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The Altar of the Dead
The Altar of the Dead is a short story by Henry James, first published in his collection Terminations in 1895. A fable of literally life and death significance, the story explores how the protagonist tries to keep the remembrance of his dead friends, to save them from being forgotten entirely in the rush of everyday events. He meets a woman who shares his ideals, only to find that the past places what seems to be an impassable barrier between them. Although James was not religious in any conventional sense, the story shows a deep spirituality in its treatment of mortality and the transcendent power of unselfish love.
Excerpt:
There were other ghosts in his life than the ghost of Mary Antrim. He had perhaps not had more losses than most men, but he had counted his losses more; he hadn't seen death more closely, but had in a manner felt it more deeply. He had formed little by little the habit of numbering his Dead: it had come to him early in life that there was something one had to do for them. They were there in their simplified intensified essence, their conscious absence and expressive patience, as personally there as if they had only been stricken dumb. When all sense of them failed, all sound of them ceased, it was as if their purgatory were really still on earth: they asked so little that they got, poor things, even less, and died again, died every<->day, of the hard usage of life. They had no organized service, no reserved place, no honor, no shelter, no safety. Even ungenerous people provided for the living, but even those who were called most generous did nothing for the others. So on George Stransom's part had grown up with the years a resolve that he at least would do something, do it, that is, for his own -- would perform the great charity without reproach. Every man _had_ his own, and every man had, to meet this charity, the ample resources of the soul.
Excerpt:
There were other ghosts in his life than the ghost of Mary Antrim. He had perhaps not had more losses than most men, but he had counted his losses more; he hadn't seen death more closely, but had in a manner felt it more deeply. He had formed little by little the habit of numbering his Dead: it had come to him early in life that there was something one had to do for them. They were there in their simplified intensified essence, their conscious absence and expressive patience, as personally there as if they had only been stricken dumb. When all sense of them failed, all sound of them ceased, it was as if their purgatory were really still on earth: they asked so little that they got, poor things, even less, and died again, died every<->day, of the hard usage of life. They had no organized service, no reserved place, no honor, no shelter, no safety. Even ungenerous people provided for the living, but even those who were called most generous did nothing for the others. So on George Stransom's part had grown up with the years a resolve that he at least would do something, do it, that is, for his own -- would perform the great charity without reproach. Every man _had_ his own, and every man had, to meet this charity, the ample resources of the soul.
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1895
About the author
Henry James
4,363 books3,492 followersHenry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
June 2, 2019
Henry James—who wrote not only novels of genius but also some very fine ghost stories—is known as the author of The Turn of the Screw, the most ambiguous ghostly tale ever written: so subtle, so evanescent that the reader can never be sure whether it actually contains a ghost, or not. But I think he should be known equally for The Altar of the Dead: a tale which contains not one hint of the supernatural and yet demonstrates with absolute clarity the firm hold that the dead may maintain over the fate of the living.
George Stransom, marked by the early demise of his fiancee Mary and the subsequent deaths of a host of his friends, is inspired—although he is in no sense religious—to endow a side-altar in a Catholic church, with one candle as a memorial for each of his dead. He visits his altar frequently, and soon begins to notice that another—a woman somewhat younger than himself—has begun to use his altar as her own. He is touched by her devotion, and for some time they join each other in mutual silent communion. Eventually he speaks, the two of them become friends, but then he learns something about her that not only ends their friendship, but destroys even his peacful contemplation of his cherished altar of the dead.
James wrote this story in 1895, soon after after he had lost his sister Alice to breast cancer and his good friend Constance Woolson to accident or suicide. He was fifty-two years old, and his list of personal dead was growing. All of this, I am sure, contributed to this deeply felt novella.
I like this tale because it is a “ghost story without a ghost,” but also because it is one of the most sincere tributes to ritual and remembrance ever made by a thoroughly secular writer. Those looking for conventional religion will not find it, but there is much of the spiritual, much of true reverence here.
What follows is the moment when Stransom first realizes that the idea of such an altar has taken up residence in his heart:
Quite how it had risen he probably never could have told you, but what came to pass was that an altar, such as was after all within everybody's compass, lighted with perpetual candles and dedicated to these secret rites, reared itself in his spiritual spaces. He had wondered of old, in some embarrassment, whether he had a religion; being very sure, and not a little content, that he hadn't at all events the religion some of the people he had known wanted him to have. Gradually this question was straightened out for him: it became clear to him that the religion instilled by his earliest consciousness had been simply the religion of the Dead. It suited his inclination, it satisfied his spirit, it gave employment to his piety. It answered his love of great offices, of a solemn and splendid ritual; for no shrine could be more bedecked and no ceremonial more stately than those to which his worship was attached. He had no imagination about these things but that they were accessible to any one who should feel the need of them. The poorest could build such temples of the spirit--could make them blaze with candles and smoke with incense, make them flush with pictures and flowers. The cost, in the common phrase, of keeping them up fell wholly on the generous heart.
April 28, 2022
[4.5/5]
¡Qué historia tan más nostálgica! Imaginen que tienen 55 años de edad, que un día de repente se enteran que su mejor amigo de la juventud ha fallecido, y que desafortunadamente no se hablaban desde muchos años atrás porque la vida, quizá algún desafortunado problema entre ustedes, los había distanciado. De repente, no sólo es la muerte de una persona querida del pasado, sino de otros seres queridos del presente que se han ido adelantando, hasta darte cuenta que los años pasan y que te estás quedando solo en este mundo.
Tal sentimiento es el que experimenta nuestro protagonista, George Stransom, en El altar de los muertos, una pequeña historia de mi autor favorito que rememora más a los vivos que a los que ya se no hallan entre nosotros.
Aunque uno podría pensar, quizá por el título de este relato, que esta es una historia gótica, estaría muy lejos de acercarse a la realidad. Nos encontramos aquí a dos personajes, quienes mantienen una estrecha relación dado un objetivo en común: mantener vivos los recuerdos de sus difuntos, a través de un altar, que de algún modo se vuelve su razón para vivir. No hay casi ningún elemento gótico en esta obra tardía de Henry James, lo cual sabemos significa la típica escritura pausada, extensa y altamente descriptiva, sino más bien una carga de sentimientos que se unen entre sí, para terminar con uno de los finales más emotivos que me he encontrado en una historia del autor.
Como mexicano y siendo El día de los muertos una de mis tradiciones favoritas —no importando el hecho de que soy ateo desde la adolescencia— por el sentido y el significado que tiene tal celebración para nosotros, no pude haber sentido una conexión más fuerte con esta obra y con sus personajes; derramé una lágrima al final, no de tristeza, sino por haber sido parte de este viaje, en el que el personaje principal intenta encontrar el sentido de la vida a través de la muerte; una combinación que podría parecer extraña, pero que eventualmente, funciona.
“—Entonces digamos que fue suyo en vida, aunque dejara de serlo durante un tiempo. Si usted le ha perdonado, es que volvió a él. Aquellos a los que se ama una vez...
—Son los que más daño pueden hacernos...”
