The Education of Henry Adams Flashcards
To what president is Henry Adams related? What is that relationship?
He is related to two: John Adams, his great-grandfather, and John Quincy Adams; his grandfather.
Some memories of his grandfather are actually included in “The Education of Henry Adams.”
What is Henry Adams’ opinion of his tendencies and education?
Even though he was born in 1838, he feels himself to have been educated in the style of the 18th century, rather than the 19th (or looking forward to the 20th).
“Education” is an exploration of a life lived during a time of rapid technological and social progress, one that considers both the distant past and the oncoming future (as evidenced by his experiences at the World Fair).
What is an interesting stylistic choice Adams uses in “Education”?
To write the whole thing in third person
What is the reason given for skipping the years 1872-1892? What is the real reason?
Adams claims he learns nothing useful during these years - that he stopped his education in 1871 and began to apply it to practical purposes.
While we can’t know for certain the real reason why, he seems likely that he is excising the marriage and suicide of his wife (1872-1885), in keeping with his tendency not to show emotion in his writing.
He refers to the remainder of his life as “posthumous.”
What two ideas are contrasted in Adams’s companion works “The Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres” and “The Education of Henry Adams”?
The medieval Christian unity of the thirteenth century and the burgeoning modern multiplicity of the age of science.
Who are Henry’s two close friends in adulthood?
John Hay and Clarence King
What does Adams call his theory of history? Discuss its significance.
“A Dynamic Theory of History”/ “A Law of Acceleration”
Adams’s imagination has been heavily influenced by scientific advancements during his lifetime (railway, telegraph, daguereotype, ocean steamer). He - correctly - intuits that this new age requires a new way of thinking about history.
But while Adams predicts multiplicity for the 20th and 21st centuries, in a lot of ways technology has brought more homogeneity than unity.
To what does Adams compare himself to in his Preface?
A manikin upon which education will be draped like clothing. (Potential resonances with fashion/clothing in the Gilded Age).
Where do Henry’s grandparents live?
Quincy
What does Henry do after graduating from college?
He goes to Germany to study law, but needs remedial German lessons at a local secondary school. The “ancientness” of the country appeals to him (and his old-fashioned inclinations).
What change in class structure does Adams introduce when he is a professor at Harvard?
The seminar structure, where students participate in discussion
What prominent writer does Adams meet when serving as a diplomat in London?
Algernon Swinburne
What two scientific works are important to Adams’ intellectual development? What do they have in common?
Darwin, On the Origin of Species
Lyell, Principles of Geology
Both argue that there is a process in the development of the earth and its inhabitants.
For what audience was “Education” originally intended?
Just close friends; it was only after his death that it was published for a wide audience.
What is an exception to Adams’ tendency not to show emotion in “Education”?
In writing about his sister’s Louisa’s death after she is thrown from a cab.
What is Clarence King’s profession?
Geologist
What event is the subject of the chapter “The Dynamo and the Virgin”?
The Paris Exposition of 1900
What is the meaning of the chapter title “The Dynamo and the Virgin”?
The dynamo, an engine, represents the motivating force behind modern society (technology). By “the Virgin,” Adams means Christianity, which was the main unifying force behind Western culture in the past.
What is John Hay’s occupation? What are some of his big achievements?
He is Secretary of State; the Open Door Policy with China; quelling the Boxer rebellion; paving the way for the construction of the Panama Canal.
What is Adams’ view on women?
He emptily refers to them as “superior” more than once in his text, but is a bit condescending about what they are able to accomplish. He has no real interest or thoughts about women’s issues beyond that they must become “sexless” if they want to succeed.
Broadly, what are Adams’ views on science?
His thinking is strongly impacted by technological progress and scientific development, but criticizes some scientists of his period as finding only chaos in the results of their experiments - he would rather discover truths or unifying principals.
What are the three expositions Adams attends?
- Chicago
- Paris
- St. Louis
What is “Progress” for Adams?
The development and economy of forces
What are “Forces” for Adams?
Anything that produces work; but he also speaks, perhaps more importantly, of the “attractive force” of opposing bodies, the gravitational pull of an entity.
Why is Adams’ theory a dynamic one?
Because it considers concepts, as well as objects, to be constantly in motion; in flux, not static.
What are some comparisons that can be made between “Education” and “House of Mirth”?
- Both published within 2 years of each other
- Both autoethnographies of the elite
- Both texts are “constructions of difference” (3rd person distancing, Lily Bart’s inability to fit in)
- regionalist imagination in both (places have a character)
- Gaps of intervening years/rupture (Lily’s youth and Adams’ 20 years)
- Transatlanticism
- Both are books about the pressure the future puts on a person
