Realism in the Service of Romance

One day, while Margot and Martha and I were strolling arm in arm in arm through New York’s Central Park, an island of greenery in the urban environment, playing the part of a trio from the nineteenth century, I found myself thinking about realism, not from a reader’s or critic’s point of view but from a writer’s point of view; that is, as a set of aspirations and techniques employed by writers — or other artists, for that matter — rather than as a result. During the ensuing days and weeks, I found myself wondering more and more about the aspirations of a writer — particularly Henry James — who uses the techniques of realism to create the illusion of reality as a cloak for a romance.