Author: Chen Li
Affiliation: School of Foreign Languages
Publisher: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press
Publication Year: 2013
ISBN: 978-7-5446-3347-5
This book examines the relationship between art and morality in Henry James’s works. It argues that James not only defended the supreme value of art, but was also concerned with the relation between art and morality. His writings, while being greatly influenced by the then prevailing aesthetic movement, explore deeply into the moral consequences of the aspiration for art. Moral considerations about the pursuit of art are reflected in his writings from his earliest writings to his later masterpieces. This book first examines James’s idea regarding aesthetic contemplation and morality by resorting to Walter Pater’s theory of art, and then explores his thoughts on artistic creation and morality with the help of Oscar Wilde’s aestheticist theory. Drawing on theories of Kant, Edward Bullough, as well as John Ruskin, the study finally explores the moral implications of the principle of distance in both the process of aesthetic appreciation and artistic creation. This book provides a systematic analysis of the complex relationship between art and morality in James’s works, elucidating his art theories and moral philosophy.
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