¡Qué historia tan más nostálgica! Imaginen que tienen 55 años de edad, que un día de repente se enteran que su mejor amigo de la juventud ha fallecido, y que desafortunadamente no se hablaban desde muchos años atrás porque la vida, quizá algún desafortunado problema entre ustedes, los había distanciado. De repente, no sólo es la muerte de una persona querida del pasado, sino de otros seres queridos del presente que se han ido adelantando, hasta darte cuenta que los años pasan y que te estás quedando solo en este mundo.
Tal sentimiento es el que experimenta nuestro protagonista, George Stransom, en El altar de los muertos, una pequeña historia de mi autor favorito que rememora más a los vivos que a los que ya se no hallan entre nosotros.
Aunque uno podría pensar, quizá por el título de este relato, que esta es una historia gótica, estaría muy lejos de acercarse a la realidad. Nos encontramos aquí a dos personajes, quienes mantienen una estrecha relación dado un objetivo en común: mantener vivos los recuerdos de sus difuntos, a través de un altar, que de algún modo se vuelve su razón para vivir. No hay casi ningún elemento gótico en esta obra tardía de Henry James, lo cual sabemos significa la típica escritura pausada, extensa y altamente descriptiva, sino más bien una carga de sentimientos que se unen entre sí, para terminar con uno de los finales más emotivos que me he encontrado en una historia del autor.
Como mexicano y siendo El día de los muertos una de mis tradiciones favoritas —no importando el hecho de que soy ateo desde la adolescencia— por el sentido y el significado que tiene tal celebración para nosotros, no pude haber sentido una conexión más fuerte con esta obra y con sus personajes; derramé una lágrima al final, no de tristeza, sino por haber sido parte de este viaje, en el que el personaje principal intenta encontrar el sentido de la vida a través de la muerte; una combinación que podría parecer extraña, pero que eventualmente, funciona.
“—Entonces digamos que fue suyo en vida, aunque dejara de serlo durante un tiempo. Si usted le ha perdonado, es que volvió a él. Aquellos a los que se ama una vez...
—Son los que más daño pueden hacernos...”
April 9, 2021
I mostly read this long short-story because of its connection to Constance Fenimore Woolson (and her death). According to her biographer, Anne Boyd Rioux, James conceived its idea while staying in Woolson’s rooms after her death, which had a heavy impact on him.
While it’s not even close in brilliancy to his later masterpiece The Beast in the Jungle, also inspired by Woolson, I got what I wanted from this work. Especially in its beginning, a real sense of how the communing must’ve worked between the real-life counterparts of the two characters and what made their friendship special shines through.
Thank you to Warren for reminding me of this work in his comments at my Horace Chase review.
While it’s not even close in brilliancy to his later masterpiece The Beast in the Jungle, also inspired by Woolson, I got what I wanted from this work. Especially in its beginning, a real sense of how the communing must’ve worked between the real-life counterparts of the two characters and what made their friendship special shines through.
Thank you to Warren for reminding me of this work in his comments at my Horace Chase review.
August 9, 2019
جميلة ... بديعة ... أحببتها
بترجمة سلسة لا يشوبها خطأ يأخذنا المترجم لعالم هنري جيمس ... ذلك العالم الذي خلقه من خلال المشاعر الإنسانية عن الحياة والموت والوفاء لمن رحلوا والصدمات تجاه من تجاوزوا صدمة موت الأحبة والأعزاء سريعا وهؤلاء الذين غفروا لميتهم جميع أخطائه في حقهم مهما بلغت بشاعتها وهؤلاء الذين لم يسامحوا في حق الصداقات المهدرة
وعلى الهامش، توجد تلك الصداقة وذلك الحب الراقي الذي ينشأ وينمو بلا مقدمات وبمنأى عن الماضي المحمل بما قد يفسد الود القائم
والموت من جديد والذي بسببه تنتهي العلاقات أو لعلها تنشأ بشكل آخر أكثر رقيا وسموا
نوفيللا بديعة فعلا
بترجمة سلسة لا يشوبها خطأ يأخذنا المترجم لعالم هنري جيمس ... ذلك العالم الذي خلقه من خلال المشاعر الإنسانية عن الحياة والموت والوفاء لمن رحلوا والصدمات تجاه من تجاوزوا صدمة موت الأحبة والأعزاء سريعا وهؤلاء الذين غفروا لميتهم جميع أخطائه في حقهم مهما بلغت بشاعتها وهؤلاء الذين لم يسامحوا في حق الصداقات المهدرة
وعلى الهامش، توجد تلك الصداقة وذلك الحب الراقي الذي ينشأ وينمو بلا مقدمات وبمنأى عن الماضي المحمل بما قد يفسد الود القائم
والموت من جديد والذي بسببه تنتهي العلاقات أو لعلها تنشأ بشكل آخر أكثر رقيا وسموا
نوفيللا بديعة فعلا
April 4, 2022
I recommend this book to all. I will give a review at a later date.
January 5, 2020
Il titolo inganna. O meglio, quello a cui mi ero preparata era tutt’altro. Un uomo che fa del culto dei morti la sua unica ragione di vita e in questo incontra la Luce. Mi aspettavo tinte scure e anfratti bui, invece a mio avviso è un racconto luminosissimo. E’ vero, su ogni candela dell’altare c’è un nome, un uomo la cui vita si è spenta e man mano che il tempo passa le candele aumentano e l’altare diventa più luminoso. Ma c’è a bilanciarlo una vita che nell’ultimo respiro si redime. Stransom, il personaggio principale è perfettamente tratteggiato, nella sua solitudine che attende, nella scoperta di questa nuova “ opera” a cui potersi dedicare per il tempo che gli rimane, nella certezza che dopo di lui il suo altare non verrà trascurato. E’ fiero di questo nuovo culto personale che istituisce e lo fa più per se stesso che per i suoi morti.
“C’erano ore in cui quasi si sorprendeva a desiderare che l’uno o l’altro dei suoi amici morisse in quell’istante, così da poter stabilire con lui un rapporto più suggestivo di quello che era possibile avere da vivi”
Un racconto bellissimo. Un James d’eccezione.
“C’erano ore in cui quasi si sorprendeva a desiderare che l’uno o l’altro dei suoi amici morisse in quell’istante, così da poter stabilire con lui un rapporto più suggestivo di quello che era possibile avere da vivi”
Un racconto bellissimo. Un James d’eccezione.
May 18, 2019
إنها رواية قصيرة لكنها إختزلت في طياتها معان جديرة بفهم نمط الحياتين حياة بائدة ( ما قبل الموت) وحياة سائدة (ما بعد الموت) ..تشعر وكأن "هنري جيمس " يوقظك لعالم الأموات فهو مجازياً يحييهم نحو الصحو ويبيد من منطقك فكرة العدم .....تلك الشموع التي يوقدها لتخليد ذكراهم وتلك الصدفة المارقة مع إمرأة يتفاجأ بعدها بالتقاء مصيريهما سوياً ومن خلاله تتشكل منعطفات الروايةبشكل منظم وتسلسل سردي يحكي حكايات عن الغفران والعشق ..شحوب الموت يتسلط في ثنايا الرواية ومسحة الظلمة التي سوف يتأقلم معها القارئ جديرة في الخوض لقراءة كتاب كهذا..
