The Ambassadors Study Questions & Topics for Discussion

The Ambassadors Topics for Further Study

Paying particular attention to the women in the two novels, compare Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness to The Ambassadors.

What psychological theory did the profession of advertising adopt by 1903? How does this relate to the novel?

Argue for an interpretation of the novel that inverts the normal, positive assessment of Strether. That is, he has been duped by Chad, whose theatrics make him a natural advertising guru, into purchasing a theory of life that ends his engagement to Mrs. Newsome.

History has changed dramatically in the last generation. National stories have been deemphasized in favor of themes, such as the Atlantic Community. Reading such scholars as Paul Gilroy, Ned Landsman, and Alfred Crosby, define this term and apply it to the work of James.

The novel is rife with allusions to paintings. The title itself repeats the title of a painting by Hans Holbein. Research...
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