The Portrait of a Lady.doc

8/13/2019 The Portrait of a Lady.doc

1/7

Isabel Archer is a woman in her early twenties who comes from a genteel family in Albany, New York, in

the late 1860s. Her mother died when she was a yo ng girl, and her father raised her in a ha!ha"ard

manner, allowing her to ed cate herself and enco raging her inde!endence. As a res lt, the ad lt Isabel is

widely read, imaginati#e, confident in her own mind, and slightly narcissistic$ she has the re! tation in

Albany for being a formidable intellect, and as a res lt she often seems intimidating to men. %he has had

few s itors, b t one of them is &as!ar 'oodwood, the !owerf l, charismatic son of a wealthy (oston mill

owner. Isabel is drawn to &as!ar, b t her commitment to her inde!endence makes her fear him as well, forshe feels that to marry him wo ld be to sacrifice her freedom.

%hortly after Isabel)s father dies, she recei#es a #isit from her indomitable a nt, *rs. +o chett, an

American who li#es in ro!e. *rs. +o chett offers to take Isabel on a tri! to ro!e, and Isabel eagerly

agrees, telling &as!ar that she cannot tell him whether she wishes to marry him ntil she has had at least a

year to tra#el in ro!e with her a nt. Isabel and *rs. +o chett lea#e for ngland, where *rs. +o chett)s

estranged h sband is a !owerf l banker. Isabel makes a strong im!ression on e#eryone at *r. +o chett)s

co nty manor of 'ardenco rther co sin al!h, slowly dying of a l ng disorder, becomes dee!ly de#oted

to her, and the +o chetts) aristocratic neighbor /ord arb rton falls in lo#e with her. arb rton !ro!oses,

b t Isabel declines$ tho gh she fears that she is !assing ! a great social o!!ort nity by not marrying

arb rton, she still belie#es that marriage wo ld damage her treas red inde!endence. As a res lt, she

!ledges to accom!lish something wonderf l with her life, something that will stify her decision to re ect

arb rton.

Isabel)s friend Henrietta %tack!ole, an American o rnalist, belie#es that ro!e is changing Isabel, slowly

eroding her American #al es and re!lacing them with romantic idealism. Henrietta comes to 'ardenco rt

and secretly arranges for &as!ar 'oodwood to meet Isabel in /ondon. 'oodwood again !resses Isabel tomarry him$ this time, she tells him she needs at least two years before she can answer him, and she

!romises him nothing. %he is thrilled to ha#e e2ercised her inde!endence so forcef lly. *r. +o chett)s

health declines, and al!h con#inces him that when he dies, he sho ld lea#e half his wealth to Isabel- this

will !rotect her inde!endence and ens re that she will ne#er ha#e to marry for money. *r. +o chett agrees

shortly before he dies. Isabel is left with a large fort ne for the first time in her life. Her inheritance !i3 es

the interest of *adame *erle, *rs. +o chett)s !olished, elegant friend$ *adame *erle begins to la#ish

attention on Isabel, and the two women become close friends.

Isabel tra#els to 4lorence with *rs. +o chett and *adame *erle$ *erle introd ces Isabel to a man named

'ilbert 5smond, a man of no social standing or wealth, b t whom *erle describes as one of the finest

gentlemen in ro!e, wholly de#oted to art and aesthetics. 5smond)s da ghter ansy is being bro ght !

in a con#ent$ his wife is dead. In secret, 5smond and *erle ha#e a mysterio s relationshi!$ *erle is

attem!ting to mani! late Isabel into marrying 5smond so that he will ha#e access to her fort ne. 5smond

is !leased to marry Isabel, not only for her money, b t also beca se she makes a fine addition to his

collection of art ob ects.

#eryone in Isabel)s world disa!!ro#es of 5smond, es!ecially al!h, b t Isabel chooses to marry himanyway. %he has a child the year after they are married, b t the boy dies si2 months after he is born. +hree

years into their marriage, Isabel and 5smond ha#e come to des!ise one another$ they li#e with ansy in a1


2/7

!ala""o in ome, where 5smond treats Isabel as barely a member of the family- to him, she is a social

hostess and a so rce of wealth, and he is annoyed by her inde!endence and her insistence on ha#ing her

own o!inions. Isabel chafes against 5smond)s arrogance, his selfishness, and his sinister desire to cr sh

her indi#id ality, b t she does not consider lea#ing him. 4or all her commitment to her inde!endence,

Isabel is also committed to her social d ty, and when she married 5smond, she did so with the intention of

transforming herself into a good wife.

