401:
29:
375:
185:
forgiven him. When his friend realises
Stransom's feelings about Hague, she declares that she can no longer honour Hague at Stransom's altar. Stransom cannot bring himself to resolve the issue by forgiving Hague and adding a candle for him. This disagreement drives the two friends apart. Stransom's friend ceases visiting the altar, and Stransom himself can find no peace there.
184:
Later he notices a woman who regularly appears at the church and sits before his altar. He intuitively understands that she too honours her Dead, and they very gradually become friends. However
Stransom later discovers that her Dead number only one: Acton Hague. Hague had wronged her too, but she has
192:
He turns and sees his friend, who has finally become reconciled to him, having decided to visit the altar to honour not her own Dead but
Stransom's. Stransom, dying, tries to tell her that he is ready to add a candle for Hague, but is able only to say "One more, just one more". The story ends with
188:
Months later, Stransom, now dying, visits his altar one last time. Collapsing before the altar, he has a vision of Mary Antrim, and it seems that Mary Antrim is asking him to forgive Hague: "e felt his buried face grow hot as with some communicated knowledge that had the force of a reproach. It
250:
James seemed dissatisfied with the story after he had started work on it. Some have speculated that James had not yet imagined the back-story of Acton Hague and
Stransom's unnamed woman friend when he expressed his impatience with the tale. James was unable to place the story in any magazine,
180:
Aging George
Stransom holds sacred the memory of the great love of his life, Mary Antrim, who died before they could be married. One day Stransom happens to read of the death of Acton Hague, a former friend who had done him a terrible harm. Stransom starts to dwell on the many friends and
378:
218:
But the story is far from a morbid, obsessive essay on death. The relationship between
Stransom and his fellow-worshipper shows how forgiveness and love can overcome the wrongs of the past. The story is a parable for the living even more than an homage to the dead.
189:
suddenly made him contrast that very rapture with the bliss he had refused to another. This breath of the passion immortal was all that other had asked; the descent of Mary Antrim opened his spirit with a great compunctious throb for the descent of Acton Hague."
155:
significance, the story explores how the protagonist tries to keep the remembrance of his dead friends, to save them from being forgotten entirely in the rush of everyday events. He meets a woman who shares his ideals, only to find that the
230:
have generally rated this tale very high among James' works, with some calling it a "glorious fable," "magnificently written," and "one of his finest." James himself proudly placed the story at the head of volume 17 of the
181:
acquaintances he is now losing to death. He begins to light candles at a side altar in a
Catholic church, one for each of his Dead, except Hague.
357:
209:—began to turn his thoughts to how the "waves sweep dreadfully over the dead—they drop out and their names are unuttered." His
421:
426:
215:
show this idea crystallizing into the story of a man who would make an actual private religion of remembrance of his dead.
333:
320:
307:
294:
416:
206:
246:
211:
238:
201:
As James got older himself, the deaths of his relatives and friends—especially his sister
363:
302:
edited by F.O. Matthiessen and
Kenneth Murdock (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press 1981)
193:
his face showing "the whiteness of death." Thus
Stransom's last words are rendered ambiguous.
268:
259:
8:
400:
367:
272:) based on "The Altar of the Dead". The director himself played the protagonist, with
395:
329:
316:
303:
290:
251:
something which many critics have found almost ridiculous for work of such quality.
233:
160:
places what seems to be an impassable barrier between them. Although James was not
55:
103:
410:
273:
148:
107:
81:
28:
165:
344:
Donald R. Burleson. "Symmetry in Henry James's "The Altar of the Dead"".
202:
136:
132:
65:
45:
389:
315:
by Edward
Wagenknecht (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. 1984)
168:
in its treatment of mortality and the transcendent power of unselfish
384:
161:
227:
157:
76:
152:
144:
289:
by Leon Edel (New York: Taplinger Publishing Company 1970)
241:". The tale has appeared in a number of later anthologies.
