HENRY JAMES AND THE ASPERN PAPERS: ARCHIVE, MEMORY, AND THE FAILURE OF BIOGRAPHY
Vol.11, Issue 1, 2025, pp. 109-122 Full text: PDF . HTML
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.25.1.6
Web of Science: 001528232700008
Author:
Domeniko Kvartuč https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5666-3274
Affiliation:
University of Zagreb, Croatia 00mv6sv71
Abstract
This paper examines The Aspern Papers by Henry James through the lens of archive theory, biographical ethics, and the complexities of memory preservation. It explores how the protagonist's obsessive pursuit of Aspern's documents represents the human desire to reconstruct the Romantic past in Gothic atmosphere of Venice, often at the expense of ethical considerations and lived experience. The analysis highlights the symbolic significance of Juliana Bordereau, not merely as a guardian of Aspern's legacy but as a living archive whose testimony remains undervalued. The paper connects James's themes to his personal decision to destroy his own letters, reflecting his scepticism toward biographical intrusions. Comparisons with The Sense of the Past and other Jamesian works illustrate recurring motifs of archival failure and the tension between material and immaterial memory, as well as the role of destruction - both literal, through the burning of documents, and metaphorical, through the erasure of identities - in shaping historical narrative. Finally, the discussion extends to the ethical responsibilities of archivists and biographers, questioning whether written records alone can ever truly encapsulate the essence of a life.
Keywords: Henry James, The Aspern Papers, biography, archive, archaeology, Gothic Space
Article history:
Submitted: 02 April 2025
Reviewed: 04 April 2025
Accepted: 11 April 2025
Published: 30 June 2025
Citation (APA):
Kvartuč, D. (2025). Henry James and The Aspern papers: Archive, memory, and the failure of biography. English Studies at NBU, 11(1), 109-122. https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.25.1.6
Copyright © 2025 Domeniko Kvartuč
This is an Open Access article published and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Funding:
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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