The Symbolic and Sinister Significance of the Garden in "The Aspern Papers" Ellie Peng 11th Grade

“Aspern Papers” lies at the boundary between the Romantic period and an emerging Modernist perspective in the fin de siècle of the 19th century. Written in 1888, James’ “Aspern Papers” holds at the crux of its content a significant message regarding the movement away from the Romantic ideals of nature and of paradise towards advancements in technology and industry and an increasingly nihilistic belief in the end of the world. The departure from traditional forms of poetry, prose and drama were triggered by a sense of cultural and political crisis and features a sense of individualism and isolation.

The Garden in “Aspern Papers” acts as a refuge for the anonymous narrator, away from the tightly packed heat of Venice, a sort of Edenic paradise for the critic during his search for the elusive Aspern Papers. Whilst on the surface, the garden seems to be this quiet, beautiful and natural space in which the narrator visits, symbolising growth and purity as the gardener cultivates new life and new hope, beneath the surface of the flowers in the deep canals of the city lurks a more sinister message, addressing the clash between the corruption and wisdom of the Old and the abrasive, clinical nature of the New. Whilst the narrator is the...