In The Wings of the Dove, Henry James provides a compelling analysis of the rewards and pressures of social life, the possibilities for self fulfilment and the risks of personal pain or disfigurement. The chapters of the novel throb with varied life, as James shifts the focus from one setting to another: the reader is presented with the meanness of Chirk Street, the opulence of Lancaster Gate, the calm decorum of Matcham, the splendour and charm of Venice. Within this dense medium, Kate Croy, Milly Theale and Merton Densher must work out their destinies. Each must seek to compose his or her own identity in response to a series of taxing social encounters, to find an appropriate accommodation between the intimate sense of selfhood and the demands imposed by a range of public rôles. The novel also takes on both a strong ironic resonance, and a deeply moving quality, through James's treatment of Milly's curious predicament; for in her case, the only generous course seems to lie in the renunciation of her vast freedom, and a retreat from the open competition so common to normal social activity. At the same time, James's exploration of these crucial questions of man's communal existence and involvement shows the philosophical scope of a novel which deliberately delves far beneath the polished surface of sophisticated manners. Once again, story-telling becomes the flexible method for opening up fresh conceptual horizons. However, while The Ambassadors is compactly self-critical, The Wings of the Dove unfolds tentatively, if majestically, following an elusive trail towards uncertain conclusions.