strong conspiratorial center. There are no plans for taking over the
amorphism; any social form held the seeds of the state's rebirth and
state and almost no ideas about the society of the future. The conmust therefore be extirpated. Intellectual disciplines were social spiratorial center plans only for destruction, chiefly personal terrorforms like any other. At least in its early days anarchism expressed ism. But James is not nai:vely representing a radical Graustark; he
hostility toward science. Toward the arts the hostility was less, for
is giving a very accurate account of anarchism.
the early leaders were often trained in the humanities and their in
In 1872, at its meeting in The Hague, the First International
spiration was largely literary; in the nineties there was a strong
voted the expulsion of the anarchists. Karl Marx had at last won
alliance between the French artists and the anarchist groups. But
his long battle with Bakunin. From that point on, "scientific socialin the logic of the situation art was bound to come under the anarism" was to dominate revolutionary thought. Anarchism ceased to chist fire. Art is inevitably associated with civil peace and social
be a main current of political theory. But anarchism continued as a
order and indeed with the ruling classes. Then too any large inforce to be reckoned with, especially in the Latin countries, and it tense movement of moral-political action is likely to be jealous of
produced a revolutionary type of great courage and sometimes of
art and to feel that it is in competition with the full awareness of
appealing interest. Even in decline the theory and action of anhuman suffering. Bakunin on several occasions spoke of it as of no archism dominated the imagination of Europe.
account when the cause of human happiness was considered. Lenin
It is not possible here to give a discriminating account of anexpressed something of the same sort when, after having listened archism in all its aspects; to distinguish between the mutation which
with delight to a sonata by Beethoven, he said that he could not
verges on nihilism and that which is called communist-anarchism,
listen to music too often. "It affects your nerves, makes you want to
or between its representatives, Sergei Nechayev, who had the char-
say stupid, nice things, and stroke the heads of people who could
--
-
-- -�
68
THE LIBERAL IMAGINATION
·-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-·-··-··-·-·-··-··-··-··-··-11·-··-··
The Princess Casamassima
-·-·-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-·-··-··-··-··-··-··-··-·•-11•-··-··-··
together, are sufficient." The typical anarchist organization was
create such beauty while living in this vile hell. And you mustn't
hierarchical and secret. When in 1867 Bakunin drew up plans of
stroke anyone's head-you might get your hand bitten off." And
organ:zation, he instituted three "orders": a public group to be
similarly the Princess of James's novel feels that her taste is but the
known as the International Alliance of Social Democracy; then
evidence of her immoral aristocratic existence and that art is a
above this and not known to it the Order of National Brothers·'
frivolous distraction from revolution.
above this and not known to it the Order of International Brothers '
The nature of the radicals in The Princess Casamassima may, to
the modern reader, seem a distortion of fact. The people who meet
very few in number. James's Muniment, we may suppose, is a Na-
at the Sun and Moon to mutter their wrongs over their beer are not
tional Brother.
revolutionists and scarcely radicals; most of them are nothing more
For the indoctrination of his compact body of revolutionists,
than d
Bakunin, in collaboration with the amazing Sergei Nechayev, com
�I� malcontents. Yet they represent with complete accuracy
the poht1cal development of a large part of the working class of
piled The Revolutionary Catechism. This vade mecum might be
England at the beginning of the eighties. The first great movement
taken as a guidebook to The Princess Casamassima. It instructs the
of English trade unionism had created an aristocracy of labor
revolutionist that he may be called to live in the great world and to
penetrate into any class of society: the aristocracy, the church, the
largely cut off from the mass of the workers, and the next great
army, the diplomatic corps. It tells how one goes about compromismovement had not yet begun; the political expression of men such ing the wealthy in order to command their wealth, just as the
as met at the Sun and Moon was likely to be as fumbling as James
Princess is compromised. There are instructions on how to deal with
represents it.
people who, like James's Captain Sholto, are drawn to the move
James has chosen the occupations of these men with great disment by questionable motives; on how little one is to trust the crimination. There are no factory workers among them; at that
time anarchism did not attract factory workers so much as the
women of the upper classes who may be seeking sensation or salvation-the Princess calls it reality-through revolutionary action. It members of the skilled and relatively sedentary trades: tailors, shoeis a ruthless little book: eventually Bakunin himself complains that makers> weavers, cabinetmakers, and ornamental-metal workers.
nothing-no private letter, no wife, no daughter-is safe from the
Hyacinth's craft of bookbinding was no doubt chosen because
conspiratorial zeal of his co-author Nechayev.
James knew something about it and because, being at once a fine
The situation in which Hyacinth involves himself, his pledge to
and a mechanic art, it perfectly suited Hyacinth's fate, but it is to
commit an assassination upon demand of the secret leadership, is
the point that bookbinders were largely drawn to anarchism.
not the extreme fancy of a cloistered novelist, but a classic anarchist
When Paul Muniment tells Hyacinth that the club of the Sun and
situation. Anarchism could arouse mass action, as in the riots at
Moon is a "place you have always overestimated," he speaks with
Lyon in 1882, but typically it showed its power by acts of terror
the authority of one who has connections more momentous. The
committed by courageous individuals glad to make personal war
anarchists, although of course they wished to influence the masses
against society. Bakunin canonized for anarchism the Russian banand could on occasion move them to concerted action, did not dit Stenka Razin; Balzac's Vautrin and Stendhal's Valbayre (of
greatly value democratic or quasi-democratic mass organizations.
