Psychological Realism
in
“The Pupil”
by
Henry James
1843 - 1916
What is “real” about “The Pupil”?

No omniscient narrator

No virtuous “hero”

No outstanding external event

No closure
No omniscient narrator
An omniscient narrator tells the story, knowing and
explaining the interior motives of each character.
This sort of narrator can “read the characters'
minds” and explain their actions.
In real life there is no one there to read the minds
of the people we meet. We just wonder what they
are thinking.
No Omniscient Narrator
In “The Pupil” we know much of what goes on in
Pemberton's mind, but not even all of that.
Even he does not understand his own motives
(like how attached he is to Morgan and the
Moreens).
Further, neither Pemberton, nor Morgan, nor the
reader completely knows what the Moreens are
up to. What do they live on, for example?
No Virtuous “Hero”

The Parents

Pemberton
are irresponsible and
false;
weakly gets too
attached to Morgan;
abandon their children;
inspires false hope of
“running off” with
Morgan;
may be the cause of
Morgan's death
may be the cause of
Morgan's death.
Although it is tempting to blame just the parents
for Morgan's death, perhaps Pemberton
contributed to it. Do you think so? Did he build
false hopes in Morgan? Could the story have
gone any other way, any other “healthier” way?
No Outstanding External Event
The “event” that occurs is
the bankruptcy of the Moreen family
and their request that Pemberton take Morgan
away with him.
It is catastrophic for Morgan, but it is not
exceptional because their failure is expected.
Further, it is not “outstanding”
as a war or natural disaster would be,
but is on a personal, human scale.
No Closure

It is not entirely clear what causes Morgan's
heart to fail

Was it (unlikely) the hurried walk home?

Was it happy excitement at his dream of
fleeing with Pemberton coming true?

Was it fear that his dream would come true
(and fear of permanent attachment; see intro
to story)?

Was it heartbreak that his parents would give
him up?
No Closure

It is not entirely clear how we should read the
characters

Did Mrs. Moreen ultimately love her son?
(She does finally embrace him.)

Did Pemberton lead Morgan to believe he was
more devoted than he was? (Was he really
happy to take Morgan away?)

Was Mr. Moreen evil? (He says Morgan
would not want to go. We also don't know
what he was really doing through the story.)
Psychological Realism

More than action, James focuses on the interior
world of the characters. Much of the “action” of
“The Pupil” is found in

The discussions between Morgan and
Pemberton

The discussions between Mrs. Moreen and
Pemberton

The discussion OF what Pemberton thinks
about those discussions
Assignment for James
For your Post on “The Pupil” reflect briefly on how
the story is an example of psychological realism.
Be sure to give examples from the story of how
James pushes us to enter into the minds of the
characters, rather than get carried away by
spectacular events.
Also, PART 2, please post one response to a
classmate's post on James.
DUE: Sunday, June 13 at midnight