The Ambassadors | Quotes

This balanced sentence contains both antithesis and paradox. The narrator records Strether's reaction to his friend Waymarsh's delay at the hotel in Chester. The quotation emphasizes the important role of ambivalence in Strether's psychological makeup.

The famous description of Paris, with its enigmatic simile, underscores the critical importance of the setting in the novel. For Strether and many of the other characters, Paris is a multilayered symbol, with associations as varied as sin, creativity, liberation, art, pleasure, and mystery.

These words refer to the warm relationship between Strether and Maria Gostrey, often portrayed in terms of gossip and banter. By the end of the novel, however, it becomes clear that Maria Gostrey has fallen in love with Strether.

Chad's sudden entrance into the story occurs after a substantial buildup. His first appearance, fittingly, is at a theater, the playhouse of the Comédie Française, the leading acting troupe of France.

Little Bilham is speaking here to Strether about the relationship between Chad and Madame de Vionnet. In fact, Little Bilham is lying to cover for his friend Chad, who is actually conducting an affair.

Strether often observes Chad's social graces and refined sophistication. He attributes these features of Chad's behavior to the benign influence of Parisian and European manners. Note the repetition of the adjective easy.

These words, spoken by Strether to Little Bilham at Gloriani's garden party, signal the first climax of the novel. Strether, haunted by regrets about lost opportunity, exhorts the younger man to get the most out of life.

Charmed by Madame de Vionnet, Strether drifts away from his Woollett mission and becomes determined to support the relationship between Madame de Vionnet and Chad Newsome. He still believes, of course, that this friendship is a "virtuous attachment," rather than a full-blown affair.

Here, Strether visits the great medieval cathedral Notre-Dame ("Our Lady" in French) in search of tranquility. The cathedral was built in the 12th century and is one of the principal landmarks of Paris.

Here the narrator indirectly reports the speech of Jim Pocock, as he rides in a carriage with Strether on the way from the railway station to a Paris hotel. The Pococks, of course, have been dispatched from Woollett by Mrs. Newsome to persuade Chad to return home. Jim, a successful but rather dim-witted Woollett businessman, seems to separate himself from any responsibility for this effort.

Mrs. Newsome is virtually present throughout the story, emanating power, wealth, bias, and control. Although Strether is her fiancé, even he is taken aback at the influence she wields.

This somber passage concludes the account of Sarah Pocock's stormy showdown with Strether. The word all suggests not only the specific issue of Chad's return from Paris but also the entire relationship, both business and personal, between Strether and Mrs. Newsome. Note how James uses alliteration to "punctuate" the prose in this passage.

Strether, speaking to Maria Gostrey, ironically assures her that Mrs. Newsome has made her influence and controlling personality felt on her son, Chad. She has been able to accomplish this by sending Chad's sister Sarah to Paris as part of a second "wave" of ambassadors from Woollett. Sarah is a carbon copy of her mother in terms of values and standards.

Here James seems to emphasize his use of coincidence for the novel's major climax, or critical point of most intense interest and emotion.

Here, Maria Gostrey simply but eloquently voices her admiration and affection for Strether. She implies her willingness—indeed, desire—to marry him, but he diplomatically declines the invitation, saying he must return home to America and an uncertain future.