Madame De Mauves

Henry James' novel Madame de Mauves was first presented in The Galaxy Magazine in 1874. The story is mainly written from the perspective of a male friend of the wife and revolves around the unhappy marriage of a meticulous American wife and a far-from-scrupulous French husband. The story illustrates James' passionate interest in the "international subject,", especially at the beginning of his career. The smoothly delivered tale, one of the longest fictions he had ever tried, demonstrates how quickly James was developing his style and technique. The Comte Richard de Mauves' wife Euphemia is married to an unscrupulous and dissipated man who married his wife for her money alone. The Comte wishes her to take a lover so that he may pursue his own affair and tries to sublimate his love for her into friendship. Madame de Mauves has a very high opinion of Longmore and wants him to leave her alone. Longmore agonizes over whether or not to continue his daily visits. She asks him to break off contact, and that he does so simply because it is the honorable thing to do.