Significance of Character Names in The American
A literary technique that authors often times employ is giving to the characters a name to enhance the reader's understanding of that character. In The American, Henry James uses this style with most of his characters' names. Often times, the names may translate into an English word, or it could even just sound like an English word. The novel is better understood because of this and the reader can get more meaning out of each character and his or her personality traits. In whichever way James chooses to depict names, they intensify the reader's comprehension. The main character, Christopher Newman, is a prime example of Henry James' use of this method. He is named after Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of America, as he says early in the novel, "Did you ever hear of Christopher Columbus?...my parents named me for him." (6). This is just relating him ever more to America and distinguishing him from a European. His last name "Newman" is very symbolic. He has traveled to Europe and Paris to basically become a "new man." He has given up his previous life of business and hard work, and is determined to live carefree and abroad. Newman changes day by day, and the reader follows along with these changes.
In the case of Mrs. Tristram, the name seems to tell a good deal about her personality. "Tristram" seems to originate from the French and English word "triste," which means sad, mournful and wistful, (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary). Mrs. Tristram is all of these and more. She is a very sad woman and is disappointed with her living conditions and her marriage. She is mournful in that she did not do better for herself in the choice of a husband, which has caused her much pain. Mrs. Tristram is also very wistful in that she yearns for a better life, and seems to live superficially through Christopher Newman. She has great joys in setting him up with Claire de Cintre because she thinks of her as the perfect woman. She does not want Newman to turn out like she did with a dissatisfying wife and desire a different life because of it. Mrs. Tristram is a sad woman, but still a very passionate and likeable character. laire de Cintre also enhances the reader's knowledge of her as a person. "Claire" in French means "light" and "Cintre" often can be translated as "crazy" or "insane." Claire is a light in many ways. She always wears white clothing, which can be very bright and seems to almost emit a glow when she is in a room. Her personality is also very lightening. She is well liked among everyone the reader is introduced to and always seems to attract the attention of people when she is in the room. Newman says, "...if you are going into a room with Madame de Cintre, you need
Some common words found in the essay are:
Henry James, Urbain Bellegarde, Henry James', Newman Madame, Bellegarde Urbain, Europe Paris, Claire French, Christopher Newman, Dictionary Tristram, Newman Oh, de bellegarde, english word, de cintre, claire de cintre, claire de, mother marquise de, christopher newman, madame de, follies stupidities, sad woman, marquise de, marquise de bellegarde, sound english word, mother marquise, tristram sad woman,
Approximate Word count = 1009
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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