Having dedicated her life to the exquisite furnishing of Poynton, her husband's country house, Mrs. Gereth becomes embroiled in a struggle with her son, Owen, following his decision to marry the vulgar and nouveau-riche Mona. Though English law requires Mrs. Gereth to surrender Poynton and her treasured objets d'art to her only son and despised daughter-in-law, Mrs. Gereth won't relinquish Poynton without a fight. This fight includes seizing upon the empathetic Fleda Vetch as an ally, hoping to replace the uncultured Mona with Fleda as daughter-in-law and mistress of Poynton.
I found this read a bit hard to follow at times, which makes sense considering some Jamesian scholars view this novel as the first of James' late period, characterized by more ornate and digressive prose. That being said, I found myself immersed in the battle for Poynton and amused both by the headstrong Mrs. Gereth and by the female characters' admiration for Owen, who James describes as "stupid without offense." Regarding Fleda, I found her remarkably passive, ineffective, and pitiable as the victim of Mrs. Gereth's machinations. Like many other of James' heroes and heroines, her virtuousness and moral strenuousness does her little good.
Having dedicated her life to the exquisite furnishing of Poynton, her husband's country house, Mrs. Gereth becomes embroiled in a struggle with her son, Owen, following his decision to marry the vulgar and nouveau-riche Mona. Though English law requires Mrs. Gereth to surrender Poynton and her treasured objets d'art to her only son and despised daughter-in-law, Mrs. Gereth won't relinquish Poynton without a fight. This fight includes seizing upon the empathetic Fleda Vetch as an ally, hoping to replace the uncultured Mona with Fleda as daughter-in-law and mistress of Poynton.
I found this read a bit hard to follow at times, which makes sense considering some Jamesian scholars view this novel as the first of James' late period, characterized by more ornate and digressive prose. That being said, I found myself immersed in the battle for Poynton and amused both by the headstrong Mrs. Gereth and by the female characters' admiration for Owen, who James describes as "stupid without offense." Regarding Fleda, I found her remarkably passive, ineffective, and pitiable as the victim of Mrs. Gereth's machinations. Like many other of James' heroes and heroines, her virtuousness and moral strenuousness does her little good.
Having dedicated her life to the exquisite furnishing of Poynton, her husband's country house, Mrs. Gereth becomes embroiled in a struggle with her son, Owen, following his decision to marry the vulgar and nouveau-riche Mona. Though English law requires Mrs. Gereth to surrender Poynton and her treasured objets d'art to her only son and despised daughter-in-law, Mrs. Gereth won't relinquish Poynton without a fight. This fight includes seizing upon the empathetic Fleda Vetch as an ally, hoping to replace the uncultured Mona with Fleda as daughter-in-law and mistress of Poynton.
I found this read a bit hard to follow at times, which makes sense considering some Jamesian scholars view this novel as the first of James' late period, characterized by more ornate and digressive prose. That being said, I found myself immersed in the battle for Poynton and amused both by the headstrong Mrs. Gereth and by the female characters' admiration for Owen, who James describes as "stupid without offense." Regarding Fleda, I found her remarkably passive, ineffective, and pitiable as the victim of Mrs. Gereth's machinations. Like many other of James' heroes and heroines, her virtuousness and moral strenuousness does her little good.
Having dedicated her life to the exquisite furnishing of Poynton, her husband's country house, Mrs. Gereth becomes embroiled in a struggle with her son, Owen, following his decision to marry the vulgar and nouveau-riche Mona. Though English law requires Mrs. Gereth to surrender Poynton and her treasured objets d'art to her only son and despised daughter-in-law, Mrs. Gereth won't relinquish Poynton without a fight. This fight includes seizing upon the empathetic Fleda Vetch as an ally, hoping to replace the uncultured Mona with Fleda as daughter-in-law and mistress of Poynton.
I found this read a bit hard to follow at times, which makes sense considering some Jamesian scholars view this novel as the first of James' late period, characterized by more ornate and digressive prose. That being said, I found myself immersed in the battle for Poynton and amused both by the headstrong Mrs. Gereth and by the female characters' admiration for Owen, who James describes as "stupid without offense." Regarding Fleda, I found her remarkably passive, ineffective, and pitiable as the victim of Mrs. Gereth's machinations. Like many other of James' heroes and heroines, her virtuousness and moral strenuousness does her little good.
Having dedicated her life to the exquisite furnishing of Poynton, her husband's country house, Mrs. Gereth becomes embroiled in a struggle with her son, Owen, following his decision to marry the vulgar and nouveau-riche Mona. Though English law requires Mrs. Gereth to surrender Poynton and her treasured objets d'art to her only son and despised daughter-in-law, Mrs. Gereth won't relinquish Poynton without a fight. This fight includes seizing upon the empathetic Fleda Vetch as an ally, hoping to replace the uncultured Mona with Fleda as daughter-in-law and mistress of Poynton.
I found this read a bit hard to follow at times, which makes sense considering some Jamesian scholars view this novel as the first of James' late period, characterized by more ornate and digressive prose. That being said, I found myself immersed in the battle for Poynton and amused both by the headstrong Mrs. Gereth and by the female characters' admiration for Owen, who James describes as "stupid without offense." Regarding Fleda, I found her remarkably passive, ineffective, and pitiable as the victim of Mrs. Gereth's machinations. Like many other of James' heroes and heroines, her virtuousness and moral strenuousness does her little good.
