Henry James Character Quotations

What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?

She had her own way of doing all that she did, and this is the simplest description of a character which, although by no means without liberal motions, rarely succeeded in giving an impression of suavity.

The effort really to see and really to represent is no idle business in face of the constant force that makes for muddlement. The great thing is indeed that the muddled state too is one of the very sharpest of the realities, that it also has color and form and character, has often in fact a broad and rich comicality.

Don't try so much to form your character - it's like trying to pull open a tight, tender young rose. Live as you like best and your character will take care of itself.

Live as you like best, and your character will take care of itself. Most things are good for you; the exceptions are very rare.

What is either a picture or a novel that is not character?

Ideas are, in truth, forces. Infinite, too, is the power of personality. A union of the two always makes history.