The Visionary Betrayed: Aesthetic Discontinuity in Henry James's the American Scene Book

The drama of The American Scene is in this conflict between James and his material. To establish a sense of coherence, he applies his preconceived aesthetic values to the scene, testing them against his impressions. Using a series of assumptions culled from experience as his starting point, he evaluates their applicability to details in the American landscape. If they appear to be inapplicable, he searches for the sources of discontinuity, and tries to find the aesthetic standards that do apply. Out of the vast array of individual impressions, treated in this manner, James hopes to elicit the connections and generalizations that can lead to a comprehensive interpretation of the American scene. - from the Introduction.