Interpretation, Impressionism and Reality in the Works of Henry James and Joseph Conrad

Abstract

Henry James and Joseph Conrad stand as two of the most significant architects of literary modernism, transforming the nineteenth-century realist tradition into a subtle art of perception and interpretation. Both writers abandoned the external certainties of the Victorian world to explore the intricate interplay between consciousness and reality. Their fiction is not concerned merely with what happens but with how it is perceived, mediated, and morally interpreted. This paper examines the ways in which James and Conrad employ impressionistic technique to redefine narrative truth, foregrounding the subjective experience of reality over objective representation. Through a comparative analysis of The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, Heart of Darkness, and Lord Jim, the study highlights how both authors employ ambiguity, shifting perspectives, and psychological interiority to question the nature of knowledge, interpretation, and moral responsibility. Ultimately, this paper argues that their impressionism is not a retreat from reality but an effort to render the elusive texture of experience the only form of truth available to modern consciousness.