Inauspicious Flames: A Feng-Shui Reading of The Spoils of Poynton

This essay argues that Henry James may have been aware of the tenets of feng shui—the ancient Chinese belief that location and environment affect inner peace—while both conceiving and composing The Spoils of Poynton.

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mosaic (Winnipeg) 2017-12, Vol.50 (4), p.157-174
Main Author: MURPHY, RYAN FRANCIS
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetics
American literature
Analysis
Arranged marriage
Authors
British & Irish literature
Creative process
Criticism and interpretation
Critics
Exegesis & hermeneutics
Fate
Feng-shui
Fiction
Folklore
James, Henry (1843-1916)
James, Henry (American writer, 1843-1916)
Kipling, Rudyard (1865-1936)
Literary characters
Literary criticism
Literary devices
Literary translation
Morality
Narrative techniques
Novels
Power
Wharton, Edith (1862-1937)
Works
Writers
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Description
Summary:This essay argues that Henry James may have been aware of the tenets of feng shui—the ancient Chinese belief that location and environment affect inner peace—while both conceiving and composing The Spoils of Poynton.
ISSN:0027-1276
1925-5683
1925-5683
DOI:10.1353/mos.2017.0058