The American in the Classroom I quite understand that as an editor you should go in for "cheerful endings"; but I am sorry that as a private reader you are not struck with the inevitability of the American dénouement. I fancied that most folks would feel that Mme. de Cintré couldn't, when the finish came, marry Mr. Newman; and what the few persons who have spoken to me of the tale have expressed to me... was the fear that I should really put the marriage through. Voyons; it would have been impossible: they would have been an impossible couple, with an impossible problem before them. For instance -- to speak very materially -- where would they have lived?... No, the interest in the subject was, for me, (without my being at all a pessimist) its exemplification of one of those insuperable difficulties which present themselves in people's lives and from which the only issue is by forfeiture -- by losing something. -- Henry James to William Dean Howells, March 30, 1877. Teacher's Guide: Viewing Strategies | Activities and Investigations | Novel to Film La Vie Parisienne, 1868 to 1875 | eNewsletter Sign-up Essays + Interviews | Who's Who | A James Timeline Teacher's Guide | Genius in the Family | Henry Wants a Hit! The Forum | Links and Bibliography Home | About The Series | The American Collection | The Archive Schedule & Season | Feature Library | eNewsletter | Book Club Learning Resources | Forum | Search | Shop | Feedback ©