthat the othershould.It was Milly's fineco-
ercion,in the event,that was the stronger.'Kate Croy?'Lord Mark asked" (274).
Her verbalsparringmay be less sophisticatedthan Kate's, but Millyalso elicits
revelationswithoutbeingforcedto ask directly.
Sir Luke Strett'sconversational expertiselikewisetendstowardthe physician's
interrogative, as in his conversationwithMilly(255-57).
17. Brooksclaims,"She has died that his lie need not be acted upon." But one
mightbetterconceiveherdeath as an escape fromthe demandsherlie makes on
others-so that Densherneed not courther as seriouslyas she valiantlyclaims.
Nonetheless,see Brooks's discussionof this as Milly'striumphant "squaring" of
AuntMaud (192).
18. Brooks,188-89. Denshercannotmovebeyondthe idealistimpulse"to mark
his virtuebeyondany mistake"(330). For a fuller,partiallysympatheticview of
Densher'scasuisticalthinking, see WilliamW. Stowe,Balzac,James,and theRealis-
ticNovel (Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress, 1983),160-61.
19. Yeazell,83. She goes on to claim:"Kate Croy'sactionsmay seemthoseof a
cynicalrealist,but herlanguagecreatesa romanticuniversein whichincompatible
possibilitiesare reconciled, a universein whichselfishdesireand generousimpulse
are momentarily one" (84).
20. DorotheaKrookdiscussesthis scene as evidenceof Densher'sstupidityand
ofKate's effort to oversimplify. WhileDensherhereis certainly"confusedand self-
contradictory," thescenedoes notsupporta readingthatKate is "totallydeficient
in moralsensibility"(The Ordealof Consciousnessin HenryJames [London:Cam-
bridgeUniversityPress,1967],227-28).Afterall, thatconclusiondependson Den-
sher'sperspective, and we shouldbe waryof assumingthatKate can be knownso
easily.Moreover,the categoryof "moralsensibility"is problematicand brought
intoquestionby thenovel.
21. Yeazell pointsout howlittlewe can knowat times,addingthat "criticshave
a dangeroustendencyunconsciously to fillin suchgaps in ourknowledge, and then

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Lee ClarkMitchell. 214

to talknot aboutJames'snovel,but about theirown,less disturbingfictions"(77,

138 n. 7). In this context,it is notablethat beforegettingDensherto make their
designexplicit,Kate announces:"Don't think,however,I'll do all the workfor
you" (308). The sentenceremarkablyechoes James's own famousclaim that he
wantedthereader"to do fullyhalfthe work."
22. Ward,183. Bradburyalso offersan appositeobservation:"Thereis a refined
relationin The Wingsof theDove betweenthe operationsof societyand those of
the narrativestructure;the workersin one connectionare the workedin another,
and the wholealternatesbetweenovertdisplayand duplicity, consciousmanipula-
tionand exposureto unseenforces.The processof readingconveysthe effectsof
the world"(87).

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