As part of a module I am taking this term, Early 20th century writing, I read James's The Beast in the Jungle this week. It is a romanticised love tale, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, once I had got used to Henry James' writing style. It tells of a man who spends his life looking for something, with his female friend, May. The most terrible part of this story however, is that he doesn't recognise her love until it is too late, when she has died. (If I had been on my own in the house when I read this, I probably would have sobbed).
The theme of waiting is prevalent through this tale, as we find that May waits for him to recognise that she loves him. This recognition made me wonder how many of us go through our lives waiting for the recognition of love from that person we love? I am thankful to say that I do not include myself in this, as I have been lucky in love and have not had to wait all my life to find that special relationship and a recognition of it. Yes, 'the power of love' is great, but I wonder whether many people have actually been as consumed by it as our Mr Marcher here was by the not knowing of it?
And yes, I know Mr Marcher is a fictional character, but I do believe that Henry James was trying to convey a possible realistic situation.
I wonder.
