Irish Strands and the Imperial Eye: Henry James's "The Modern Warning"

This essay considers the representation of Ireland in James 1888 novella "The Modern Warning." It begins by arguing that James's representation of Ireland more broadly is divided between his use of anti-Irish stereotypes common in the nineteenth century and his fiction's simultaneous critique and undermining of the very figures who employ those same stereotypes. The essay then explores the impact that Ireland has on "The Modern Warning"'s modes of representation. These include the relationship between naming and sound, the strategic manipulation of the very term "Irish," and the story's increasingly uncontrolled use of free indirect discourse as it progresses towards a suicidal conclusion.