A yo ng American art collector who li#es in aris, dward osier, comes to ome and falls in lo#e with

ansy$ ansy ret rns his feelings. ( t 5smond is insistent that ansy sho ld marry a nobleman, and he

says that osier is neither rich nor highborn eno gh. *atters grow com!licated when /ord arb rton

arri#es on the scene and begins to co rt ansy. arb rton is still in lo#e with Isabel and wants to marry

ansy solely to get closer to her. ( t 5smond des!erately wants to see ansy married to arb rton. Isabel

is torn abo t whether to f lfill her d ty to her h sband and hel! him arrange the match between arb rton

and ansy, or to f lfill the im! lse of her conscience and disco rage arb rton, while hel!ing ansy find

a way to marry osier.

At a ball one night, Isabel shows arb rton the de ected7looking osier and e2!lains that this is the man

who is in lo#e with ansy. ' iltily, arb rton admits that he is not in lo#e with ansy$ he 3 ietly

arranges to lea#e ome. 5smond is f rio s with Isabel, con#inced that she is !lotting intentionally to

h miliate him. *adame *erle is also f rio s with her, confronting her with shocking im!ro!riety and

demanding bra"enly to know what she did to arb rton. Isabel has reali"ed that there is something

mysterio s abo t *adame *erle)s relationshi! with her h sband$ now, she s ddenly reali"es that *erle is

his lo#er.

At this time, al!h is ra!idly deteriorating, and Isabel recei#es word that he is dying. %he longs to tra#el to

ngland to be with him, b t 5smond forbids it. Now Isabel m st str ggle to decide whether to obey his

command and remain tr e to her marriage #ows or to disregard him and h rry to her co sin)s bedside.

nco raging her to go, 5smond)s sister, the &o ntess 'emini, tells her that there is still more to *erle and

5smond)s relationshi!. *erle is ansy)s mother$ ansy was born o t of wedlock. 5smond)s wife died at

abo t the same time, so *erle and 5smond s!read the story that she died in childbirth. ansy was !laced

in a con#ent to be raised, and she does not know that *erle is her real mother. Isabel is shocked and

disg sted by her h sband)s atrocio s beha#ior she e#en feels sorry for *erle for falling nder his s!ell

so she decides to follow her heart and tra#el to ngland.

After al!h)s death, Isabel str ggles to decide whether to ret rn to her h sband or not. %he !romised

ansy that she wo ld ret rn to ome, and her commitment to social !ro!riety im!els her to go back and

honor her marriage. ( t her inde!endent s!irit rges her to flee from 5smond and find ha!!iness

elsewhere. &as!ar 'oodwood a!!ears at the f neral, and afterwards, he asks Isabel to r n away with him

and forget abo t her h sband. +he ne2t day, nable to find her, 'oodwood asks Henrietta where she has

gone. Henrietta 3 ietly tells him that Isabel has ret rned to ome, nable to break away from her marriage

to 'ilbert 5smond.

9


3/7

Isabel Archer 7 +he no#el)s !rotagonist, the /ady of the title. Isabel is a yo ng woman from Albany,

New York, who tra#els to ro!e with her a nt, *rs. +o chett. Isabel)s e2!eriences in ro!e she is

wooed by an nglish lord, inherits a fort ne, and falls !rey to a #illaino s scheme to marry her to the

sinister 'ilbert 5smond force her to confront the conflict between her desire for !ersonal inde!endence

and her commitment to social !ro!riety. Isabel is the main foc s of Portrait of a Lady, and most of the

thematic e2!loration of the no#el occ rs thro gh her actions, tho ghts, and e2!eriences. :ltimately, Isabel

chooses to remain in her miserable marriage to 5smond rather than to #iolate c stom by lea#ing him andsearching for a ha!!ier life.

Gilbert Osmond 7 A cr el, narcissistic gentleman of no !artic lar social standing or wealth, who

sed ces Isabel and marries her for her money. An art collector, 5smond !oses as a disinterested aesthete,

b t in reality he is des!erate for the recognition and admiration of those aro nd him. He treats e#eryone

who lo#es him as sim!ly an ob ect to be sed to f lfill his desires$ he bases his da ghter ansy)s

!bringing on the idea that she sho ld be nswer#ingly s bser#ient to him, and he e#en treats his longtime

lo#er *adame *erle as a mere tool. Isabel)s marriage to 5smond forces her to confront the conflict

between her desire for inde!endence and the !ainf l social !ro!rieties that force her to remain in her

marriage.

