The Wings of the Dove

This is the article about the novel. For the films adapted from James' novel, see The Wings of the Dove (film).

The Wings of the Dove
1st UK edition
Author(s)	Henry James
Country	United Kingdom, United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	Archibald Constable & Co., London Charles Scribner's Sons, New York City
Publication date	Constable: 30-Aug-1902 Scribner's: 21-Aug-1902
Media type	Print
Pages	Constable: 576 Scribner's: volume one, 329; volume two, 439
ISBN	NA
OCLC Number	25895745

The Wings of the Dove is a 1902 novel by Henry James. This novel tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her impact on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honorable motives, while others are more self-interested.

Plot summary

Kate Croy and Merton Densher are two betrothed Londoners who desperately want to marry but have very little money. Kate is constantly put upon by family troubles, and is now living with her domineering aunt, Maud Lowder. Into their world comes Milly Theale, an enormously rich young American woman who had previously met and fallen in love with Densher, though she didn't reveal her feelings. Her travelling companion and confidante, Mrs. Stringham, is an old friend of Maud's. Kate and Aunt Maud welcome Milly to London, and the American heiress enjoys great social success.

With Kate as a companion, Milly goes to see an eminent physician, Sir Luke Strett, because she's afraid that she is suffering from an incurable disease. The doctor is noncommittal but Milly fears the worst. Kate suspects that Milly is deathly ill. After the trip to America where he had met Milly, Densher returns to find the heiress in London. Kate wants Densher to pay as much attention as possible to Milly, though at first he doesn't quite know why. Kate has been careful to conceal from Milly (and everybody else) that she and Densher are engaged.

With the threat of serious illness hanging over her, Milly decides to travel to Venice with Mrs. Stringham. Aunt Maud, Kate and Densher follow her. At a party Milly gives in her Venice palazzo (the older Palazzo Barbaro, called "Palazzo Leporelli" in the novel), Kate finally reveals her complete plan to Densher: he is to marry Milly so that, after her presumably soon-to-occur death, Densher will inherit the money they can marry on. Densher had suspected this was Kate's idea, and he demands that she consummate their affair before he'll go along with her plan.

Aunt Maud and Kate return to London while Densher remains with Milly. Unfortunately, the dying girl learns from a former suitor of Kate's about the plot to get her money. She "turns her face to the wall" and grows very ill. Densher sees her one last time before he leaves for London, where he eventually receives news of Milly's death. Milly does leave him a large amount of money despite everything. But Densher won't touch the money, and he won't marry Kate unless she also refuses the bequest. Conversely, if Kate chooses the money instead of him, Densher offers to make the bequest over to her in full. The lovers part on the novel's final page with a cryptic exclamation from Kate: "We shall never be again as we were!"

Main characters

• Kate Croy

• Merton Densher

• Milly Theale

• Aunt Maud (Lowder)

• Susan Stringham

Inspiration

Milly is based on Minny Temple (1845–1870), James' beloved cousin who died from tuberculosis. In his autobiography James said that The Wings of the Dove was his attempt to wrap her memory in the "beauty and dignity of art." But as he also said in the preface to the New York Edition text of the novel, James had to prepare the situation that was to occupy Milly for the last months of her life. He succeeded admirably in building up the background of Kate and Densher's inability to marry because of a lack of money.

Literary significance and criticism

Despite the inevitable dissenters, The Wings of the Dove has achieved one of the strongest critical positions of any of James' works. Ironically, one of the dissenters, at least to some extent, might have been the author himself. In his preface to the New York Edition, James spent much time confessing to supposed faults in the novel: defective structure, characters not as well presented as they could be, and a general failure to realize his initial plan for the book.

By and large, critics have regarded these faults as venial or nonexistent. Instead, they've concentrated on the central characters and supporting cast, and the technique that James uses in their presentation.

In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Wings of the Dove 26th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Theatrical, television, and film adaptations

The Wings of the Dove was adapted for television in 1959, when it was presented on Playhouse 90 by CBS. It starred Dana Wynter as Kate Croy. Merton Densher, played by James Donald, was renamed Miles Denshaw for this version. The first television production, presented in 1952 on Westinghouse Studio One (also on CBS), had featured Charlton Heston in one of his first starring roles as Merton Densher. Composer Douglas Moore adapted the work into an opera which was given its premiere at the New York City Opera on October 12, 1961. The novel was adapted as a stage play and successfully produced on the West End in 1963 starring Wendy Hiller. It was again adapted as a television play by the BBC in 1965 (directed by Rudolph Cartier), and again in 1979 starring John Castle and Suzanne Bertish. The Wings of the Dove was then eventually made into a theatrical film, first in 1981 and again in 1997. Ian Softley directed, with Helena Bonham Carter as Kate Croy, Alison Elliott as Milly Theale, and Linus Roache as Merton Densher. The film got mostly favorable reviews, and did decent business at the box office. Bonham Carter received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, while the film garnered many other awards nominations, and won several prizes.

References

• The Wings of the Dove: Authoritative Text, The Author and the Novel, Criticism edited by J. Donald Crowley and Richard Hocks (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003) ISBN 0-393-97881-8
• The Novels of Henry James by Edward Wagenknecht (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1983) ISBN 0-8044-2959-6
• The Novels of Henry James by Oscar Cargill (New York: Macmillan Co., 1961)

External links

• The New York Edition text of The Wings of the Dove, with the author's preface (1909)
• IMDb page for the movie version of The Wings of the Dove (1997)
• The Wings of the Dove Map