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The Collected Works of Henry James, Vol. 29 (of 36)
Cód:
491_9781662723537
The Birthplace is a short story by Henry James, first published in his collection The Better Sort in 1903. A witty satire on the excesses of bardolatry, the story reflects Jamess skepticism about the authorship of Shakespeares plays. Beyond the narrow scholarly issue, the story also shows a typically imaginative Jamesian protagonist inventing an alternative reality in his lecture on the Bards supposed childhood activities.Morris Gedge is a librarian at a dull provincial library in England that is all granite, fog and female fiction. He gets a welcome offer to become the custodian of the Shakespeare house at Stratford-on-Avon. Although Shakespeares name is never mentioned in the story (James used the name twice in his Notebooks when he was planning the tale) its obvious to whom the supreme Mecca of the English-speaking race is devoted.Once installed as the custodian, Morris begins to doubt the chatter he is forced to give to tourists who visit the home. He starts to qualify and hesitate in his spiel. This brings anguish to his wife and a warning from the shrines proprietors. Gedge finally decides that if silliness is whats wanted, hell supply it abundantly. The last section of the story shows him delivering a hilarious lecture on how the child Shakespeare played around the house. Of course, receipts from tourists increase and Gedge gets a raise.
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