The Ambassadors Characters

A Life's RegretOne of the first things we learn about Strether in this book is that he tends to approach life with a lot of caution, even for a dude in 1903. We can see this when he first meets Mar...

The Dull, Um, Distinguished LadyStrether starts this book by admiring and respecting Mrs. Newsome more than any person on Earth. This respect seems to come from the fact that Mrs. Newsome doesn't e...

At the beginning of The Ambassadors, Strether remembers Chad as an immature little brat, and this is pretty much what he expects to find when he tracks the kid down in Paris. Chad totally flabberga...

As we find out at the beginning of this novel, Maria Gostrey considers it her job in life to greet new visitors of Europe and to show them the time of their lives. "I'm a sort of superior 'courier-...

Madame de Vionnet is probably the most charming and cultured woman Strether has ever met. Beyond that, he feels totally in awe of her because she is the one who is responsible for Chad's amazing tr...

In short, Waymarsh is a total stick in the mud. But he's still a super interesting character. For Henry James, Waymarsh is your typical prude from New England. He's separated from his wife and he p...

Bilham, or "Little Bilham" as he is oh-so-adorably called throughout the book, is a starving artist who is close friends with Chad Newsome. Strether first meets Bilham while Bilham is housesitting...

Alongside Waymarsh and Mrs. Newsome, Sarah is the main antagonist in this novel. She's like some sort of demon who Mrs. Newsome sends out into the world to carry out her orders, and she's really th...

Mamie is the pride of Woollett—the prettiest, smartest, and nicest girl that anyone in that little town has ever seen. Sarah brings Mamie along on her trip to Paris to use her as bait to lure Cha...

Poor Jim is just your average New England dude who wants to enjoy life like Strether and Chad. Think that charmer from the office, but instead of getting his very own Pam he has the misfortune of b...