جميلة الرواية
جميلة الرواية
August 26, 2020
مذبح الموتى
للمؤلف هنري جيمس
ترجمة وليد أحمد الفرشيشي
مراجعة رمزي بن رحومة
طباعة : مسكلياني للنشر والتوزيع
عدد الصفحات : 77
نوع الكتاب : رواية / قوطية
.
اقتباس
" إن هؤلاء الموتى البائسين يطلبون القليل فيتلقون الأقل. لقد ماتوا مرة أخرى، عادوا الموت مع كل يوم بسبب معاملة الحياة القاسية لهم، لم يحظوا بشعائر تُقام لأجلهم بانتظام ولا بمدافن خاصة، لا رفعة مقامٍ ولا مأوى ولا حماية " ص7
" أولئك القادرون على تحمل كل ذلك الفقد، ليسوا فقراء بل أغنياء لأنهم يستطيعون التخلي عن الكثير من الأشياء "
ص 28
.
.
المراجعة:
عندما يُغيب الموت أحداً قريباً منا نشعر بفراغ ذلك الحيز الذي لم يعد ممتلىء .. ذلك الفراغ الذي يؤرقنا كلما جلسنا في خلوه مع أنفسنا .. ولكن ما الذي من الممكن ان نقوم به للتقليل من كل ذلك الفُقد؟!
.
جورج يخبرنا بحكايته وكيف سعى لسد ذلك الفراغ الذي أحدثه وفاة خطيبته في اليوم الذي كان مقرراً لهم ان يتزوجها!!
.
لقد رأى جورج أن الموتى لا يحضون بأي إهتمام من الأحياء وكأنهم يموتون مرة أخرى بعد الموت!! لذا قرر أن يُخلد ذكرى كل من فقدهم ويشعل الشموع لأجلهم وكم كانت شموعه عديدة، وفي أحدى الايام يتعرف على أمرأة تاتي لتوقد شمعة واحدة فقط لفقيد يبدوا أنها كانت متعلقة به جداً ، فمن هو هذا الفقيد يا ترى؟! وهل لجورج علاقة به؟! وكيف تعلم جورج من هذه المرأة درساً لم يتعلمه من قبل!! وما هو هذا الدرس؟!
.
لمعرفة كل ذلك عليك بقراءة الرواية .
.
التقييم :
* الرواية من النوع القوطي الذي يُسرد لك بلسان الرواي والمؤلف طوال الوقت
* أحداث الرواية رتيبة جداً وقد تشعرك ببعض الملل جراء ذلك.
* رغم تناول الرواية جوانب إنسانية عديدة منها الإحساس بالآخرين والاهتمام بالموتى وعدم نسيانهم او اعمال زيارتهم والدعاء لهم الا انك تجد ��لك مكرر في اكثر من موضع بالرواية
* فعلا انها رواية لا تتعدى 100 صفحة ولكنك قد تستغرق وقت طويل للانتهاء منها لا سيما ان شعرت بالضجر وانت تقراها.
* ولمن يعتقد بان الرواية [أدب رعب] فإنني اخبرك من الان لا تنخدع بالغلاف فهي ليست رواية من هذا النوع.
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أمنح تجربتي هذه 3/5 🌟
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#مذبح_الموتى #هنري_جيمس #وليد_أحمد_الفرشيشي #رمزي_بن_رحومة #مسكلياني_للنشر_والتوزيع
المراجعة على الانستقرام 👇🏻
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEWrksdhX...
للمؤلف هنري جيمس
ترجمة وليد أحمد الفرشيشي
مراجعة رمزي بن رحومة
طباعة : مسكلياني للنشر والتوزيع
عدد الصفحات : 77
نوع الكتاب : رواية / قوطية
.
اقتباس
" إن هؤلاء الموتى البائسين يطلبون القليل فيتلقون الأقل. لقد ماتوا مرة أخرى، عادوا الموت مع كل يوم بسبب معاملة الحياة القاسية لهم، لم يحظوا بشعائر تُقام لأجلهم بانتظام ولا بمدافن خاصة، لا رفعة مقامٍ ولا مأوى ولا حماية " ص7
" أولئك القادرون على تحمل كل ذلك الفقد، ليسوا فقراء بل أغنياء لأنهم يستطيعون التخلي عن الكثير من الأشياء "
ص 28
.
.
المراجعة:
عندما يُغيب الموت أحداً قريباً منا نشعر بفراغ ذلك الحيز الذي لم يعد ممتلىء .. ذلك الفراغ الذي يؤرقنا كلما جلسنا في خلوه مع أنفسنا .. ولكن ما الذي من الممكن ان نقوم به للتقليل من كل ذلك الفُقد؟!
.
جورج يخبرنا بحكايته وكيف سعى لسد ذلك الفراغ الذي أحدثه وفاة خطيبته في اليوم الذي كان مقرراً لهم ان يتزوجها!!
.
لقد رأى جورج أن الموتى لا يحضون بأي إهتمام من الأحياء وكأنهم يموتون مرة أخرى بعد الموت!! لذا قرر أن يُخلد ذكرى كل من فقدهم ويشعل الشموع لأجلهم وكم كانت شموعه عديدة، وفي أحدى الايام يتعرف على أمرأة تاتي لتوقد شمعة واحدة فقط لفقيد يبدوا أنها كانت متعلقة به جداً ، فمن هو هذا الفقيد يا ترى؟! وهل لجورج علاقة به؟! وكيف تعلم جورج من هذه المرأة درساً لم يتعلمه من قبل!! وما هو هذا الدرس؟!
.
لمعرفة كل ذلك عليك بقراءة الرواية .
.
التقييم :
* الرواية من النوع القوطي الذي يُسرد لك بلسان الرواي والمؤلف طوال الوقت
* أحداث الرواية رتيبة جداً وقد تشعرك ببعض الملل جراء ذلك.
* رغم تناول الرواية جوانب إنسانية عديدة منها الإحساس بالآخرين والاهتمام بالموتى وعدم نسيانهم او اعمال زيارتهم والدعاء لهم الا انك تجد ��لك مكرر في اكثر من موضع بالرواية
* فعلا انها رواية لا تتعدى 100 صفحة ولكنك قد تستغرق وقت طويل للانتهاء منها لا سيما ان شعرت بالضجر وانت تقراها.
* ولمن يعتقد بان الرواية [أدب رعب] فإنني اخبرك من الان لا تنخدع بالغلاف فهي ليست رواية من هذا النوع.
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أمنح تجربتي هذه 3/5 🌟
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#مذبح_الموتى #هنري_جيمس #وليد_أحمد_الفرشيشي #رمزي_بن_رحومة #مسكلياني_للنشر_والتوزيع
المراجعة على الانستقرام 👇🏻
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEWrksdhX...
February 21, 2019
أنها علامةٌ فارقة على جبين الموتى ، اولئك القابعين في أقاصي الذاكرة . المنسيين .
هذه المرثية الحقيقية لليتامى ولأصحاب الهوية المجهولة .
للمعذبين الذين ولدوا هنا دون أدنى رغبة في الوجود ، وداهمهم الموت على حين غفلة .
همّشتهم الحياة وهشّمهم الموت .
