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The Image of Italy and Italians in the works by E. M. Forster and Henry James
JEŘÁBKOVÁ, Silvie
For my diploma thesis, I decided to choose "The Image of Italy and Italians in the Works by E. M. Forster and Henry James." I selected this topic because my attitude towards Italy is very positive and also because it seems to me interesting to compare in what way the depiction of Italy and its inhabitants is different and in what way similar at these authors. In the introductory part of my thesis, I describe the role of Italy in the course of history. I mention the significance of this country and also its influence on people who visited it. I explain the important function of Italy during the "travel for improvement" that was a part of young English men´s education first of all in 18th century and that was called the "Grand Tour." I also point out the fact that various Italian towns were perceived in a different way. Prejudices and stereotypes played an important role in the perception of Italy, which I mention at the beginning of my thesis as well. Later on, I explain why the authors including Forster and James set the plots of their works in Italy. I present particular Forster´s and James´s works on this topic and I summarize the most important aspects of their use of Italian setting and characters. The comparison of the representation of Italy and Italians in the works of these authors is the goal of my thesis. At first, I deal in my thesis with E. M. Forster´s relation to Italy and with his works on the Italian topic. I focus on the roles and functions of Italy and on the Italian characters in these works that I subsequently compare. I use the same process at H. James. I similarly describe at first his attitude towards Italy and after that his works, the plot of which is situated in Italy or in which there are some Italian characters. I compare these works once again with the focus on author´s depiction of Italy and its inhabitants. In next part of my thesis, I compare the mentioned works of both authors. I pay attention to the Italian setting and to the presented art, then to the role of Italy in both authors´ works, to similarities and differences of Italian characters, to cultural prejudices, stereotypes and xenophobia in the works, and I also describe to what extent E. M. Forster was inspired by H. James´s works, during which I draw on Forster´s critical work Aspects of the Novel. I confront the information with some critical texts of other authors, as for example with an article by Kevin J. H. Dettmar and a review by Edmund White. At the end of my thesis I analyse film adaptations of Forster´s and James´s works with the Italian topic and I put them in contrast with the original sources, on the grounds of which they were made. I observe during these analyses the similarities and differences in the depiction of Italians and Italy.
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