Student Question
What message is Wing conveying to George in their conversations?
Quick answer:
In The Wings of the Dove , Henry James presents characters who are all deeply concerned with their own freedom and sense of self-worth. Yet most of them, if they are honest with themselves, will admit that they do not always act in a truly free or independent manner. Sometimes the pressure to be conventional overrides the desire to be true to oneself – even if it means sacrificing one’s self-respect. James does not offer any clear solutions for this problem, but he does suggest that it is at least possible for people to move toward greater degrees of freedom by having strong personal relationships in which they are able to trust each other enough to share feelings and thoughts openly and honestly.
In Sherwood Anderson’s story “Hands,” a shy, eccentric, and elderly man nicknamed Wing Biddlebaum engages in conversations with a friendly teenager named George Willard. During these conversations, Wing tries to encourage George to be a free spirit – to be an independent personality who is not intimidated by society. At one point, for instance, he actually shouts
at George Willard, condemning his tendency to be too much influenced by the people about him, “You are destroying yourself,” he cried. “You have the inclination to be alone and to dream and you are afraid of dreams. You want to be like others in town here. You hear them talk and you try to imitate them.”
Wing, in other words, encourages George to be himself, to be willing to be unconventional. A bit later, Wing again speaks to George:
“You must try to forget all you have learned,” said...
Unlock This Answer 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.
the old man. “You must begin to dream. From this time on you must shut your ears to the roaring of the voices.”
Here again, then, Wing encourages George to be independent. He wants George to tune out the voices of those who would seek to make him a conformist.
Wing, however, recalls to himself how his own earlier independent spirit – in particular, his habit of touching boys while speaking enthusiastically to them as their teacher – ultimately caused him to lose his job and to be ostracized in the town where he had once taught. In other words, Wing knows the suffering that can result if an independent spirit is misinterpreted by a larger group governed by conventional thoughts. His advice to George is partly a way of retaliating against the kind of conventional thinking from which he himself has suffered. Yet he can never openly tell George the full details of his past or of why he values unconventional lifestyles as much as he does. He does not want to be misinterpreted again -- either by George or by anyone else -- and so his advice is vaguely expressed.