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Photography in “The Real Thing” represents the act of documenting reality, and how doing so is not creating art. In photography, a photo is an exact image of the real-life subject. Art, on the other hand, interprets reality to inspire a feeling. To Henry James, these two are opposites. To demonstrate this difference, James connects Major Monarch and Mrs. Monarch with photography, and uses it to explain why they are incompatible subjects for art.
When the artist asks the beautiful Monarchs if they have any similar experience to modeling, they tell him that they have been photographed many times. In fact, photographers “were always after [them]” to do take their pictures. As he works with the Monarchs as models, though, the artist quickly realizes that what made them such attractive photographic subjects is exactly what makes them unsuitable for the creation of art. As the artist draws the Monarchs, he realizes that, try as he might, each drawing “looked like a photograph or a copy of a photograph.” They are too stiff, always look the same, and cannot suggest anything but who they are. This is fine for a photograph, especially as the story takes place during the time in history when people had to sit motionless in order to have their picture taken, but this inflexibility and rigidity is bad for art and makes the artist’s illustrations look flat and lifeless. The artist needs variety, expression, and models who can suggest other “types,” or characters.
The artist’s working-class models of Oronte and Miss Churm don’t actually look like any of the “types” for which they model. No one would photograph them to try to represent an aristocrat, for instance. But their real appearance doesn’t matter in the artist’s studio. What matters is the “feeling” or idea that they capture for the artist; from that point, the “alchemy of art” can transform Oronte and Miss Churm into whatever “types” the artist needs. In short, with Oronte or Miss Churm as models, the artist can interpret (as opposed to document) what he sees to create feeling in his art. In this way, “the real thing could be so much less precious than the unreal.”
Photography Quotes in The Real Thing
The The Real Thing quotes below all refer to the symbol of Photography. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 3 Quotes
But after a few times I began to find her too insurmountably stiff; do what I would with it my drawing looked like a photograph or a copy of a photograph. Her figure had no variety of expression—she herself had no sense of variety (…) I placed her in every conceivable position, but she managed to obliterate their differences. She was always a lady certainly, and into the bargain was always the same lady. She was the real thing, but was always the same thing.
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The artist has only just begun to use Mrs. Monarch as a model and he is already running into issues. She models as though she is sitting for a photographer, which is to say she is very still. This story was written during a time in history when photography subjects had to remain motionless or the image would be blurred. So while Mrs. Monarch’s stiffness would have been useful for a photographer who is trying to capture her image exactly, this rigidity is a disadvantage in the artist’s studio. James uses the symbolism of photography to show that documenting reality Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. I
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Photography Symbol Timeline in The Real Thing
The timeline below shows where the symbol Photography appears in The Real Thing. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
...have had any practice as models, to which the Monarchs explain that they have been photographed extensively.
(full context)
Part 3
...while drawing Mrs. Monarch. He notes that she sits as though she is posing for photographs, which is to say, very stiffly. While this may do for photography, it’s a problematic...
(full context)
