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How did Henry James explore differences between American and European values?

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John Smith: Map of Virginia — American literature Map of Virginia from John Smith's *The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles*, 1624.

Henry James frequently explored the cultural and moral friction between the "New World" and the "Old World" through his "international novels." His work often juxtaposed the perceived innocence, exuberance, and forthrightness of Americans with the sophistication, corruption, and rigid social conventions of European society.12345

In early works like The American, James contrasted the guileless nature of a self-made millionaire with the cunning and arrogance of French aristocrats. Similarly, in Daisy Miller, he examined how an American woman’s spontaneous, unaffected behavior clashed with the strict social expectations of expatriate communities in Europe.354

In The Portrait of a Lady, James explored these differences through a protagonist who brings her American sense of sovereignty and "free spirit" into the complex, often predatory social structures of England and Italy. Later, in The Ambassadors, he balanced the relaxed moral standards of the European continent against the parochial rigidities of New England, illustrating a profound growth in the hero's perception as he navigates these conflicting values.362