Like Howells, James does not depend upon a plot. There is little action in
his works. The interest is psychological, and a chance word, an encounter
on the street, even a look, may serve to change an attitude of mind and
affect the outcome.
The popular impression that James is impossible to understand and that he
uses words to obscure his meaning is, of course, false, although in his
later novels his style is extremely involved and often difficult to follow.
In such works as _The Wings of a Dove_ (1902) and _The Golden Bowl_ (1904),
for example, there are long and intricate psychological explanations, which
are most abstruse and confusing. It is this later work which has given rise
to the common saying that William James wrote psychology like a novelist,
and Henry James, novels like a psychologist.
Judged by his best work, however, such as _The Portrait of a Lady_ and
_Roderick Hudson_, Henry James must be acknowledged a master of English
style. His keen analytical mind is reflected in a brilliant, highly
polished, and impressively incisive style. In a few perfectly selected
words the subtlest thoughts are clearly revealed. In these masterpieces,
the reader is constantly delighted by the artist's skill, which leads ever
deeper into human motives after it would seem that the heart and mind could
disclose no further secrets.
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