_
Bakunin believed that "for the international organization of all
Lamie!) are prototypes of anarchist heroes. Always ethical as well
as instrumental in its theory, anarchism conceived assassination not
Europe one hundred revolutionists, strongly and seriously bound
--
---�
-
r
70
THE LIBERAL IMAGINATION
•-••-••-•-••-••-
The Princess
n-••-••-••-•-••-••-••-••-
••-••-••-••-•-••-••-••-•·-••
only as a way
1-11-11-11-1-11-11-11-11-11-11-11-1,-11-11-11-N1-
of advertising i
11-11-111-11-11-1f-11
ts doctrine and w
-,1
eakening the enemy'
morale,
s
but also as pW1ishm
Hoffendahl is, in th
ent
e effe
or
ct h
rev
e h
eng
as up
e o
on
r w
others,
arning. Of
not
th
unlike what is
e ma
assa
ny
ssinations or attempts at
told of Bakunin himself
ass
in
ass
his
ination t
greatest d
hat fi
ays, when
ll the a
he co
nnals
uld enthrall
of
la
the
te years of the century, not
with his passion even those
all wer
wh
e
o could
anarchist, but
not
th
understand
os
the lang
e th
uag
at
e
not
were
were influenced by anarchist
he spoke in. But it is possible
ex
th
ampl
at Ja
e. In 1878
mes
the
also had the fam
re w
ous Joh
ere
ann
at
two
tempts on the life of the K
Mos
ais
t in mind. Mos
er,
t figured
one
in the
on the K
London press
ing
in
of Sp
188
ai
1 w
n, on
hen he
e o
the
n
King of Italy; in 1880 a
w
nothe
as tried because his n
r
ewsp
attemp
aper, Freiheit,
t on the King
exulted in the ass
of Sp
assinaai
in
n;
1881 Alexander II of Russ
t
ia w
ion of the Czar. He w
as kill
as found g
ed aft
uilty of libel
er ma
and
ny
inciting
attempts;
to mur1
i
882 t
n
he Phoenix Park m
d
urd
er and sentenced to
ers w
sixteen
er
mont
e commi
hs at hard
tt
l
ed, Lord
ab
F
or. The jury
rede
that
r
Ca
ick
vendish, Secretary for Ir
c
eland, a
onvicted him recommended
nd Und
mercy on
ers
th
ecretary Th
e ground th
om
at he was
as B
a
urke
being killed by extreme Irish n
foreigner and "might
ation
be suffe
alists; in 1883
ring violent wrong."
th
T
ere we
he j
re sever
ury was
a
dyna
l
mite conspiracies i
right-Most had
n G
suffe
reat B
red
ritain
in the p
and in
risons of G
1885 the
ermany afte
re was
r a bitter
a
exp
n
losion in the House of Commons;
youth. It is not clear whethe
i
r he, like
n 1883 t
James's
her
Hoffend
e was an an
ahl, had had
arch
plo
ist
t to blow up, all at
occasion to st
onc
and firm
e, th
und
e Emp
er poli
ero
ce to
r Wi
rture, b
lhelm, th
ut there can
e Cr
be no
own
Prince, Bismarck, and M
doubt of his c
oltk
apacity
e. T
to do
hese
so. Aft
are b
er h
ut a f
aving s
ew
erved his
of th
jail sen
e terr
tence,
oristic
events of which Jam
he e
es w
migrated to Ame
ould
ric
hav
a, and
e b
it h
een
as been
aw
s
ar
aid of
e
hi
in th
m that
e y
ter
ears just
rorist
before he began The Princess
activities in this
Casamassima,
country revolved
and
abou
lat
t him. He w
er ye
as impl
ars b
icated
rough
in
t
many more.
the Haymarket Affair and imprisoned for having incited the assas
Anarchism never est
s
abl
in of Preside
ish
nt McKinl
ed itself v
ey; Emm
ery fi
a Gold
rmly in E
man and Alex
ngland
ander Berkas it
did in Russia, France,
man were h
and Ita
is discipl
ly. In t
es, and they
hes
sp
e
eak
count
of him
ries i
in l
t p
ang
enetr
uage s
ated to
uch as
the upper classes. The
Hyacinth
act
uses of
ions
Hoffend
of the Pr
ahl. It is wo
incess a
rth n
re
oting
not
th
uniq
at Most
ue for a
was a
n
aristocrat of her ti
bookbinde
me, n
r by t
or
rade.
is she fabricating when she speaks of
her acquaintance wit
In short,
h r
wh
evolu
en we
ti
cons
onists of
ider the solid a
a ki
ccuracy
nd mo
of James's
re adv
politi
anc
cal
ed
than Hyacinth is l
det
ik
ail at
ely
ev
to k
ery point,
now. In I
we find th
taly sh
at we must
e w
give
ould
up
hav
the n
e me
otion th
t
at
on
terms of social eq
Jam
uality s
es could move
uch no
only
tabl
in th
e ana
e thin ai
rch
r of mo
ists as Co
ral abstraction.
un
A
t Ca
writ
rlo
er
Cafiero and the physici
has said of The Princess
an E
Casamassima
nrico Malatesta, wh
that it
o w
is "a
as th
capit
e so
al ex
n of
ample
a
wealthy family. K
of J
rop
ames's
otki
impoten
n was
ce in
a desc
matt
end
ers so
ant
ciologi
of
cal."
the Ruriks
The very opposit
and, as
e
the novels of Jam
is so.
es's fri
Quite
end Tu
apart from its
rg
m
enev t
oral and
estify,
aesthetic
extrem
auth
e rad
ority, The Prin
icalism
was
cess
not u
Casamassima
ncommon among th
is
e Russi
a brilliantly
an
p
aristo
recise rep
cracy. In Fr
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