الناس تعيش للناس . لأطفالهم وذويهم وأقرانهم وآحفادهم لأحلامهم وطموحاتهم ، فمن منا يعيش لأولئك المصلوبين على سفاح الذاكرة . الغائبين الحاضرين ، دون أدنى إحترام لكونهم كانوا هنا ذات يوم ،
تُسقطهم الذاكرة بعد أول حفنة تراب تُلقى على صدورهم ، وبعد أن تبتلعهم ظُلمة الثرى ، تتلاشى ذكراهم إلى الأبد . لقد ماتوا مرًة آخرى لمجرد نسيانهم .
يعزز الموت مكانة الغائبين ، ويغفر أخطائهم وكأنهم قديّسين عاشوا ، أو ملائكة .
إنها رحلة سردية للمهمشّين ُفي زوايا الذاكرة ، للموتى الذين استعصت على ذكراهم الألسن والقلوب ، وما انكفأ آحدهم يلهج بالرحمة لأرواحهم ولو على سبيل الوحِشة .
هنري جيمس - مذبح الموتى
إنها آلأولى من نوعها ، في رواية عن الموتى وليس عن ماهية الموت . عن الراحلين ، الذين دارة على أجسادهم عجلة الحياة فما أبقت في جسدهم موضعًا معافى ، فأسلمتهم لعجلات الموت تدقُ أعناقهم .
بطل هذا العمل الروائي -جورج سترانسوم ، في فكرة لم يدرك أحد كيف آنبثقت وتتلخص في تشّييد مذبح للموتى مُنارًا بالشموع استجابةًلأفكاره الروحية . وتسيير تلك الطقوس لكل الذين يشعرون بالحاجة إليها حيث كان قلبه عامرٌ بالكرم .
فثمّة أشخاص لم يكن يهتمّ لأمرهم كثيرًا وهم إحياء .
لقد أراد توحيد الموتى ، وتقريبهم إلى أن يجعلهم جميعًا في متناول اليد
لكن هناك شخص واحد أراد إقصاءه خارج الدائرة وهو صديقه الدي انقطعت علاقته به قبل الموت ، ولعبثية القدر جمعه المذبح بامرأة كانت على مقربة من صديقه دون أن يكون جورج على دراية بذلك ،
ورغم أنه كان صديق شبابه وفترة كهولته الأولى إلا أنه لم يأتي على ذكر أحدهم للآخر .
لقد جمع المذبح بين جورج والمرأة لسنوات دون خوض أحدهم بتفاصيل حياة الآخر لا سيما المذبح والتنزه لبعض الوقت في الخارج .
إلا أن آتى ذلك وكُشفت الأوراق .
وتنقطع علاقات الأحياء من أجل كرامات الموتى . فرغم كثرة المفقودين لجورج ، كان - أكتون هيغ - بالنسبة للمرأة بمثابة كل الراحلين وكانت تستخدم المذبح الذي أقامه جوروج بشغف لتقديس ذكرى رحيل صديقه القديم والتي وظبت على الركوع من أجله كل يوم .
في حين لم تعرف المرأة قط طيلة فترة تعارفهما عن خصومة جورج مع أكتون وأنه تسبب له بألم لا يمكن نسيانه .
إنها بليغة بالوصف ، ثريّةٌ بالتعبير . محبوكة بعبقرية مُذهلة ، وتستنفذُ تركيزك وتستطيع قرأتها بجلسة واحدة ، إنها من ذلك النوع من الكتب العابر الخفيف . ولكن أثره بعيد المدى ، يلتصق بذاكرتك بطريقة موذية .
إنه لا يؤثر فيك ، بل إنه يسحقك .
تمّت .
April 5, 2019
رواية قصيرة عن رجل أقام مذبحا يشعل فيه شموعا لموتاه، لذكراهم. إنها تحكي عن الرابط الذي يظل يشد الموتى بالأحياء، وعن حضور الموت وتمدده مع كل شمعة، وعن سطوة الموتى وقدرتهم على تدمير سكينة المرء، وعن الغفران الذي لا يستطيع حتى الموت جعله يسيرا.
January 22, 2012
pagina trentotto
Tutto questo faceva del loro rapporto qualcosa di così impersonale che le regole o i motivi che la gente trovava nelle ordinarie amicizie ne erano esclusi: loro non davano peso alle cose che venivano normalmente ritenute necessarie nei commerci del mondo. Un giorno (non seppero mai chi dei due l'avesse detto per primo) venne fuori che forse nessun sentimento li legava l'uno all'altra. Questo li avvicinò moltissimo; si arroccarono dietro a quell'idea in un modo che diede nuovo vigore alla loro confidenza. Se l'essere uniti da una profonda dedizione a qualcosa di totalmente distinto da loro stessi non costituiva una salvaguardia, dove mai avrebbero potuto cercarla?
Tutto questo faceva del loro rapporto qualcosa di così impersonale che le regole o i motivi che la gente trovava nelle ordinarie amicizie ne erano esclusi: loro non davano peso alle cose che venivano normalmente ritenute necessarie nei commerci del mondo. Un giorno (non seppero mai chi dei due l'avesse detto per primo) venne fuori che forse nessun sentimento li legava l'uno all'altra. Questo li avvicinò moltissimo; si arroccarono dietro a quell'idea in un modo che diede nuovo vigore alla loro confidenza. Se l'essere uniti da una profonda dedizione a qualcosa di totalmente distinto da loro stessi non costituiva una salvaguardia, dove mai avrebbero potuto cercarla?
May 20, 2023
This longish short story from 1895 continues what I’ve found to be one of James’ overwhelming strengths: his ability to depict an individual who exists, for all intents and purposes, outside all the recognizable norms of human society. The first-person narrator spends the majority of the story involved with his own thoughts, and long paragraph follows long paragraph describing this in exceedingly intimate detail. Even the woman with whom he develops a closeness due to their common fixation with the act of venerating those who have passed from their lives into death is described as one who ‘lived apart from public affairs’.
Emotionally overwhelmed by the premature death of his fiancé, George Stransom entreats a church to allow him to light candles for those dead who, as he puts it later, are ‘only the Dead who possessed of me. They’re mine in death because they were mine in life.’ He describes it as his ‘religion of the Dead’. It is almost as if his relatively broad social life takes a far distant second place to his time among these candles. ‘Half the satisfaction of the spot for this mysterious and fitful worshipper was that he found the years of his life there, and the ties, the affections, the struggles, the submissions, the conquests, if there had been such, a record of that adventurous journey in which the beginnings and the endings of human relations are the lettered milestones.’ This is Life in Death, not Death in Life.
Finding that a mysterious woman seems to both attending more often and setting up more candles than he has done, he takes months to learn her name and then years to learn where she lives. This commonality in contemplative adoration they feel for the candles symbolizing their dead is broken by their starkly discordant attitudes to a man with whom they’d both had quite intimate relations only to have a severe rupture end their contacts. One of them cannot forgive, the other forgives most wholeheartedly. The blossoming relation between George and this unnamed woman is broken, and his entire attitude to his devotional practices is changed.
So far, the story is magnificent in both its detail and in the peculiarity of the common fixation this couple share. However, once again, James rushes to a precipitate ending, changing the fundamental attitudes of both the main characters in directly opposite ways in the last few paragraphs and then announcing a fatal turn of monumental importance in the story’s final sentence. If you are going to conclude your narrative in such unexpected ways, at least show the reader some respect in preparing them for such changes.
