Book 3 Summary and Analysis
Summary
At dinner that evening, Strether tells Waymarsh about his afternoon. When he went to Chad’s apartment, he discovered that Chad was not there. The concierge explained that Chad had gone to Cannes a month ago and is not expected to return for several days. Strether investigated the place to get some insight into his future stepson. A young man is tending the apartment in Chad’s absence. It is the same man who attracted Strether’s attention on the balcony. His name is John Little Bilham (called “little Bilham" throughout the novel), and he has invited Strether and Waymarsh to lunch.
Waymarsh is frustrated by the lack of information that Strether garnered during the visit with little Bilham, but Strether declares that in Europe one cannot make out what people know. Waymarsh wonders why Strether even bothered to come to Paris and urges him to give it up; he says that he is being used for a vulgar business. Strether explains that if he does not bring back Chad, Mrs. Newsome will call off the engagement.
The next day, Strether, accompanied impulsively by Waymarsh, goes to Chad’s apartment to dine with little Bilham. A lady, Miss Barrace, is also present. She shocks the American gentlemen by smoking, but Strether soon sees it as one more instance of freedom found in Europe, compared to the strictures of behavior in New England.
Maria Gostrey arrives in Paris. When Strether goes to visit her, he is struck by the wealth of possessions adorning her home. He wants Miss Gostrey to meet little Bilham, but she is hesitant. She says that if Chad has gone to Cannes, then the women he is with cannot be his mistress, as that kind of thing is not done in Cannes.
When Miss Gostrey meets little Bilham in the Louvre, she gives him her seal of approval. Little Bilham invites Strether and Miss Gostrey to see his poor studio on the Left Bank, which reveals how impoverished his life in Paris is as an artist.
Miss Gostrey invites Strether, Waymarsh, and little Bilham to share a box at the theater; however, little Bilham does not respond to the invitation, nor does he show up at the theater. Miss Gostrey makes excuses for him, as she has great hopes in the young man. She thinks that Chad might have arranged for little Bilham to get to know Strether first and to prepare the way for him, receiving daily instructions from Chad in Cannes.
As the play commences, a stranger enters their box. It takes Strether some time to realize that it must be Chad. He says nothing to him; he is bewildered at how he should proceed in this unexpected situation. As to Chad’s physical appearance, Strether notices his prematurely graying hair, which gives the young man the air of much greater maturity.
Analysis
As Strether comes to Paris on his assignment as an ambassador from Mrs. Newsome, his extreme naiveté becomes more apparent and will determine his effectiveness. On his arrival at Chester, he accepts the companionship of Miss Gostrey with little thought to her character, her veracity, or her motivations. He goes with her immediately into the garden and accepts her influence. His newfound freedom is the gate by which she is allowed into his life, for good or ill. Likewise, Strether accepts little Bilham as a new friend, not knowing much about Chad’s acquaintance in a life from which he has come to rescue Chad. Through Miss Gostrey’s influence, Strether also accepts her estimation of Chad’s innocence, specifically her assertion that the woman he is with cannot...
(This entire section contains 1006 words.)
Unlock this Study Guide Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
be his mistress, since such a thing is not done in Cannes. With little thought for the opinion of Chad’s mother, Strether begins to see Chad in a new light. Strether has been changed by Paris. he has become a more worldly, sophisticated man. While this change is viewed positively in Europe, such a person is held in distrust and horror by the more restrictive atmosphere of his native New England.
Strether also shows himself to be willfully ignorant of the dark side of life. He chooses to take the path of least resistance. After his wife’s death, rather than deal with a grieving child, Strether sent his son off to boarding school. To ignore the sadness, he sends this reminder of his own grief out of his sight. In his own life, he chooses to marry his employer, the woman who is most at hand. He does not give the impression that he sought out Mrs. Newsome on his own, through his own love for her, but rather that he submitted to her acquisition, so to speak, of this man as a replacement for her dead husband. He submits to her demands, dropping all the concerns of his own life to race off to Europe to rescue the son that she says has fallen into evil hands. On his arrival in Europe, away from the constriction of New England, he is swayed by the freedom that he sees around him. He looks past the tawdry side of Paris that causes those back in Woollett to fear for Chad’s safety. Rather, he is influenced by the atmosphere, as well as whatever person with whom he is currently talking. Whether it is little Bilham, Waymarsh, or Miss Gostrey, he goes along with them and their rationale for Chad’s current behavior. He does not seem to have a mind or will of his own.
Because of these flaws, it is ironic that Lambert Strether has been placed in the role of an ambassador. He has no strength of his own personality and no firmness of conviction to help him stay true to his task. With his continued stay in Paris, however, Strether may find himself becoming his own man in the end, should he find the strength of character to ignore the influences, both from New England and from Europe, that so guide his current thinking.
