The Master by Colm Tóibín: The Untold Tales of Henry James

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to make a reading of the novel The Master by Colm Tóibín, whose fictional time covers four decisive years in the life of Henry James, from 1895 to 1899. I will argue that, for once, it is James who is being watched from the perspective of a high window, the leit motif of the novel, only that instead of following James’ gaze on the outside world, Tóibín enters the Master’s consciousness. Hence, through the use of a central intelligence (The Master’s acclaimed use of point of view) Tóibín turns James into the main character of his fiction in order to recreate those themes that most haunted him in his middle years: his frustrating experience in the theater with his play Guy Domville; the death of his parents and his sister, Alice; the suicide of his friend Constance Woolson Fenimore; his homosexuality; his not having participated in the American Civil War; being from a family of  intellectuals, his having preferred fiction over history and philosophy.