Still, a very well written and insightful story.
Emotionally overwhelmed by the premature death of his fiancé, George Stransom entreats a church to allow him to light candles for those dead who, as he puts it later, are ‘only the Dead who possessed of me. They’re mine in death because they were mine in life.’ He describes it as his ‘religion of the Dead’. It is almost as if his relatively broad social life takes a far distant second place to his time among these candles. ‘Half the satisfaction of the spot for this mysterious and fitful worshipper was that he found the years of his life there, and the ties, the affections, the struggles, the submissions, the conquests, if there had been such, a record of that adventurous journey in which the beginnings and the endings of human relations are the lettered milestones.’ This is Life in Death, not Death in Life.
Finding that a mysterious woman seems to both attending more often and setting up more candles than he has done, he takes months to learn her name and then years to learn where she lives. This commonality in contemplative adoration they feel for the candles symbolizing their dead is broken by their starkly discordant attitudes to a man with whom they’d both had quite intimate relations only to have a severe rupture end their contacts. One of them cannot forgive, the other forgives most wholeheartedly. The blossoming relation between George and this unnamed woman is broken, and his entire attitude to his devotional practices is changed.
So far, the story is magnificent in both its detail and in the peculiarity of the common fixation this couple share. However, once again, James rushes to a precipitate ending, changing the fundamental attitudes of both the main characters in directly opposite ways in the last few paragraphs and then announcing a fatal turn of monumental importance in the story’s final sentence. If you are going to conclude your narrative in such unexpected ways, at least show the reader some respect in preparing them for such changes.
Still, a very well written and insightful story.
August 28, 2015
By dint of Rebecca West’s rare and positive recommendation, I picked up this story despite its lugubrious title. This is a story entirely of interiority, of human mystery, of forgiveness and charity.
I can not remember another story as compelling as this one to remind us to put down our strident atheism to consider varied channels through which we pour out human yearning and compassion. One of such channels is the rite and office dedicated to one’s beloved Dead. Lets not be too arrogant to call such rituals superstition or idolatry; we have yet to know the internal works of human heart and soul. For suffering, may one knows the difference of a happy pill of anodyne versus the true comforts of human memory and friendship.
This story is populated by two lonely persons, one central remembrance; there is no presence of clergy, God, nor the returned Dead. The set up is a special church chapel lit brilliant by candles, each represents a beloved Dead.
Drawn from the deep well-water of compassion, wrought through a silken fineness in language, this story is a deep study of human remembrance enacted through a devoted rite. The Dead comforts the living through the candle light: “This was no dim theological rescue, no boon of a contingent world; they were saved better than faith or works could save them, sawed for the warm world they had shrunk from dying to, for actuality, for continuity, for the certainty of human remembrance.”
The tragic tension between the two persons poses the question of charity and forgiveness. The beatific resolution lies in the completeness of charity, which achieves through the renunciation of one’s acclaim for hurt and damage.
I can not remember another story as compelling as this one to remind us to put down our strident atheism to consider varied channels through which we pour out human yearning and compassion. One of such channels is the rite and office dedicated to one’s beloved Dead. Lets not be too arrogant to call such rituals superstition or idolatry; we have yet to know the internal works of human heart and soul. For suffering, may one knows the difference of a happy pill of anodyne versus the true comforts of human memory and friendship.
This story is populated by two lonely persons, one central remembrance; there is no presence of clergy, God, nor the returned Dead. The set up is a special church chapel lit brilliant by candles, each represents a beloved Dead.
Drawn from the deep well-water of compassion, wrought through a silken fineness in language, this story is a deep study of human remembrance enacted through a devoted rite. The Dead comforts the living through the candle light: “This was no dim theological rescue, no boon of a contingent world; they were saved better than faith or works could save them, sawed for the warm world they had shrunk from dying to, for actuality, for continuity, for the certainty of human remembrance.”
The tragic tension between the two persons poses the question of charity and forgiveness. The beatific resolution lies in the completeness of charity, which achieves through the renunciation of one’s acclaim for hurt and damage.
February 19, 2015
This review contains spoilers.
This excellent short story by James is not as morbid as the title suggests. The story is a reflection of how we, the living, remember and honor our departed friends and loved ones.
George Stransom, the protagonist, builds an altar in a church with a lighted candle for each of his dead friends. He excludes one for Acton Hague, a former friend who somehow wronged Stransom in the past. The altar is also frequented by a woman who quietly worships there, and Stransom is proud to see his altar used by another. When he later learns that she is there to worship Acton Hague he is troubled. Even though he is fond of the woman, he refuses to add a candle for Hague. The additional candle is eventually added to represent Stransom himself as he dies at the altar on the shoulder of the woman.
I imagined Henry James himself in the image of Stransom as he remembers his deceased friends and contemplates his own mortality. James inimitable writing style is on display here. Literary critics consider this to be one of James best stories.
This excellent short story by James is not as morbid as the title suggests. The story is a reflection of how we, the living, remember and honor our departed friends and loved ones.
George Stransom, the protagonist, builds an altar in a church with a lighted candle for each of his dead friends. He excludes one for Acton Hague, a former friend who somehow wronged Stransom in the past. The altar is also frequented by a woman who quietly worships there, and Stransom is proud to see his altar used by another. When he later learns that she is there to worship Acton Hague he is troubled. Even though he is fond of the woman, he refuses to add a candle for Hague. The additional candle is eventually added to represent Stransom himself as he dies at the altar on the shoulder of the woman.
I imagined Henry James himself in the image of Stransom as he remembers his deceased friends and contemplates his own mortality. James inimitable writing style is on display here. Literary critics consider this to be one of James best stories.
November 30, 2023
It’s novella season and this is my first Henry James besides the long ago Turn of the Screw. How is that possible?!? This was good but I found the emotional orientation a bit distant and unresonant with my own.
February 4, 2013
As always, Henry James rocks! What a magnificent tale! The central theme makes so much sense to me.....are we not constantly building our own 'Altars of the Dead' in our minds just because we cannot let go of our dear departed loved ones? I would not classify this book as a horror or a romance.....it is just wonderfully unique, written in no particular genre, but definitely a 'classic'. Many may disagree with me on this, but its just how I experienced the story. Brilliant literature, enigmatic characters, moody scenery and a rather depressing, if not gruesome, storyline....what a combination. A book that will definitely haunt the dark recesses of my mind for years to come.
February 3, 2019
مذبح الموتى - هنري جيمس .
هذه رواية استثنائية عن تمجيد الذكريات، وعن ما يفعله الراحلون بحياة من بقى. كتبها هنري جيمس بعد موت أخته بمرض السرطان وإنتحار حبيبته، والموت يحاصره من كل إتجاه.
حفلة للموتى بقائمة تزيد الأسماء فيها كل يوم وشموعٌ تضاءُ في كنيسة مبهمة لإنقاذهم.
هذه رواية استثنائية عن تمجيد الذكريات، وعن ما يفعله الراحلون بحياة من بقى. كتبها هنري جيمس بعد موت أخته بمرض السرطان وإنتحار حبيبته، والموت يحاصره من كل إتجاه.
