The use of the supernatural in henry James's short fiction

Abstract EN

The supernatural is a term which refers to anything that is not applicable to the natural law.

It includes everything that is paranormal or metaphysical.

Henry James wrote a considerable number of narrative pieces in which the presence of the supernatural is evident; this was commenced with ‘‘The Romance of Certain Old Clothes1868( ‘‘) and ended with his unfinished novel The Sense of the Past (1914).

The prolific production of such works fell during and after the period that coincided with his attempt to write for the theatre in the early 1890s.

This research is devoted to the critical investigation of James’s exploration of the supernatural in his two stories;”Owen Wingrave” (1893), and “The Friends of the Friends”(1896).

The selection these two stories is based on the fact that they are written in a period which represents, for the novelist, his artistic maturity with which he had an intellectual unrest whether or not to stop fictional writings and begin with theatrical writings.

The study is divided into two sections, each section deals with a text.

Finally, the study ends with the conclusion which sums up all the findings of the study.