The (unnamed ?) narrator of The Aspern Papers is one of those opaque narrators whom we can see right through - about halfway through the novella he tells TIta that he is a huge devotee of Aspern and even confesses that he writes about Aspern - and he actually believes that she can't see through his ruse that she doesn't realize then if not sooner that he's rented the apartment from them in order to get access to Aspern's letters? Of course she sees this and she's preparing to strike a bargain with him. He doesn't even get it that Juliana wants to speak with him not to discuss the valuable letters or the stupid flowers he has promised the women but to try to arrange a marriage for her niece TIta. So the narrator takes TIta for a gondola ride and some ices and he thinks that will be enough to win her over? Flowers and flirtation and flattery? No, he will have to give a lot more than that to get the papers. This novella is very compelling, definitely one of James's best - a conflict set up right from the outset and we watch a real collision of wills as two strong characters fight over high stakes. We know that we will never see the papers - the question is will the quest for them destroy the narrator - and everyone else?
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