169:
36:, 1895, first U.S. edition of "The Altar of the Dead"
328:by Robert L. Gale (New York: Greenwood Press 1989)
164:in any conventional sense, the story shows a deep
408:
119:Published as part of the short story collection
237:(1907–09) of his fiction, before even "
364:Note on the texts of "The Altar of the Dead"
399:
27:
360:, public domain book, at One More Library
287:Henry James: Stories of the Supernatural
409:
222:
139:, first published in his collection
13:
339:
244:So it is a little odd that in his
14:
438:
351:
422:Short stories adapted into films
373:
348:, 1 No 1 (Summer 1986), 29–32.
175:
16:1895 short story by Henry James
254:
1:
279:
196:
427:Short stories by Henry James
300:The Notebooks of Henry James
7:
383:public domain audiobook at
276:as the woman he befriends.
10:
443:
326:A Henry James Encyclopedia
207:Constance Fenimore Woolson
113:
99:
87:
71:
61:
51:
41:
26:
346:Studies in Weird Fiction
313:The Tales of Henry James
22:"The Altar of the Dead"
262:directed the 1978 film
239:The Beast in the Jungle
129:"The Altar of the Dead"
93:Heinemann: May 15, 1895
80:Harper & Brothers,
380:The Altar of the Dead
95:Harper: June 18, 1895
205:and fellow-novelist
223:Critical evaluation
75:William Heinemann,
23:
417:1895 short stories
368:Library of America
21:
260:François Truffaut
126:
125:
100:Publication place
434:
403:
391:La Chambre verte
377:
376:
285:Introduction to
264:La Chambre verte
234:New York Edition
89:Publication date
31:
24:
20:
442:
441:
437:
436:
435:
433:
432:
431:
407:
406:
374:
354:
342:
340:Further reading
282:
257:
225:
199:
178:
118:
114:Media type
94:
90:
79:
37:
17:
12:
11:
5:
440:
430:
429:
424:
419:
405:
404:
387:
371:
361:
353:
352:External links
350:
341:
338:
337:
336:
323:
310:
297:
281:
278:
269:The Green Room
256:
253:
224:
221:
198:
195:
177:
174:
124:
123:
115:
111:
110:
104:United Kingdom
101:
97:
96:
91:
88:
85:
84:
73:
69:
68:
63:
59:
58:
53:
49:
48:
43:
39:
38:
32:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
439:
428:
425:
423:
420:
418:
415:
414:
412:
402:
397:
393:
392:
388:
386:
382:
381:
372:
369:
365:
362:
359:
356:
355:
349:
347:
335:
334:0-313-25846-5
331:
327:
324:
322:
321:0-8044-2957-X
318:
314:
311:
309:
308:0-226-51104-9
305:
301:
298:
296:
295:0-8008-3829-7
292:
288:
284:
283:
277:
275:
274:Nathalie Baye
271:
270:
265:
261:
252:
249:
248:
242:
240:
236:
235:
229:
220:
216:
214:
213:
208:
204:
194:
190:
186:
182:
173:
171:
167:
163:
159:
154:
150:
147:of literally
146:
142:
138:
134:
130:
122:
116:
112:
109:
108:United States
105:
102:
98:
92:
86:
83:
82:New York City
78:
74:
70:
67:
64:
60:
57:
54:
50:
47:
44:
40:
35:
30:
25:
19:
390:
379:
358:Terminations
345:
343:
325:
312:
299:
286:
267:
263:
258:
245:
243:
232:
226:
217:
210:
200:
191:
187:
183:
179:
176:Plot summary
166:spirituality
141:Terminations
140:
128:
127:
121:Terminations
120:
34:Terminations
33:
18:
255:Adaptations
203:Alice James
143:in 1895. A
137:Henry James
133:short story
66:Short story
46:Henry James
411:Categories
280:References
197:Key themes
247:Notebooks
212:Notebooks
162:religious
72:Publisher
385:LibriVox
370:web site
52:Language
366:at the
228:Critics
56:English
398:
332:
319:
306:
293:
77:London
42:Author
153:death
145:fable
131:is a
117:Print
62:Genre
396:IMDb
330:ISBN
317:ISBN
304:ISBN
291:ISBN
170:love
158:past
151:and
149:life
394:at
135:by
413::
172:.
106:,
266:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
