The Golden Bowl — Volume 2

** "The Golden Bowl—Volume 2" by Henry James is a story that explores the tangled web of relationships of a young woman in a novel set in the early 1900s. The book peers into themes of love, marriage, and the rules of society, mainly looking at Maggie Verver, as she tries to control the complicated relationships with her loved ones after getting married to Amerigo. At the beginning, Maggie is dealing with her feelings and the changes in of her life after her husband comes back from a trip with Charlotte, who is also her stepmother. She thinks a lot about who she is and how her life is changing. This quiet time of thinking is contrasted with her excitement and want for a stronger connection with Amerigo, which shows the inner struggles and the fine balance of her family's relationships. Maggie's thoughts show that she is starting to understand what she wants, along with the problems in her marriage, which leads to a thorough examination of how personal feelings clash with what society expects. **