# Henry James — Aspects of the Novel character guide

> Henry James in Aspects of the Novel by E. M. Forster.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** James, The James

**First appearance:** 0003-i-introductory

## Snapshot

The novelist Forster treats as a master craftsman of perception, whose characters and 'atmosphere' are dissected to show how fiction exposes what daily life keeps secret.

## Who they are

James enters not as a man but as a method — the writer whose people can be understood completely, whose inner and outer lives are laid bare in a way no friend ever is. Forster uses him to draw the line between history's fatality and the novel's intentionality, and to argue that fiction's peculiar gift is the exposure of what politeness or shame hides. He is the test case for whether a novelist can be both pattern-maker and truth-teller, and the book keeps returning to him as its most demanding example.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_professional_

Henry James is the author whose narrative voice is represented by the Unknown Narrator in his works.

### [H. G. Wells](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/characters/h_g_wells)

_rivalry_

H.G. Wells and Henry James had a famous literary rivalry over the nature and purpose of the novel.

### [H. G. Wells](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/characters/h_g_wells)

_rivalry_

H.G. Wells and Henry James had a famous literary rivalry over the nature and purpose of the novel.

## In the story

### [Aspects of the Novel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/chapters/aspects-of-the-novel)

Referenced in the discussion of plot and causality, particularly through the analysis of The Ambassadors.

### [Introductory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/chapters/i-introductory)

Quoted as the second novelist in the first pair; Forster notes his likely objection to being neighbored with a 'shopkeeper' but emphasizes deeper affinities.

### [People](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/chapters/iii-people)

Referenced as an extreme case where characters must fall in with other aspects of the novel, modifying their makeup accordingly.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced for his Letters and for The Ambassadors, with a mention of analysis in The Craft of Fiction.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/characters/henry_james
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/characters