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bitterness suddenly sickened him, and it was as if, horribly, he saw, in the truth, in the cruelty of his image, what had been appointed and done. He saw the Jungle of his life and saw the lurking Beast; then, while he looked, perceived it, as by a stir of the air, rise, huge and hideous, for the leap that was to settle him. His eyes darkened—it was close; and, instinctively turning, in his hallucination, to avoid it, he flung himself, on his face, on the tomb.
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lurked indeed, and the beast, at its hour, had sprung; it had sprung in that twilight of the cold April when, pale, ill, wasted, but all beautiful, and perhaps even then recoverable, she had risen from her chair to stand before him and let him imaginably guess. It had sprung as he didn't guess; it had sprung as she hopelessly turned from him, and the mark, by the time he left her, had fallen where it
164:, who remembers his odd secret: Marcher is seized with the belief that his life is to be defined by some catastrophic or spectacular event, lying in wait for him like a "beast in the jungle". May decides to buy a house in London with the money she inherited from a great aunt, and to spend her days with Marcher, curiously awaiting what fate has in store for him. Marcher is a hopeless
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had lived—who could say now with what passion?—since she had loved him for himself; whereas he had never thought of her (ah, how it hugely glared at him!) but in the chill of his egotism and the light of her use. Her spoken words came back to him, and the chain stretched and stretched. The beast had
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He takes May to the theater and invites her to an occasional dinner, but does not allow her to get close to him. As he sits idly by and allows the best years of his life to pass, he takes May down as well, until the denouement where he learns that the great misfortune of his life was to throw it
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was knowledge, knowledge under the breath of which the very tears in his eyes seemed to freeze. Through them, none the less, he tried to fix it and hold it; he kept it there before him so that he might feel the pain. That at least, belated and bitter, had something of the taste of life. But the
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man to whom nothing on earth was to have happened." They have also praised the tale's technique. Beginning in a neutral and rather diffident manner, the story builds to a climax of great power. Many critics have singled out the final paragraph for its intensity and
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only dramatizes, with heightened effect, a common longing for an exalting experience that will redeem a humdrum existence, although most individuals will not endure anything like
Marcher's final revelation at May's graveside.
152:, this story treats appropriately universal themes: loneliness, fate, love and death. The parable of John Marcher and his peculiar destiny has spoken to many readers who have speculated on the worth and meaning of human life.
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to fall. He had justified his fear and achieved his fate; he had failed, with the last exactitude, of all he was to fail of; and a moan now rose to his lips as he remembered she had prayed he mightn't know. This horror of
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The story has been read as a confession or parable about James' own life. He never married and possibly never experienced a consummated sexual relationship. Although he did enjoy a thorough experience of aesthetic
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211:." Critics have almost unanimously agreed with the author's own high opinion of the tale, with some going so far as to put the story among the best short narratives in any literature.
193:, it is possible that he still regretted what he called the "essential loneliness" of his life. This biographical relevance adds another level of meaning to "The Beast in the Jungle".
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Marcher may appear so eccentric and unrealistic in his obsession that his fate could seem irrelevant and unconvincing. However, many critics and ordinary readers have found that his
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346:(1964), the protagonist Shandy summarizes this story when explaining why her feeling that she is somehow different from other people sometimes frightens her.
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impact. In particular, the final sentence ends the tale with a succession of short (for James) but telling phrases:
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as influencing Mike
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John
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edited by
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This story is the subject of a discussion between a few characters at the beginning of
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The novella was adapted into a film of the same name in 2017 by
Brazilian directors
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Tales of Henry James: The Texts of the Tales, the Author on His Craft, Criticism
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The novella was adapted into a film of the same name in 2018 by Dutch director
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based on the novel and composed by Arnaud Petit was first performed at
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James placed "The Beast in the Jungle" at the head of volume 17 of the
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Critics have appreciated James' flash of insight in conceiving "
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531:"[INTERVIEW BERTRAND BONELLO] Le grand entretien chaos"
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458:"A Fera na Selva :: Entrevista exclusiva com Paulo Betti"
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from
Blackbird, an online journal of literature and the arts
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Here's to You, Mister
Nichols: The Making of the Graduate,
393:"The Beast in the Jungle" is the final episode title of
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http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/03/graduate200803
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440:James, Henry (1903). "The Beast in the Jungle".
