Study Questions and Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Give your interpretation of Strether’s
decision to return home at the end of the novel. Does it fit his
character?
2. What is the significance of the structure
of
The Ambassadors?
3. Compare the ambassadorial style of
Strether to that of Sarah Pocock. How is one a more effective ambassador than
the other?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Compare and contrast the ways in which the three
American men—Strether, Waymarsh, and Jim Pocock—are affected by their
respective times in Paris.
2. In what ways does Strether change throughout the
course of the novel? In what ways does he remain static?
3. At the end of The Ambassadors is
Madame de Vionnet a tragic character or a vanquished villain?
4. Discuss the silent climax in the penultimate book
of the novel (Book Eleventh). Is it an effective narrative technique?
Why or why not?
5. Discuss the effect of James’s unique narrative technique
on the tone or mood of the novel. How does he establish Strether
as the novel’s center of consciousness without using a first-person
voice?
6. Compare and contrast the characters of Miss Gostrey
and Madame de Vionnet. In what ways are they similar, and in what
ways are they different?
