Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Vertrauen
Go deeper: the whole of Vertrauen
About 5 h to read.Für wen es gedacht ist
This book suits readers who enjoy sparkling conversation, social comedy and love stories with a puzzle at their heart. It will please anyone fond of European travel and of friends who misread each other.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
What if your closest friend asked you to spy on the woman he hopes to marry? In Confidence, a novel by Henry James, Bernard Longueville is charming, idle and clever. Gordon Wright is solid, honest and tries to reason everything through. In Baden-Baden, Gordon asks Bernard to study the woman he hopes to wed and to report what he sees. What follows is a comedy of manners about judgment, friendship and pride. A wry narrator teases his hero, the talk sparkles, and one question drives the plot: how far can we trust our impressions of others, and of ourselves?
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1A sketch in a sunny Sienese cornerFree
- 2A friend's odd request from Baden-Baden
- 3Faces on the Kursaal terrace
- 4What Gordon wants to know
- 5Talk, sparring and the watchful mother
- 6Left in charge of the ladies
- 7A verdict, a note and a sudden departure
- 8A strange marriage and an exile
- 9Seaside surprise and a discovery in the dark
Punkt 1 von 9
A sketch in a sunny Sienese corner
The story opens in early April. Bernard Longueville lingers in Siena, young, handsome and well off. He loves his own company most of all, and the narrator warns that his nature holds several contradictions.
One morning he paints on a quiet terrace by the town wall. A young woman in a gray dress with a crimson petticoat steps out of a church and leans on the parapet. Bernard decides she improves his picture, so he paints her in.
She says sharply that she is not a professional model, yet she is amused and gives him five more minutes. Her silvery-haired mother appears, and the two walk away. Bernard feels he has seized and lost something at once.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of Vertrauen
About 5 h to read.Questions about Vertrauen
What is Confidence by Henry James about?
It tells how Bernard Longueville, a clever, idle American, is asked by his friend Gordon Wright to size up the woman Gordon wants to marry. The study goes wrong, and it changes both friends, their loves and their trust in each other.
Who are the main characters in Confidence?
Bernard Longueville and Gordon Wright are old college friends. Angela Vivian and her mother live abroad on a modest income. Blanche Evers is a chattering young girl, and Captain Lovelock is an English officer who gambles and admires her.
Where does Confidence take place?
Each place gives a lively setting for conversation, strolls and drives.
What does the title Confidence mean in the novel?
The word points to trust, in friends, in lovers and in one's own judgment. Bernard feels sure of his insight, Gordon trusts his reasoning, and Mrs. Vivian speaks of having confidence, yet each of them is tested.
Is Confidence easy to read?
It is built from lively conversation, short chapters and a witty narrator who comments on his characters. The plot is clear and moves between memorable settings, so it is easy to follow and pleasant to read.
Cite this edition
James, Henry. Confidence. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/confidence.
James, H. (2026). Confidence. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/confidence (Original work published 1879)
James, Henry. Confidence. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/confidence.
@book{james2026confidence,
author = {James, Henry},
title = {Confidence},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/confidence},
note = {First published 1879}
}
