A comparison between James's “The Last of the Valerii" and Mérimé’s "The Venus of Ille" Anonymous 12th Grade

This essay examines the differences and similarities between two texts: The Venus of Ille and The Last of the Valerii. The first is a French short story written by Prosper Mérimée in 1835 and the second is short story written by Henry James in 1885. The essay will show that although the texts have several differences, they also share several key similarities.

The Venus of Ille is tale of a bronze statue of Venus that comes to life and kills a man on his wedding night. The story was the inspiration for Henry James's The Last of the Valerii, where a man becomes obsessed with a marble statue of Juno. The former is primarily a supernatural story, since the Venus statue has the power to come to life. The latter is a psychological story, because the Count descends into madness and obsession without anything explicitly paranormal happening. Despite this difference, the statues in both stories are strikingly similar. This essay will demonstrate that although one story is supernatural and the other is primarily psychological, the statues are depicted similarly.

Both statues are of Roman goddesses: the metal statue of The Venus of Ille is of Venus, the goddess of love, and the marble statue of The Last of the Valerii is of Juno, the...