حفلة للموتى بقائمة تزيد الأسماء فيها كل يوم وشموعٌ تضاءُ في كنيسة مبهمة لإنقاذهم.
September 16, 2012
death...
glad it was a short story.
glad it was a short story.
March 18, 2019
- رواية تتمحور حول العمق النفسي للمهووسين بشعور الألم و الحزن و يطالبون العالم بالتعاطف و مشاركتهم لهوسهم بأفكارهم .
- تركز الرواية على فكرة الموت و الألم و الغفران .
- للامانة رواية مملة !
- تركز الرواية على فكرة الموت و الألم و الغفران .
- للامانة رواية مملة !
January 23, 2020
قرأتها بشكل متقطع مع إنها كلها ٧٧ صفحة فقط، بس ما اعجبتني أبدًا القصة نفسها ما كانت تحمس وممتعة لا كانت غريبة بشكل ممل.
December 1, 2021
Intrigante. Velate apparizioni di fantasmi e misteriosi incontri si mischiano a un sentimento che il protagonista cerca di nascondere. Henry James è fantastico.
April 26, 2017
Cosa pensare di una prosa piacevole il cui contenuto, tutto sommato, mi risulta insapore? Troppa santità per i miei gusti. Sento fin qui la puzza di incensi e crisantemi. La prima parte è molto raffinata, delicata, solenne, ma quando George Stransom esce dalla “bolla di santità” il libro prende una piega noiosa riassumibile con “E quindi?”. Bella idea di fondo, questo lo ammetto, ma gli esiti a non mi convincono.
La novella narra la vita spirituale di un uomo che patisce visceralmente tutti i suoi lutti, in particolare quello della promessa sposa Mary, disdegnando chi, a differenza sua, prova (e riesce) a rifarsi una vita. Mentre tutti vanno avanti, lui vive in un eterno passato. Si isola. Costruisce un culto dei morti personalizzato, estraneo a qualunque religione ma ispirato a molte. Nella sua mente accende un cero per ogni lutto che lo ha colpito e ogni giorno rivive i momenti passati con quella persona. Questo è il modo in cui si costringe a vivere tutti i giorni. Per decenni. Quando trova una chiesa con un altare trascurato, chiede al sagrestano di potersene occupare. Non gli sembra vero. Finalmente può concretizzare i rituali mentali che lo hanno accompagnato per anni. In questo altare onora solo i defunti particolarmente intimi e taglia fuori il suo ex-migliore amico, ignaro che la donna a cui poi si lega (BOOM! You've been friendzoned!) sia la vedova di quest'uomo, e quindi, neanche a farlo apposta, in questo altare trova posto anche lui. Di prepotenza!
Possiamo chiamarla novella gotica? L'atmosfera è fredda, funebre, claustrofobica. Lo stile è solenne. Molti lo hanno definito “ghost story without ghost” perché queste presenze, seppur mai manifestantisi, sono presenti in forma di ricordo. Un ricordo talmente ingombrante che impedisce di vivere ed essere felice. Alcuni la chiamano storia d'amore eterno, di vita oltre la morte, ma di fatto qui hanno vissuto tutti TRANNE il nostro protagonista. Mi pare più un uomo agli arresti domiciliari.
La novella narra la vita spirituale di un uomo che patisce visceralmente tutti i suoi lutti, in particolare quello della promessa sposa Mary, disdegnando chi, a differenza sua, prova (e riesce) a rifarsi una vita. Mentre tutti vanno avanti, lui vive in un eterno passato. Si isola. Costruisce un culto dei morti personalizzato, estraneo a qualunque religione ma ispirato a molte. Nella sua mente accende un cero per ogni lutto che lo ha colpito e ogni giorno rivive i momenti passati con quella persona. Questo è il modo in cui si costringe a vivere tutti i giorni. Per decenni. Quando trova una chiesa con un altare trascurato, chiede al sagrestano di potersene occupare. Non gli sembra vero. Finalmente può concretizzare i rituali mentali che lo hanno accompagnato per anni. In questo altare onora solo i defunti particolarmente intimi e taglia fuori il suo ex-migliore amico, ignaro che la donna a cui poi si lega (BOOM! You've been friendzoned!) sia la vedova di quest'uomo, e quindi, neanche a farlo apposta, in questo altare trova posto anche lui. Di prepotenza!
Possiamo chiamarla novella gotica? L'atmosfera è fredda, funebre, claustrofobica. Lo stile è solenne. Molti lo hanno definito “ghost story without ghost” perché queste presenze, seppur mai manifestantisi, sono presenti in forma di ricordo. Un ricordo talmente ingombrante che impedisce di vivere ed essere felice. Alcuni la chiamano storia d'amore eterno, di vita oltre la morte, ma di fatto qui hanno vissuto tutti TRANNE il nostro protagonista. Mi pare più un uomo agli arresti domiciliari.
March 9, 2021
اقتباس||
“للموت نفسه قداسة غريبة ولكن قدسية بعض الأشخاص تكون بالنسيان أكثر مما هي بالذكرى”
قصة تتحدث عن ذكريات الموتى فقد صنع بطل الرواية “سترانسوم “ طقوس تخصه لوحده، عالم مليئ بالغفران والتسامح مع الموتى وشعوره بالألم والح��مان والغربة الذي يتركه هؤلاء الموتى.. فبعد وفاة حبيبته بمرض خبيث في اليوم المقرر فيه زواجهم يتأثر كثيراً بعد فراقها فكان سنويا لا يذهب لأي احتفال سوى زيارتها واحياء ذكراها فبنى مذبح داخل كنيسه كاثوليكية للاهتمام بالموتى من اصدقائه واقاربه بوضع شموع مضيئة دائمة لكل منهم على كل مذبح . الا صديقاً له يرفض أن يغفر له لأنه يعتبر غفرانه له بلا قيمة لذلك شبه الغفران الذي لا قيمة له مثل دولاب مكسور حتى وجد امرأة في مذبحه تشاركه هذا الاهتمام فقاما بالتفرغ للاهتمام بالموتي وتخليد ذكراهم مع الاحتفاظ بكل منهم بمكنونهم الخاص.
رواية عميقة تتحدث عن الغياب و الفقد والأثر الذي يُترك بعد الفراق وعن الغفران والتسامح وتصفية النفس وغسلها من كل الشوائب، رواية سُردت باسلوب
وتسلسل ووصف جميل اللغة كانت فصحى و بها الكثير من التشبيهات البلاغية أما الترجمة كانت رائعة ..
