The Jolly Corner

Like many of Henry James’s other stories, “The Jolly Corner” locates its central conflict and resolution in a character’s attitude and perceptions rather than in external events. The story revolves around Spencer Brydon’s acceptance or rejection of his American alter ego. The exact nature of that alter ego, his relationship to Brydon’s “real” self, and the consequences of either accepting or rejecting him are all left ambiguous, allowing for a variety of interpretations. What is clear is that in encountering his double, Brydon comes face to face with his own fragmented and alienated identity.

Upon returning to America, one of the first things Brydon does is get involved with renovating one of his properties to serve as an apartment building. His apparent aptitude for this work persuades him that he might have been a successful businessman, but his attitude toward the work is unclear; he characterizes it as “vulgar,” in keeping with his broader view of America as crass and mercenary, but he is also fascinated to discover a side of himself that he never knew existed. This dichotomy establishes Brydon’s basic alienation from himself: He is unaware of certain facets of his identity, which also seems to consist of conflicting impulses.

Brydon’s initial pursuit of his alter ego suggests a desire to know these unconscious aspects of himself. However, the analogies he uses to describe his search are fanciful; he variously imagines himself as a tomb raider, a hunter, or a knight. His choice of personas evokes a child playing make-believe—in fact, he at one point observes that an outsider watching him might think he is playing hide-and-seek—which suggests that he is fundamentally unserious about self-discovery. Moreover, to the extent that he is serious, his analogies imply a desire to subdue his alter ego rather than to integrate it with his “real” identity. In keeping with this tendency toward avoidance and repression, he passes up the opportunity to open a closed door (a symbol of the “locked” parts of his mind) and confront his double.

When Brydon nevertheless does meet his alter ego, it is unclear what—if anything—he learns from the encounter. The alter ego’s hands initially cover his face, suggesting Brydon’s desire to hide from himself, and when his double removes them, James does not specify what Brydon sees (hinting again at Brydon’s repression of the incident). Brydon’s insistence that the alter ego does not resemble him at all implies that the alter ego appeared cruel, egotistical, greedy, or some other combination of traits that Brydon does not want to acknowledge within himself. Then again, it may be the perceived difference from his actual self (rather than any traits per se) that so upsets Brydon, illustrating how little he knows himself in a way he finds uncomfortable; his remark that the ghost’s face is “unknown, inconceivable, awful, disconnected from any possibility” supports this interpretation (Chapter 2, Paragraph 25).

Brydon’s disavowal of his alter ego is likewise ambiguous. While the encounter seems to have clarified who Brydon wants to be (e.g., Alice Staverton’s husband) and who he does not (e.g., a businessman), he has not so much rejected his alter ego as once again repressed it, suggesting that his self remains fragmented.