“She waited, Kate Croy”: the villain's tragedy

The author illustrates the question of forgiveness through a detailed study of Henry James' superb novel The Wings of the Dove (1902). The psychological exploration of this central theme involves an in-depth understanding of the three main characters: Millie Theale, a young American heiress who is tragically dying of a non-specified but lethal illness; Kate Croy, a beautiful but impoverished young woman, who befriends her whilst secretly betraying her; and the young man they both love, Merton Densher, who is secretly engaged to Kate, thus joining her in her plot to betray Milly. Milly will be the forgiver, Densher the forgiven, and Kate (both heroine and villain) the unforgivable. Henry James' need for forgiveness and for atonement is also examined in detail through his own analysis of his motives for writing this book in his extraordinary preface to The Wings of the Dove.