By Emily Finkelstein
ROME, March 25 — Henry James’ novels, characters and inner turmoil were on display in John Cabot University's Aula Magna auditorium last week in a lecture entitled “Roman Fever” hosted by literary expert Dr. Kate Brooks.
Brooks, a New York University professor of 19th and 20th century literature, spoke Tuesday to a crowd of John Cabot University students, faculty and visitors. With distinct inflections, she spoke of James’ endless love/hate relationship with the Eternal City and its effect on his works.
“I aim to convince you that Henry James is the most important novelist,” said Brooks. Listeners seemed to be either sharing Brooks’ passion or desperately attempting to keep up with it.
Although much of the material was intended for James scholars, Brooks portrayed certain themes quite clearly. One was James’ psychological traumas and his subsequent spawn of twisted characters. JCU junior Rachel Yeager, said she found interesting “how James’ personal life was reflected in his characters.”
Brooks also shed light on James falling prey to the so-called “Roman Fever.” Though it was initially literal—malaria—when he coined it in his novella "Daisy Miller", Roman Fever defined his conflicting relationship with Rome, a city he found both fascinating and sickening.
To him, Rome was culturally and visually beautiful but infested with amorality and sin.
“Rome is what did him in,” said Brooks. “Rome established him as an artist.” James was so enthralled by Roman culture that it frequently appeared in his novels. “All roads lead to Rome,” said a The Turn of the Screw character, a line that could have easily applied to James, too.
“Rome’s beauty infected James and set him on the path to the themes of some of his greatest works,” said Brooks. He was one of the first authors to seek inspiration, experience and solitude by way of travel, and he chose Rome. The city in which JCU’s students reside is the very city in which James developed his masterpieces.
Brooks is currently finishing a book on James’ foreshadowing of modernist themes in American literature. She plans to publish a work exploring the recent relationship between literary and scientific themes.
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