عن نفسي لم استمتع كثيراً بالرغم من جودة الفكرة وطريقة السرد والعمق الذي بها ووجدت بها بعض من الملل قد تناسب البعض من القراء …روايه مناسبة للمتقدمين
“للموت نفسه قداسة غريبة ولكن قدسية بعض الأشخاص تكون بالنسيان أكثر مما هي بالذكرى”
قصة تتحدث عن ذكريات الموتى فقد صنع بطل الرواية “سترانسوم “ طقوس تخصه لوحده، عالم مليئ بالغفران والتسامح مع الموتى وشعوره بالألم والح��مان والغربة الذي يتركه هؤلاء الموتى.. فبعد وفاة حبيبته بمرض خبيث في اليوم المقرر فيه زواجهم يتأثر كثيراً بعد فراقها فكان سنويا لا يذهب لأي احتفال سوى زيارتها واحياء ذكراها فبنى مذبح داخل كنيسه كاثوليكية للاهتمام بالموتى من اصدقائه واقاربه بوضع شموع مضيئة دائمة لكل منهم على كل مذبح . الا صديقاً له يرفض أن يغفر له لأنه يعتبر غفرانه له بلا قيمة لذلك شبه الغفران الذي لا قيمة له مثل دولاب مكسور حتى وجد امرأة في مذبحه تشاركه هذا الاهتمام فقاما بالتفرغ للاهتمام بالموتي وتخليد ذكراهم مع الاحتفاظ بكل منهم بمكنونهم الخاص.
رواية عميقة تتحدث عن الغياب و الفقد والأثر الذي يُترك بعد الفراق وعن الغفران والتسامح وتصفية النفس وغسلها من كل الشوائب، رواية سُردت باسلوب
وتسلسل ووصف جميل اللغة كانت فصحى و بها الكثير من التشبيهات البلاغية أما الترجمة كانت رائعة ..
عن نفسي لم استمتع كثيراً بالرغم من جودة الفكرة وطريقة السرد والعمق الذي بها ووجدت بها بعض من الملل قد تناسب البعض من القراء …روايه مناسبة للمتقدمين
December 29, 2011
I enjoyed this story. The progression of the protagonist's "religion" from an almost totemic worship of the dead, to the understated realization that the dead (as well as the living) were part of something larger was interesting to watch unfold. Also the polarization of the reactions of the two main characters regarding their mutual friend/enemy, i.e. total forgetfullness on one hand and obsession on the other, was well thought-out.
James also overcame is love of commas which made this story quite readable : )
James also overcame is love of commas which made this story quite readable : )
May 12, 2019
Δεν έχω βρει ακριβώς το ρυθμό μου με τον Henry James, αλλά je ne sais quoi
August 11, 2020
This is the James I remember.
January 30, 2023
L’altare dei morti, è un racconto di appena settanta pagine, nato dalla penna raffinata ed incisiva di Henry James, e pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1895 nella raccolta Terminations.
Una storia d’atmosfera, intrisa della luce della spiritualità, che tocca tematiche universali come la vita, la morte, il perdono e l’amore, e si intreccia con un dolore profondo e ineffabile, nutrito di silenzi, introspezione, e di quell’usanza tanto cara agli antichi – ma ormai considerata, dalla società moderna, una sorta di tabù – che è il culto dei morti.
Protagonista della storia è George Stransom, un uomo di mezza età che, dopo aver perduto in gioventù la sua promessa sposa a causa di una malattia, ha consacrato l’intera esistenza alla memoria di lei. A tale scopo, decide di allestire, in chiesa, un piccolo altare adornato con tanti ceri quanti sono quelli che egli definisce “i suoi Morti”. Solo una persona ne resta esclusa: un vecchio amico, recentemente scomparso, colpevole di avergli inflitto, in passato, un grave torto.
Durante le abituali visite in chiesa, George nota una donna in lutto che è solita sostare davanti al suo altare, e intuendone l’eguale devozione, instaura con lei, giorno dopo giorno, una singolare amicizia: una silenziosa ma intima comunione d’anime basata sulla mutua comprensione e sulla condivisione dei medesimi sentimenti.
”Tutto questo faceva del loro rapporto qualcosa di così impersonale che le regole o i motivi che la gente trovava nelle ordinarie amicizie ne erano esclusi: loro non davano peso alle cose che venivano normalmente ritenute necessarie nei commerci del mondo.”
Tuttavia, un rancore mai sopito e la scoperta di alcune circostanze del passato finiranno per erigere tra i due una barriera apparentemente insormontabile.
A dispetto del titolo, L’altare dei morti non è affatto un racconto sui defunti, bensì una storia che parla soprattutto dei vivi, dello spasmodico ed umanissimo bisogno di custodire dentro di sé il ricordo di chi si è amato, e di come, paradossalmente, la morte renda ancor più tangibile e costante, nelle nostre vite, la presenza di chi non c’è più.
E umanissimo, senza dubbio, è anche il ritratto del protagonista: un uomo solitario ed introverso a cui, dopo aver perduto tutto ciò che dava valore alla sua vita, non resta che aggrapparsi al ricordo di ciò che è stato. Sensibile, serio, e profondamente attaccato ai propri affetti, George fatica a comprendere la rapidità con cui la gente sembra lasciarsi alle spalle i lutti vissuti, e di fronte alla facilità dei più nel voltare pagina, egli non puo fare a meno di provare sdegno e dolore. Saranno proprio questi sentimenti a far nascere in lui l’esigenza di fare qualcosa di concreto per onorare i propri defunti e proteggerli dall’oblio a cui la società sembra volerli convenientemente relegare dopo la morte.
Con lucidità e delicatezza, coniugando la semplicità della vicenda umana alla maestria della grande letteratura, Henry James ci regala un’opera di notevole spessore psicologico, dove, adottando il punto di vista del protagonista, egli si addentra nell’intrico dei suoi pensieri, e ne racconta l’universo interiore e spirituale, come per ricordarci che la realtà della vita e della sofferenza è infinitamente più complessa e sfaccettata di quanto il senso comune vorrebbe indurci a credere.
Senza dubbio, agli occhi del lettore moderno, un libro come questo potrà suscitare qualche perplessità: viviamo, del resto, in una società sempre più restia a misurarsi senza falsi pudori col tema della morte; una società che plaude a chi, di fronte a un grave lutto, torna senza esitazioni alla routine quotidiana; che invita a non rallentare a causa della sofferenza, ma ad affrontarla con spavalderia; che predica, indipendentemente dalle circostanze, la necessità di “rifarsi una vita”… ma che, nel contempo, guarda con diffidenza, o nella migliore delle ipotesi con commiserazione, a coloro che patiscono profondamente la mancanza dei propri cari, e nel tentativo di ridare un senso alla propria esistenza, cercano disperatamente di mantenere vivo il rapporto con questi ultimi.
Nonostante la brevità, L’altare dei morti è un’opera intensa, a tratti faticosa, e certamente difficile – sul piano emotivo – per molti, ma nello stesso tempo in grado di far vibrare corde delicatissime nel cuore di chi ha provato sulla propria pelle quel terribile senso di vuoto che lascia chi se n’è andato: un vuoto che ciascuno prova a colmare come può: con la fede o con la ribellione; con la determinazione a godere appieno della vita o con la rinuncia ad ogni piacere terreno… O magari, come George Stransom, cercando di perpetuare, sia pure solo nel profondo dell’animo, il legame con chi ci ha lasciato.
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Una storia d’atmosfera, intrisa della luce della spiritualità, che tocca tematiche universali come la vita, la morte, il perdono e l’amore, e si intreccia con un dolore profondo e ineffabile, nutrito di silenzi, introspezione, e di quell’usanza tanto cara agli antichi – ma ormai considerata, dalla società moderna, una sorta di tabù – che è il culto dei morti.
