The Bostonians

Published in 1886, The Bostonians is about the strained relations between the American North and South in the aftermath of the Civil War. The competition between Olive and Basil to instill values into Verena reflects the struggle of post-war America to reconcile traditional principles with more modern ideas.

Basil, a Confederate veteran who speaks with a “very perceptibly” Southern accent (6) and “look[s] poor” (6) represents the South, which after losing the war is in a “state of disrepair” (12). Basil’s family lost “their slaves, their property, their friends and relations, their home” (12) and has “tasted of all the cruelty of defeat” (12). Basil remains poor throughout the novel, reflecting the South’s struggle to rebuild after the war. In contrast, Olive has “a cultivated voice” (9) and “a slender white hand” (9). Her house is “very much what he had supposed Boston to be” (14): elegant, luxurious, and full of books.

Whereas the North is defined by progress and new ideas—the Bostonians in the novel are largely abolitionists and suffragists—the South is defined by a traditional chivalric code. Basil tells Olive he knows only “old truths” (18); his articles are rejected for publication because “his doctrines were about three hundred years behind the age” (148). Olive correctly assumes that Basil is not sympathetic to her cause, for “how could a Mississippian agree?” (13). She warns Miss Birdseye that as “a Southern gentleman” (167), Basil doesn’t “approve of our great struggle” (167). Basil’s insistent adherence to the chivalric code means he sees women as beautiful objects “to be admired” (169), with “no business being reasonable” (169), with the sole job of making “some honest man happy” (186).

Still, the North attempts at least in part to accommodate the South. Despite worrying that she has brought someone “who had borne such a part in the Southern disloyalty” (32), Olive nevertheless asks Basil to come to Miss Birdseye’s. There, Basil refuses to reciprocate, guarding his background and beliefs from the women at the gathering, for “[h]e had a passionate tenderness for his own country, and a sense of intimate connection with it which would have made it […] impossible for him to take a roomful of Northern fanatics into his confidence” (40). He sees the South as a once-great relic of the past, something beautiful and wounded that Northerners cannot understand. The only time Basil demonstrates any kind of compromise is when he allows Miss Birdseye to die assuming that he now believes in women’s equality.

Basil’s forcefully removing Verena from the Music Hall where she is about to give a speech on the suffragist cause indicates his refusal to accept progress. However, his acknowledgement of the patience of the Boston audience when they listen to Olive in respectful silence suggests reconciliation is possible. Even Olive appreciates that, despite their differences, Basil has “accepted the accomplished fact […] that North and South were a single, indivisible political organism” (12).

Social climbing is a major motivation for characters’ behavior in The Bostonians. Others, who do not seek to climb the social ladder, are self-conscious or uncomfortable in environments outside their social class. Still others exploit those beneath them for their own gain.

Basil, who “had never felt himself in the presence of […] so many objects that spoke of habits and tastes” (14), feels “unhoused and underfed” (15) in Olive’s house. Immediately upon entering Mrs. Burrage’s house, Basil knows he is “in the fashionable world” (193). Conscious of being stared at, he wonders “whether it were very visible in his appearance” (194) that he does not belong there.

Olive, though she enjoys the material luxuries of the upper classes, balks at Mrs. Farrinder’s suggestion that she attempt to bring other affluent women into the cause. She prefers “to know intimately some very poor girl” (29) and “to enter into the lives of women who are lonely, who are piteous” (30). It is for this reason that feels “ferocity in the joy” that Verena “had known almost the extremity of poverty” (86) and even reached the point of “literally going without food” (86). Olive’s delight at other people’s suffering, which allows her an opportunity to save someone, and her viewing poverty as “[t]he romance of the people” (29), illustrates the objectification of the poor by the rich.

On the other hand, the poor often objectify the rich in an attempt to reach their level of glamour and comfort. Mrs. Tarrant is pleased when Olive invites Verena to visit, for Olive would “open to her the best saloons in Boston” (61). Mrs. Tarrant’s desire for Verena to gain “insight into the world of fashion” (83) by befriending Olive suggests a kind of worship of the upper classes, and she and her husband willingly exploit their daughter’s talent in the hope of social and financial improvement. Even Olive herself objectifies those above her. Though Olive is disinclined to allow Verena to marry Mr. Burrage, she is tempted when Mrs. Burrage reminds her of the “immense advantages and rewards there would be for her in striking an alliance with the house of Burrage” (237).

Achieving higher social levels is necessary because crossing class lines is more difficult. Basil refrains from asking Verena to marry him because he could not “ask her to come and live with him in sordid conditions” (249). It is only later, after he publishes his first article, that he feels confident in proposing marriage. Upon realizing that Verena’s newfound success means that Basil would now appear to her “very small game” (237), Mrs. Luna develops hope once again that she may be able to marry Basil herself. Though Mrs. Luna is above Basil in class, she sees Basil as an example of “the fallen aristocracy” (161), equal in glory if not in gold.

Verena Tarrant’s youth and innocence are exploited for personal gain by those professing to protect her. Naive, trusting, and excited for new experiences, Verena is easily manipulated, and she is steered in various directions as those fighting over her adjust their tactics to gain her trust. Verena is “submissive and unworldly” (55).

Her childlike nature prevents her from recognizing that the people around her are not acting in her best interests. Her father’s placing his hands on her head to prepare her to speak is a physical manifestation of his control over her. Dr. Tarrant’s taking Olive’s money in exchange for control over Verena demonstrates how Verena is a commodity, and the fact that he and Olive conduct this business without her knowledge shows Verena’s lack of agency. That Verena, upon learning of the arrangement, is not offended illustrates that she is “too rancourless” (134) to suspect she is being manipulated. Mr. Pardon also attempts to exploit her: he is eager for someone to make money off her talent, and he promises her instant fame if she marries him. Though she declines his proposal, her excitement at the prospect of fame demonstrates her naiveté.

Verena’s admiration of Olive results in her being easily locked into a life she might not otherwise choose for herself. Naturally submissive and eager to please, Verena bends to Olive’s “authority” and “stronger will” (130) until she is “completely under her influence” (108). Verena begins relying on Olive even to help her form her opinions. Olive manipulates her by scheming with Mrs. Burrage and by taking her to Europe to avoid further proposals. That she feels guilt over this shows that even Olive recognizes the power imbalance from which she herself benefits.

Basil, too, exploits Verena to mold her into his vision of the ideal woman. Though not wrong in his assessment that her views have been “distilled into her” (193), in his desire to “rescue” her (193), he is no less self-serving than anyone else. Chivalrous and traditional, preferring women who are “private and passive” (11), he is pained to think of her voice being “raised to a scream” (75) and is “angry” (185) when he thinks of her at the Women’s Convention. He believes her to be “meant for something divinely different—for privacy, for him, for love” (209). Basil’s imploring Verena not to deny him a walk in Central Park and not to ruin his vacation in Cape Cod are effective because Verena is so eager to please.

Characters in The Bostonians capitalize on Verena’s good nature and inexperience, using their power to achieve what they want. Because she is “easily satisfied” (304), she is quick to accept explanations of their behavior. As a result, she becomes a pawn in the battle between them. James suggests an inevitable awakening in Verena; in her later years, the narrator notes, Verena would wonder “why she had not been more afraid” of Olive (64). The tears she sheds as Basil drags her away from the Music Hall, “not the last she was destined to shed” (350), suggest that while she may be ignorant of their maneuverings, she is not immune to their harm. With its many examples of people hurting each other in the quest for personal satisfaction, The Bostonians arguably is a novel in which love does not exist, except, ultimately, love of self.