Summary Letters from Aspern
Henry James
Letters from Aspern
Researcher creativity of the great poet Jeffrey Aspern comes to Venice to get acquainted with his former beloved Juliana Bordero, who lives with her unmarried niece Tina in a big house and does not communicate with anyone. Juliana has Aspern’s letters, which the hero of the story dreams of capturing, but she hides them from all and stops all attempts of biographers and admirers of Aspern to make an acquaintance with her. Knowing that she lives in poverty, the hero decides to withdraw from her several rooms. Obsessed with the idea of getting letters, he is ready to drag his niece to reach the goal. His old friend, Mrs. Prest, to whom he believes his plans, exclaims: “Oh, you look at her first!” In order not to cause Juliana suspicions, the hero is in the house as an American traveler who dreams of renting an apartment with a garden, and the garden in Venice is a rarity. Tina accepts him with timid bewilderment, but
A few hours later Juliana becomes ill, and Tina is afraid that she is about to die. The hero tries to find out from Tina, where Juliana keeps Aspern’s letters, but in Tina two feelings are struggling: sympathy for the hero and devotion to the aunt. She searched for letters, but did not find, and if she did, she does not know if she would give them to the hero: she does not want to deceive Juliana. In the evening, seeing that the door to Juliana’s room is open, the hero enters and extends his hand to the secretary, where, as it seems to him, letters can be kept, but at the last minute looks around and notices Juliana at the doorstep. At this moment he sees for the first time her unusually burning eyes. She furiously hisses: “Wretched scribbler!” – and falls into the hands of his niece. The next morning the hero leaves Venice and returns only after twelve days. Juliana died, and she was already buried. The hero comforts Tina, He asks her about plans for the future. Tina is at a loss and still has not decided anything. She gives the hero a portrait of Aspern. The hero asks about his letters. He learns that Tina prevented Juliana from burning them. They are now at Tina, but she does not dare to give them to the hero – in fact, Juliana so jealously guarded them from prying eyes. Tina timidly hints to the hero that if he was not a stranger, if he were a member of the family, she could give him letters. The hero suddenly realizes that this clumsy old maiden loves him and would like to become his wife. He rushes out of the house and can not come to his senses: it turns out that he involuntarily instilled hope in a poor woman, which he can not carry out. “I can not marry a pathetic, ridiculous, old provincial woman for the sake of a bundle of worn out letters,” he decides. But during the night he realizes that he can not give up treasure, about which he dreamed for so long, and in the morning Tina seems to him younger and prettier. He is ready to marry her. But before he can tell Tina, Tina informs him that she burned all the letters, a sheet by sheet. The hero darkens in the eyes. When he comes to himself, the spell dissipates, and he again sees before him an odd, baggy-clad elderly woman. The hero leaves. He writes to Tina that he sold the portrait of Aspern and sends a fairly large sum, which he could not help out, if he really wanted to sell it. In fact, he leaves a portrait to himself, and when he looks at him, his heart aches at the thought of what he has lost – of course, referring to Aspern’s letters. that burned all the letters, a sheet by sheet. The hero darkens in the eyes. When he comes to himself, the spell dissipates, and he again sees before him an odd, baggy-clad elderly woman. The hero leaves. He writes to Tina that he sold the portrait of Aspern and sends a fairly large sum, which he could not help out, if he really wanted to sell it. In fact, he leaves a portrait to himself, and when he looks at him, his heart aches at the thought of what he has lost – of course, referring to Aspern’s letters. that burned all the letters, a sheet by sheet. The hero darkens in the eyes. When he comes to himself, the spell dissipates, and he again sees before him an odd, baggy-clad elderly woman. The hero leaves. He writes to Tina that he sold the portrait of Aspern and sends a fairly large sum, which he could not help out, if he really wanted to sell it. In fact, he leaves a portrait to himself, and when he looks at him, his heart aches at the thought of what he has lost – of course, referring to Aspern’s letters.