"The Figure in the Carpet" is a short story (sometimes considered a novella) by American writer Henry James first published in 1896.

The narrator, a writer for a literary newspaper, prides himself on his astute review of Hugh Vereker's latest novel.

Vereker inadvertently dismisses his efforts, and then to repair his incivility, confides in the narrator that all critics have "missed my little point," "the particular thing I've written my books most for," "the thing for the critic to find," "my secret," "like a complex figure in a Persian carpet."

Since Gwendolen refuses to share her knowledge, the narrator speculates, "the figure in the carpet [was] traceable or describable only for husbands and wives—for lovers supremely united."

But the widowed husband is surprised and humiliated by the news of his late wife's great "secret," and he and the narrator conclude by sharing the same curiosity.