James is one of the major figures of trans-Atlantic literature. His works frequently juxtapose characters from the Old World (Europe), embodying a feudal civilisation that is beautiful, often corrupt, and alluring, and from the New World (United States), where people are often brash, open, and assertive and embody the virtues of the new American society - particularly personal freedom and a more highly evolved moral character. James explores this clash of personalities and cultures, in stories of personal relationships in which power is exercised well or badly.