The Real Thing

Henry James was born in New York in 1843. He lived in London for much of his life and was surrounded by some of history’s iconic writers and thinkers—Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Eliot, Robert Louis Stevenson—and others who, like James, explored questions about human existence and consciousness. In his early 20s, James got his literary footing by writing for some of the most renowned American magazines of his era. James’s older brother, William, was both a philosopher and psychologist, and it is believed that many of the ideas explored in James’s stories found their basis from his brother’s writings. James began composing his stories when he was about 15 and had over 100 works published in 35 different magazines throughout his lifetime. In 1864, his first story, “A Tragedy of Error,” paved the way to a long and successful career as a short story author, culminating with “The Round of Visits,” published in 1910.

Due to James’s experience traveling around the continent, namely to Paris and London, he encountered numerous people from different countries with varied cultural backgrounds. His openness and willingness to absorb those cultures enabled him to cultivate a unique method of integration into his work. This trait is exemplified in “The Real Thing,” whose inspiration derived from an actual incident told by friend and Franco-British cartoonist George du Maurier. James noted the anecdote in his notebook’s February 22, 1891, entry. Written from Paris, the entry describes du Maurier’s mention of a couple that parallels Major and Mrs. Monarch: “an oldish, faded, ruined pair—he an officer in the army—who, unable to turn a penny in any other way, were trying to find employment as models” (The Complete Notebooks of Henry James. Edited by Leon Edel and Lyall H. Powers. New York and Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1987, pp. 55-57). James’s fictionalization made them a more youthful and fashionable British couple.

Despite writing short fiction for over half a century, James has not received the same recognition for his work in this genre as Nathaniel Hawthorne or Edgar Allan Poe, who explored similar themes. His stories tend to be more subtle in their exploration of character and emotion. He presents characters as a means for understanding human relationships, rather than simply entertainment. This is seen in “The Real Thing” through the artist’s connection with his studio models and his own reflection on how the Monarchs have changed him.