The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

The Portrait of a Lady 

Henry James

Published 1880-81

American Novel

The Well-Educated Mind Novels

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Grammar Stage Questions   

Who is the central character?  Isabel Archer

What is the book’s most important event?   

Henry James leaves out a lot of details, such as those regarding Isabel’s marriage to Gilbert Osmond.  It picks up three years into the marriage, but it is obvious that something in Isabel has changed and it is apparent that she is not happy.  Given what information I have, I think her marriage is the first event that causes noticeable change from an inquisitive, intelligent, and confident woman to introverted, gloomy, and despondent.  

But then there is the change that occurs once she receives word from her aunt that Ralph does not have much time left to live.  Isabel knows that her husband forbids her to go to Ralph, but she decides to go anyway.  After Ralph’s death, she has this period of clarity that causes her to realize that she is really in control of her life now.  So when Mr. Goodwood offers her a way out of her marriage, she rejects him and returns to Rome.  She can lie in the bed she made with dignity because ultimately it is her choice.  

Logic Stage Questions

What does the main character want?  What is standing in her way?  What strategy does she pursue in order to overcome this block?

Isabel desires independence, liberty, and knowledge.   She puts off several marriage proposals to travel Europe to see the very things she has read about in books.  A marriage would only impede her freedom and individuality, so she postpones it.  In this case, nothing is standing in her way.  She has just received a large inheritance from her uncle, and she is available to travel Europe with her aunt and companions.  

However, here may be her obstruction: she is innocent and naïve enough to be manipulated by the charms of Madame Merle and Gilbert Osmond.  And for the life of me, I cannot figure out her attraction to Osmond except that she created an image of him and fell in love with the image.  Then she learns too late that she has made a mistake; she has been deceived and abused by this wicked couple.  

She can leave Osmond, but she tells a friend that she cannot publically admit her mistake or her unhappiness.  And when one of her ex-suitors, Mr. Goodwood, offers to help her escape her marriage (and into his own arms) she only sees death or a continuation of her sentence.  She leaves Goodwood to return to her prison in Rome; at least that is what we are left to speculate.  

Also something occurs: Isabel has been brought so low that she finally recognizes her own courage to take responsibility, stand up for herself, and to do what is right.  It meant defying Osmond to visit her cousin and rejecting an emotional, easy-way-out offered by Goodwood to face the consequences of her decision.  The ability to make her own choice was her way of exercising her liberty and attaining her individuality even in the face of a miserable situation.  That, to Isabel, is freedom.

The Rhetoric Stage Questions

Is there an argument in this novel, and do you agree?

Henry James presents his main character, Isabel Archer, as an intelligent, curious young American ahead of her time and not timid about exercising her will, which is quite unconventional, especially for 19^th century Europe.  Then James uses her inexperience and naiveté to charm Isabel right into the center of wicked plot to marry someone at the behest of an evil woman who was motivated by the money Isabel had inherited.  The end of the novel leaves us left to believe that she did return to her awful marriage.   So what does James want us to think about using this situation?  

• Is there no other option for women of that period? 
• Does every woman get sucked into marriage, therefore forfeiting her freedom and liberty and mobility regardless of how happy the union is? 
• Is the author trying to convince us that it is just impractical for women to even try to be independent and free?  Even Isabel’s liberated friend, Henrietta Stockpole, gave up her country just to marry an Englishman. 
• Is there something wrong with America that all of these ex-pats have to leave their country to live abroad for something better?  
• What is it that is so attractive to Americans that they prefer the Old Country?  Idleness?  Superficial appearances?  Formalities?
• Is James trying to tell us that there is no individualism, independence, freedom, or liberty; in the end, we get sucked into the convention of societies and social standards shackling those aforementioned ideals?   
• Is he trying to tell us that all of life’s conventions are a prison?  Look at how often he used the word himself.

Well, I understand I was expected to answer the question with a statement, not additional questions, but I cannot choose.  This was a really difficult novel for me; I am just grateful to have been able to come up with possible ideas to think about.  And maybe someday I will revisit them, or maybe after reading the ideas of others, I may settle on one or two.  But for now I am content to leave it open.