%0 Journal Article
%T Reading the Unknown/Speaking the Unspoken¡ªAn Analogy between Henry James¡¯ What Maisie Knew and the Oscar Wilde Trial: Did James Really Know What Maisie Knew?
%A Dr. Michael R. Catanzaro
%J Journal of Arts and Humanities
%D 2013
%I Maryland Institute of Research (MIR)
%X The explicit and implicit language in Henry James¡¯ novel, What Maisie Knew, reveals that the act of censoring was not exclusive to writers, since moral attitudes affected every aspect of society; consequently, people developed a means of communication via looks, gestures, and intonation that gave significant meaning to ordinary words and phrases, if one was part of the group ¡°in the know.¡± This coded means of communication resulted from the anxiety of being accused of immoral activity by the political and religious regulating mechanisms, especially in a volatile society where many feared the outcome of a nation that was changing so rapidly. It was a means of protection. When writers could not provide graphically specific language and details, they would manipulate words to create a desired effect that relied on the readers to draw on their personal knowledge and experiences to supply meaning to the text; therefore, the interpretation was affected by the relationship between the reader and the subject matter.
%K explicit and implicit communication
%K immoral activity
%K language manipulation
%U http://www.theartsjournal.org/index.php/site/article/view/103