Protagonista della storia è George Stransom, un uomo di mezza età che, dopo aver perduto in gioventù la sua promessa sposa a causa di una malattia, ha consacrato l’intera esistenza alla memoria di lei. A tale scopo, decide di allestire, in chiesa, un piccolo altare adornato con tanti ceri quanti sono quelli che egli definisce “i suoi Morti”. Solo una persona ne resta esclusa: un vecchio amico, recentemente scomparso, colpevole di avergli inflitto, in passato, un grave torto.
Durante le abituali visite in chiesa, George nota una donna in lutto che è solita sostare davanti al suo altare, e intuendone l’eguale devozione, instaura con lei, giorno dopo giorno, una singolare amicizia: una silenziosa ma intima comunione d’anime basata sulla mutua comprensione e sulla condivisione dei medesimi sentimenti.
”Tutto questo faceva del loro rapporto qualcosa di così impersonale che le regole o i motivi che la gente trovava nelle ordinarie amicizie ne erano esclusi: loro non davano peso alle cose che venivano normalmente ritenute necessarie nei commerci del mondo.”
Tuttavia, un rancore mai sopito e la scoperta di alcune circostanze del passato finiranno per erigere tra i due una barriera apparentemente insormontabile.
A dispetto del titolo, L’altare dei morti non è affatto un racconto sui defunti, bensì una storia che parla soprattutto dei vivi, dello spasmodico ed umanissimo bisogno di custodire dentro di sé il ricordo di chi si è amato, e di come, paradossalmente, la morte renda ancor più tangibile e costante, nelle nostre vite, la presenza di chi non c’è più.
E umanissimo, senza dubbio, è anche il ritratto del protagonista: un uomo solitario ed introverso a cui, dopo aver perduto tutto ciò che dava valore alla sua vita, non resta che aggrapparsi al ricordo di ciò che è stato. Sensibile, serio, e profondamente attaccato ai propri affetti, George fatica a comprendere la rapidità con cui la gente sembra lasciarsi alle spalle i lutti vissuti, e di fronte alla facilità dei più nel voltare pagina, egli non puo fare a meno di provare sdegno e dolore. Saranno proprio questi sentimenti a far nascere in lui l’esigenza di fare qualcosa di concreto per onorare i propri defunti e proteggerli dall’oblio a cui la società sembra volerli convenientemente relegare dopo la morte.
Con lucidità e delicatezza, coniugando la semplicità della vicenda umana alla maestria della grande letteratura, Henry James ci regala un’opera di notevole spessore psicologico, dove, adottando il punto di vista del protagonista, egli si addentra nell’intrico dei suoi pensieri, e ne racconta l’universo interiore e spirituale, come per ricordarci che la realtà della vita e della sofferenza è infinitamente più complessa e sfaccettata di quanto il senso comune vorrebbe indurci a credere.
Senza dubbio, agli occhi del lettore moderno, un libro come questo potrà suscitare qualche perplessità: viviamo, del resto, in una società sempre più restia a misurarsi senza falsi pudori col tema della morte; una società che plaude a chi, di fronte a un grave lutto, torna senza esitazioni alla routine quotidiana; che invita a non rallentare a causa della sofferenza, ma ad affrontarla con spavalderia; che predica, indipendentemente dalle circostanze, la necessità di “rifarsi una vita”… ma che, nel contempo, guarda con diffidenza, o nella migliore delle ipotesi con commiserazione, a coloro che patiscono profondamente la mancanza dei propri cari, e nel tentativo di ridare un senso alla propria esistenza, cercano disperatamente di mantenere vivo il rapporto con questi ultimi.
Nonostante la brevità, L’altare dei morti è un’opera intensa, a tratti faticosa, e certamente difficile – sul piano emotivo – per molti, ma nello stesso tempo in grado di far vibrare corde delicatissime nel cuore di chi ha provato sulla propria pelle quel terribile senso di vuoto che lascia chi se n’è andato: un vuoto che ciascuno prova a colmare come può: con la fede o con la ribellione; con la determinazione a godere appieno della vita o con la rinuncia ad ogni piacere terreno… O magari, come George Stransom, cercando di perpetuare, sia pure solo nel profondo dell’animo, il legame con chi ci ha lasciato.
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September 17, 2017
Quell’essenza, quell’assenza
E' sufficiente il risvolto di copertina
«A poco a poco egli aveva preso l’abitudine di soffermarsi sui suoi morti ad uno ad uno, e piuttosto presto nella vita aveva cominciato a pensare che andasse fatto qualcosa per loro. E loro erano lì, accanto a lui, forti di quell’essenza semplificata, più intensa, di quell’assenza consapevole, di quella pazienza eloquente, così corporei e presenti che pareva avessero soltanto perduto l’uso della parola».
E' sufficiente il risvolto di copertina
«A poco a poco egli aveva preso l’abitudine di soffermarsi sui suoi morti ad uno ad uno, e piuttosto presto nella vita aveva cominciato a pensare che andasse fatto qualcosa per loro. E loro erano lì, accanto a lui, forti di quell’essenza semplificata, più intensa, di quell’assenza consapevole, di quella pazienza eloquente, così corporei e presenti che pareva avessero soltanto perduto l’uso della parola».
September 27, 2018
It's been years since I have read Henry James, and I probably should re-read those three works (but Portrait of a Lady is huge). I want to read "Washington Square", "The Ambassadors", "What Maisie Knew", etc. So I thought I would start with The Altar of the Dead, a short story. This story was a bit verbose, it could have all been said in half the pages. I found the middle part of the book repetitive and confusing. Having said that, I thought the ending is what made story.
January 7, 2015
You kind of wait for Henry to get over himself, get on with it but this was the style of writing at the time--literary. Story line, puzzle, story line, puzzle, story line, puzzle or maybe it's story line, prose, story line, prose, but you do have to kind of wade through weird little twists of the phrase, analogies that you are not sure work, references to abstract concepts if not items that seem to pop out of the blue. He goes on with it then finally gets back to telling you what's going on. Someone HAD to have gotten their PhD on this book.
On to the story which is actually kind of hilarious. I don't know if it's supposed to be but it made me laugh. The book is about grief and the main character, Stransom, finally finds a way to deal with it and in this, there is joy. He tends to his flock which happen to all be dead. Oh well. While tending proxies of his flock in his own eccentric way (candles), love pokes its head in. This messes his plan up.
The brilliant twist is their connection, then their combined grief, bargaining that backfires, resentment that fuels more than flames...and one argument over one more. Just one more. You can predict the end.
You may have to read it more than once to get out of it its many layers.
It is a complex book but as a writer, taught me a thing or two. The classics always do.
On to the story which is actually kind of hilarious. I don't know if it's supposed to be but it made me laugh. The book is about grief and the main character, Stransom, finally finds a way to deal with it and in this, there is joy. He tends to his flock which happen to all be dead. Oh well. While tending proxies of his flock in his own eccentric way (candles), love pokes its head in. This messes his plan up.
The brilliant twist is their connection, then their combined grief, bargaining that backfires, resentment that fuels more than flames...and one argument over one more. Just one more. You can predict the end.
You may have to read it more than once to get out of it its many layers.
It is a complex book but as a writer, taught me a thing or two. The classics always do.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews