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Transcript

The Real Thing

Henry James

References

Johnson, Roy. "The Real Thing - a Tutorial, Study Guide & Critical Commentary." Mantex The Real Thing Comments. Mantex, 25 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

James, Henry. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 2. New York:

W. W. Norton, 2013. 366-383. Print.

Themes

"The Real Thing"

James plays on the the meaning of "the real thing" throughout the story. The Monarchs may be the the real thing when it comes to higher society ordeals but Miss Churm and Oronte are the real deal when it comes to portraying higher society in images.

Irony

The Monarchs fall from their aristocratic position more than by simply losing their money. In the end, they become the narrator's servants thus losing their graces as well.

Plot Summary

Quick Facts

The narrator, an unnamed illustrator and painter, hires a genteel couple as models, after they have lost most of their money and must find some line of work. They are the "real thing" in that they perfectly represent the aristocratic type, but prove inflexible for the painter's work. He relies much more on two lower-class subjects who are more capable.

The narrator must get rid of the Monarchs after his friend and fellow artist, Jack Hawley, criticizes the work in which the Monarchs are represented. Hawley says that the pair has hurt the narrator's art, perhaps permanently. In the final line of the story the narrator says he is "content to have paid the price—for the memory."

  • Written in 1981
  • Published in Black and White (British Publication) on April 16, 1892
  • Was also published in many American newspapers at the same time
  • In 1893 it was published in the book, The Real Thing and Other Tales by Macmillan
  • This version also included illustrations
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