The Ambassadors by Henry James | Characters, Summary, Analysis

The Ambassadors by Henry James | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Ambassadors was a novel by Henry James that was published in 1903. The novel was first published in a serialized manner in the National American Review (NAR). The novel is about a middle-aged dude named Strether, who has been sent from New England to Paris to track down his fiancée's no-good son and drag him back home to run the family business. However, when he actually meets Chad (the son) in Paris, he finds him impressively changed with a cool and cultured behavior. In fact, Strether starts to wonder if Paris has actually made Chad into a way better person than he was back in America. Strether begins wondering if he has wasted his better years when he could have led a better more satisfying life. Later on, he learns that he has been trapped in the strategies of others and has much to lose.

The story of The Ambassadors is told through a third-person limited omniscient narrator with the viewpoint of Strether. The story is told in the past tense. The Ambassadors of the novel's title refers to various representatives dispatched to Paris by Mrs. Newsome, a wealthy Massachusetts socialite and businesswoman, to reclaim her son Chad, who she believes has lingered far too long in Europe, possibly in the grasp of a scheming, irresponsible woman.

Characters of The Ambassadors:

Lewis Lambert Strether is a middle-aged man from Woolett, Massachusetts. He works for a rich widow Mrs. Newsome and he has developed a relationship with her which he considers an opportunity for attaining better fortune. However, Mrs. Newsome insists that she will marry him only if he retrieves his wayward son from Paris. Chadwick Newsome or Chad is the son of Mrs. Newsome. In Paris, he befriends two American tourists Little Bilham and Miss Barrace. Chad has also become romantically involved with Madame de Vionnet - a Countess who is already married and significantly older than Chad. Chad doesn’t wish to return to Woolett and Strether begins to feel that Chad is leading a better and more fulfilling life in Paris but after having all his fun and adventure, Chad feels he is content to return home and enter the family business. Madame de Vionnet is obsessed with Chad and wishes to stop him from returning to America. When she feels Chad’s interest in her is waning, she offers to marry her daughter Jeanne to Chad which he declines. She manages to take the help of Strether making Chad stay in Paris for more time. Maria Gostrey is an American woman living in Europe who voluntarily helps Americans in Europe who appear "lost." She helps Strether understand his situation. Waymarsh is a lawyer with a rigid and sensitive moral sense. He is a friend and traveling companion of Strether who warns him not to subvert his mission but Strether ignores his warning. Sarah Pocock is the daughter of Mrs. Newsome and the wife of Jim Pocock. She is a strong-willed individual. When Mrs. Newsome realizes that Strether is failing in his mission, she sends Sarah as her second Ambassador to bring her son back. Sarah realizes that Strether has been distracted but she forgives him and offers a chance to redeem. Strether behaves rudely against her and ruins his chances. Jim Pocock and his sister Mamie Pocock accompany Sarah to Paris. Jim wishes Mamie to be married to Chad. Gloriani is a famous sculptor of Paris who hosts a well-attended garden party where Strether meets Madame de Vionnet.

Summary of The Ambassadors:

The novel is divided into 12 chapters with many chapters in each. In the Preface, Henry James introduces Lewis Lambert Strether as Strether advises his friend and confidante Little Bilham to live life to the fullest suggesting that this must be the theme of the novel but there is much more in the story. He also explains some other characters friendly to Strether, including Waymarsh and Maria Gostrey. In the Preface, Henry James singles out The Ambassadors as the best of his novels.

Lambert is a late middle-aged American living in Woolett, Massachusets, working as the editor of an American magazine owned by a rich socialite widow lady Mrs. Newsome. Lambert is a widower who is now extremely dependent on the imperious and domineering Mrs. Newsome. Since both are widowers and are close to each other, Strether hopes that Mrs. Newsome will marry her and that will ensure his financial stability. Mrs. Newsome’s wayward son Chad Newsome is on a long trip to Europe and is continuously refusing to return and manage his family business. Mrs. Newsome believes Chad has become romantically involved with an inappropriate woman and refuses to come home so that they remain together. Thus, she sends Lambert as her ambassador to bring back Chad and insists that if Lamberts succeeds, she will marry him.

Strether first arrives in Chester in northern England, where he meets a longtime friend, a lawyer named Waymarsh, and makes the acquaintance of Maria Gostrey, an American expatriate. All three proceed to London and then Waymarsh and Strether go to Paris where Chad is supposedly living. Maria promises that she will soon reach Paris to help Strether. Lambert is enamored of Maria’s comprehension of European culture and secular, critical, contemporary life. He finds himself more comfortable with Maria than his somewhat controlling fiancée.

In Paris, Strether visits Chad’s apartment but learns that he is out of town. Strether makes the acquaintance of Chad's friend, a young artist named John Little Bilham, who is staying in Chad's flat. When Maria Gostrey arrives in Paris, she too meets Little Bilham. While roaming the city, Strether meets Marie de Vionnet. Marie is one of Chad’s best friends despite being at least a decade older, causing Strether to wonder whether he is fond of older women. He hypothesizes, alternatively, that Chad is really courting Marie’s daughter, Jeanne.