359:(2004), a fictional re-imagining of the life of
108:Published as part of the short story collection
423:(opera of Cologne, Germany) on April 14th 2023.
227:The escape would have been to love her; then,
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549:"AN INTRODUCTION TO SYLVIA PLATH'S "ENNUI""
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533:[ The Great Chaos Interview].
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510:from the original on 22 January 2023
475:Oggiano, Roberto (31 January 2019).
446:. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
328:was freely inspired by the novella.
559:from the original on 19 March 2015
529:Roos, Gautier (25 December 2021).
405:, and shares similar themes to it.
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681:, Methuen & Co.: London, 1903
264:is mentioned in the horror film,
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464:(in Portuguese). 4 October 2017.
399:, based on James' other novella
106:Print (hardback & paperback)
307:The novella was adapted into a
1055:Essays in London and Elsewhere
23:The Beast in the Jungle (film)
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311:in 2023 by Austrian director
98:United Kingdom, United States
90:Scribner's: February 26, 1903
1200:Short stories by Henry James
683:, a digitized copy from the
366:This story is referenced in
644:public domain audiobook at
16:1903 novella by Henry James
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1119:Notes of a Son and Brother
1023:French Poets and Novelists
996:Theatricals: Second Series
88:Methuen: February 26, 1903
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396:The Haunting of Bly Manor
342:'s science fiction novel
276:is mentioned in the film
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814:The Princess Casamassima
651:Author's preface to the
589:The Tales of Henry James
279:Confidences trop intimes
29:The Beast in the Jungle
1157:William James (brother)
1039:A Little Tour in France
969:The Beast in the Jungle
666:The Beast in the Jungle
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641:The Beast in the Jungle
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262:The Beast in the Jungle
133:The Beast in the Jungle
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798:The Portrait of a Lady
417:La BĂŞte dans la jungle
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961:The Turn of the Screw
918:The Sense of the Past
878:The Wings of the Dove
846:The Spoils of Poynton
664:Note on the texts of
402:The Turn of the Screw
309:film of the same name
231:he would have lived.
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209:The Altar of the Dead
1162:Alice James (sister)
380:American Prometheus
324:by French director
267:The Screaming Skull
251:Cultural references
197:Critical evaluation
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1195:1903 short stories
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593:Edward Wagenknecht
40:First edition (UK)
21:For the film, see
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561:. Retrieved
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512:. Retrieved
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370:'s sonnet, "
368:Sylvia Plath
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156:Plot summary
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1015:Non-fiction
988:Theatricals
726:Henry James
535:Chaos Reign
361:Henry James
351:David Lodge
287:Paulo Betti
142:Henry James
50:Henry James
1189:Categories
1167:Lamb House
902:The Outcry
782:Confidence
677:James, H.
514:22 January
428:References
415:The opera
388:Television
333:Literature
221:rhetorical
191:creativity
150:narratives
136:is a 1903
1127:Notebooks
1031:Hawthorne
553:Blackbird
482:Cineuropa
421:Oper Köln
374:" (2006).
353:'s novel
321:The Beast
64:Publisher
929:Novellas
673:web site
655:text of
646:LibriVox
626:text of
563:17 March
557:Archived
508:Archived
503:Deadline
344:Sunburst
166:fatalist
124:24050323
56:Language
1145:Related
669:at the
383:(2005).
282:(2004).
241:waking—
182:tragedy
138:novella
68:Methuen
59:English
1137:(1917)
1122:(1914)
1114:(1914)
1106:(1913)
1098:(1909)
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921:(1917)
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410:Music
372:Ennui
622:The
597:ISBN
580:ISBN
565:2015
516:2023
293:and
256:Film
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229:then
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591:by
338:In
238:was
233:She
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