The Wings of the Dove

The Wings of the Dove is a 1902 novel by Henry James. It tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honourable motives, while others are more self-interested.

This article is about the novel. For the films adapted from James' novel, see The Wings of the Dove (disambiguation).

The Wings of the Dove

Cover of the first UK edition
Author	Henry James
Country	United Kingdom, United States
Language	English
Publisher	Archibald Constable & Co., London Charles Scribner's Sons, New York City
Publication date	Constable: 30 August 1902 Scribner's: 21 August 1902
Media type	Print
Pages	Constable: 576 Scribner's: volume one, 329; volume two, 439
OCLC	25895745

Plot summary

Kate Croy and Merton Densher are two betrothed Londoners who desperately want to marry but have very little money. Kate is constantly put upon by family troubles, and is now living with her domineering aunt, Maud Lowder. Into their world comes Milly Theale, an enormously rich young American woman who had previously met and fallen in love with Densher, although she has never revealed her feelings. Her travelling companion and confidante, Mrs. Stringham, is an old friend of Maud. Kate and Aunt Maud welcome Milly to London, and the American heiress enjoys great social success.

With Kate as a companion, Milly goes to see an eminent physician, Sir Luke Strett, because she worries that she is suffering from an incurable disease. The doctor is noncommittal but Milly fears the worst. Kate suspects that Milly is deathly ill. After the trip to America where he had met Milly, Densher returns to find the heiress in London. Kate wants Densher to pay as much attention as possible to Milly, though at first he doesn't quite know why. Kate has been careful to conceal from Milly (and everybody else) that she and Densher are engaged.

With the threat of serious illness hanging over her, Milly decides to travel to Venice with Mrs. Stringham. Aunt Maud, Kate and Densher follow her. At a party Milly gives in her Venice palazzo (the older Palazzo Barbaro, called "Palazzo Leporelli" in the novel), Kate finally reveals her complete plan to Densher: he is to marry Milly so that, after her presumably soon-to-occur death, he will inherit the money they can marry on. Densher had suspected this was Kate's idea, and he demands that she consummate their affair before he will go along with her plan.

Aunt Maud and Kate return to London while Densher remains with Milly. Unfortunately, the dying girl learns from a former suitor of Kate's about the plot to get her money. She withdraws from Densher and her condition deteriorates. Densher sees her one last time before he leaves for London, where he eventually receives news of Milly's death. Milly does leave him a large amount of money despite everything. But Densher does not accept the money, and he will not marry Kate unless she also refuses the bequest. Conversely, if Kate chooses the money instead of him, Densher offers to make the bequest over to her in full. The lovers part on the novel's final page with a cryptic exclamation from Kate: "We shall never be again as we were!"

Main characters

• Kate Croy
• Merton Densher
• Milly Theale
• Maud Lowder
• Susan Stringham
• Lord Mark
• Sir Luke Strett

Inspiration

Milly is based on Minny Temple (1845–1870), James' beloved cousin who died from tuberculosis. In his autobiography James said that The Wings of the Dove was his attempt to wrap her memory in the "beauty and dignity of art." But as he also said in the preface to the New York Edition text of the novel, James had to prepare the situation that was to occupy Milly for the last months of her life. He established the background of Kate and Densher's inability to marry because of a lack of money.

Literary significance and criticism

The Wings of the Dove has one of the strongest critical positions of any of James' works, although James himself sometimes expressed dissatisfaction with it. In his preface to the New York Edition, James spent much time confessing to supposed faults in the novel: defective structure, characters not as well presented as they could be, and a general failure to realise his initial plan for the book.

By and large, critics have regarded these faults as venial or nonexistent. Instead, they have concentrated on the central characters and supporting cast, and the technique that James uses in their presentation.

In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Wings of the Dove 26th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Theatrical, television, and film adaptations

The first television production of The Wings of the Dove, presented in 1952 on Westinghouse Studio One on CBS, featured Charlton Heston in one of his earlier roles as Merton Densher. It was adapted for television again in 1959, when it was presented on Playhouse 90, also by CBS. It starred Dana Wynter as Kate Croy. Merton Densher, played by James Donald, was renamed Miles Denshaw for this version.

Playwright Guy Bolton adapted the novel for Broadway as Child of Fortune in 1956. It played a total of 23 performances, opening 13 November 1956 and closing less than three weeks later on 1 December. It starred Mildred Dunnock as Susan Shephard, Norah Howard as Mrs. Lowder, Edmund Purdom as Richard Denning (Merton Densher in the novel), Pippa Scott as Milly Temple (Theale in the novel), and Betsy von Furstenberg as Kate Croy. It played the Royale Theatre (now the Jacobs Theatre) and was directed by Jed Harris.

Composer Douglas Moore adapted the work into an opera which was given its premiere at the New York City Opera on 12 October 1961. The novel was adapted as a stage play and successfully produced on the West End in 1963 starring Susannah York and Wendy Hiller.

It was again adapted as a television play by the BBC in 1965, directed by Rudolph Cartier. Another TV adaptation occurred in 1979 starring John Castle and Suzanne Bertish.

The Wings of the Dove has been made into theatrical films twice, first in 1981 and again in 1997. Iain Softley directed the 1997 adaptation starring Helena Bonham Carter as Kate Croy, Alison Elliott as Milly Theale, and Linus Roache as Merton Densher. The film received mostly favourable reviews, and fared well at the box office. Bonham Carter received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

References

• The Wings of the Dove: Authoritative Text, The Author and the Novel, Criticism edited by J. Donald Crowley and Richard Hocks (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003) ISBN 0-393-97881-8
• The Wings of the Dove, edited by Nicola Bradbury (Wordsworth Classics, 2009) ISBN 978-1840221817
• The Novels of Henry James by Edward Wagenknecht (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1983) ISBN 0-8044-2959-6
• The Novels of Henry James by Oscar Cargill (New York: Macmillan Co., 1961)

External links

• The New York Edition text of The Wings of the Dove, with the author's preface (1909)
• The Wings of the Dove public domain audiobook at LibriVox
• IMDb page for the movie version of The Wings of the Dove (1997)
• The Wings of the Dove Map