Maria organizes a theater evening at the famous playhouse of the Comédie Française where Strether meets Chad Newsome. After the play, Strether and Chad hold a long discussion during which Strether learns that Chad has improved from when he last knew him in America. Chad exhibits restrained urbanity, elegance, and manners. This is not what Strether expected of someone in the grip of an inappropriate romantic entanglement. Strether wonders what has caused the transformation he sees in Chad.

When Chad offers to introduce him to some of his close friends, Madame de Vionnet and her grown daughter Jeanne, Strether asks straightforwardly if Chad has a romantic interest in Madame de Vionnet or her daughter, to which Chad denies any entanglement with a woman. Little Bilham declares to Strether that Chad maintains a "virtuous attachment" to an older woman, Madame de Vionnet. Chad arranges for Strether to attend a fashionable garden party hosted by a renowned sculptor, Gloriani where Strether meets Madame de Vionnet for the first time. He is impressed by both mother and daughter. He knows that back in Woolett, Chad’s sister, Sarah Pocock thinks of the marriage of Chad to her sister-in-law Mamie Pocock. Strether feels that Jeanne could be a better match for Chad.
After spending some days in Paris, Strether begins enjoying the freedom and adventurous lifestyle of Paris. He becomes too close to Chad’s friends Little Bilham and Miss Barrace who continue to praise Chad. With passionate enthusiasm, he exhorts the young man to live life to the fullest and not waste the best years of his life. Bilham, on the other hand, says that he would prefer to be like Strether at his age. Madame de Vionnet invites Strether for lunch at her residence and he learns that she is already married and her husband left her some years ago. She tells him that Chad has been a great help for her and he is helping her arrange a good marriage for her young daughter. She hopes Chad will remain in Paris until her daughter gets married to a suitable suitor. Strether is completely captivated by Madame de Vionnet and agrees to help her. He hopes to convince Mrs. Newsome that the Countess has positively influenced Chad and that Chad has changed for the better. Waymarsh gives Strether very sound advice: Strether should either follow his directions from Mrs. Newsome or give up altogether. Strether rejects this advice and tries to find a compromise between two conflicting positions.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Newsome sends an ultimatum from America. Her telegram orders Strether to return immediately, with or without Chad. She also intends to dispatch a new set of "ambassadors": her daughter Sarah Pocock, accompanied by Sarah's husband Jim and by Jim's younger sister Mamie. Strether negotiates a bargain with Chad to stay on for a bit in Paris. He is apprehensive about Sarah but is happy about Mamie visiting Paris. He talks with Bilham and informs him how beautiful and good-natured Mamie Pocock is and encourages him to try to marry her.

Chad arranges a welcoming party for Pococks. Strather observes that Waymarsh has grown close to Sarah Pocock and her husband while Sarah ignores him. Later on, Waymarsh informs him that Sarah wishes to hold a private meeting with Strether and he also reveals that he is going to Switzerland with Sarah and her family.

When Strether meets Sarah, he tries to convince her that Chad has improved and become a better person. He insists that Chad should be allowed to remain in Paris. Sarah denounces his behavior. Sarah Pocock is not amused by Parisian Society and its trappings, nor is she impressed with the Countess, nor is she inspired by the architecture and atmosphere of Paris. Sarah intends to do her job and she does it quickly. Sarah offers Chad a chance to get on the right track.

Sarah asks Chad to return back to Woolett and Chad agrees to leave Paris but he insists that he will agree to return home if Strether gives him the word.

Sarah hopefully looks at Strether, believing that he will certainly tell Chad to return back. However, Chad takes his time. Fearing that Chad will return home and live a miserable life in business, Strether looks at his own miserable life and is unable to condemn Chad to a similar fate. Strether knows that Chad will return home regardless of what he says. Still, Strether does not want the blot on his conscience. This move is costly for Strether: he will likely lose his job with the Newsome. The possibility of his marriage with Mrs. Newsome is nullified as well. Ultimately, he says that Chad must stay in Paris if he wishes to. This frustrates Sarah and the meeting turns into a bitter confrontation, with Sarah denouncing Chad's behavior. Strether decides to stay in Paris and calls off the wedding with Mrs. Newsome.

Strether is disturbed and decides to go out on a day trip to the countryside. He stays at a riverside inn. Glancing at the river, he glimpses a small boat with Chad and Madame de Vionnet. In a flash, he realizes that Chad is, after all, having an affair with an older, married woman and that Little Bilham, acting out of loyalty, has misled him by calling the attachment "virtuous."

After dinner, Strether returns to Paris on the same train with Chad and Madame de Vionnet. The following evening, he meets with Madame de Vionnet at her residence. She tries to persuade him to remain in Paris. However, Strether has now made up his mind to return home. Before leaving, he meets Chad, urging him not to forsake Madame de Vionnet. Chad tells him that he has a long life to live and needs to manage his family business and thus, he will return. Strether then meets Maria Gostrey to bid farewell. Maria proposes a continuing relationship with him which Strether politely declines. She begs him to stay with her, but he's through with Europe. Even though his future back in America is uncertain, he feels he must now depart from Paris.

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