The Ambassadors Author:Henry James The Ambassadors may certainly be read as a journey, from the New World to the Old, from an old Strether to a new one. This journey out of himself begins with his delight in the brief holiday before he meets Waymarsh. It continues under the assault of Maria Grotsky and London. Paris in the spring furthers it; in fact, the breaking of the weath... more »er seems symbolic of Strether's liberation from his New England winter. His changing character is reflected in his changing relationship with Maria Grotsky. She begins as his guild; she becomes the listener of a confident Strether who can "toddle" alone. Strether goes to Paris to find Chad Newsome; instead, he finds himself. The finding of himself is certainly more succumbing to Old World charm. Strether encounters and unprecedented moral situation which he solves not by applying rigid New England ethics but by weighing the end with the means. In doing so, he has tempered his New World morals with his new-found Old World wisdom. The result is the best of two worlds.« less