May Bartram's behavioral change in Henry James's "The Beast in the Jungle"

Henry James's short story "The Beast in the Jungle" illustrates the changeable behavior of May Bartram. May Bartram shows her wide range of emotions towards John Marcher, the story's main character, who is deeply and increasingly in love with her. From her slightest interest in him, to her disinterest in him, then to her deepest confessions of love for him, May Bartram shows how her behavior of such can change from chapter to chapter. In …

…if I could." (565) She realizes her time is coming and that John is the only thing that, if she could, would continue to live for. In all, Henry James's short story "The Beast in the Jungle" demonstrates May Bartram's transforming behavior. Each chapter is designed to show May's behavior towards John Marcher. From her faint interest in him to her confessions of love for him, May Bartram shows her fluctuating behavior from chapter to chapter.