Madame Merle 7 An accom!lished, gracef l, and mani! lati#e woman, *adame *erle is a !o! lar lady

who does not ha#e a h sband or a fort ne. *oti#ated by her lo#e for 'ilbert 5smond, *erle mani! lates

Isabel into marrying 5smond, deli#ering Isabel)s fort ne into his hands and r ining Isabel)s life in the

!rocess. :nbeknownst to either Isabel or ansy, *erle is not only 5smond)s lo#er, b t she is also ansy)s

mother, a fact that was co#ered ! after ansy)s birth. ansy was raised to belie#e that her mother died in

childbirth.

Ralph Touchett 7 Isabel)s wise, f nny co sin, who is ill with l ng disease thro gho t the entire no#el,

which ends shortly after his death. al!h lo#es life, b t he is ke!t from !artici!ating in it #igoro sly by his

ailment$ as a res lt, he acts as a dedicated s!ectator, resol#ing to li#e #icario sly thro gh his belo#ed

co sin Isabel. It is al!h who con#inces *r. +o chett to lea#e Isabel her fort ne, and it is al!h who is

the sta nchest ad#ocate of Isabel remaining inde!endent. al!h ser#es as the moral center of Portrait of a

Lady - his o!inions abo t other characters are always acc rate, and he ser#es as a kind of moral barometer

for the reader, who can tell immediately whether a character is good or e#il by al!h)s res!onse to that

character.

Lord Warburton 7 An aristocratic neighbor of the +o chetts who falls in lo#e with Isabel d ring her first

#isit to 'ardenco rt. arb rton remains in lo#e with Isabel e#en after she re ects his !ro!osal and latertries to marry ansy sim!ly to bring himself closer to Isabel)s life.

Caspar Goodwood 7 +he son of a !rominent (oston mill owner, Isabel)s most dedicated s itor in

America. 'oodwood)s charisma, sim!licity, ca!ability, and lack of so!histication make him the book)s

! rest symbol of ;ames)s conce!tion of America.

Henrietta Stackpole 7 Isabel)s fiercely inde!endent friend, a feminist o rnalist who does not belie#e that

women need men in order to be ha!!y. /ike &as!ar, Henrietta is a symbol of America)s democratic #al es

thro gho t he book. After Isabel lea#es for ro!e, Henrietta fights a losing battle to kee! her tr e to her

American o tlook, constantly enco raging her to marry &as!ar 'oodwood. At the end of the book,Henrietta disa!!oints Isabel by gi#ing ! her inde!endence in order to marry *r. (antling.


4/7

Mrs Touchett 7 Isabel)s a nt. *rs. +o chett is an indomitable, inde!endent old woman who first brings

Isabel to ro!e. +he wife of *r. +o chett and the mother of al!h, *rs. +o chett is se!arated from her

h sband, residing in 4lorence while he stays at 'ardenco rt. After Isabel inherits her fort ne and falls

nder the sway of *erle and 5smond, *rs. +o chett)s im!ortance in her life grad ally declines.

!ans" Osmond 7 'ilbert 5smond)s !lacid, s bmissi#e da ghter, raised in a con#ent to g arantee her

obedience and docility. ansy belie#es that her mother died in childbirth$ in reality, her mother is

5smond)s longtime lo#er, *adame *erle. hen Isabel becomes ansy)s ste!mother, she learns to lo#e thegirl$ ansy is a large !art of the reason why Isabel chooses to ret rn to ome at the end of the no#el, when

she co ld esca!e her miserable marriage by remaining in ngland.

#dward Rosier 7 A ha!less American art collector who li#es in aris, osier falls in lo#e with ansy

5smond and does his best to win 5smond)s !ermission to marry her. ( t tho gh he sells his art collection

and a!!eals to *adame *erle, Isabel, and the &o ntess 'emini, osier is nable to change 'ilbert)s mind

that ansy sho ld marry a high7born, wealthy nobleman, not an obsc re American with little money and

no social standing to s!eak of.

Mr Touchett 7 An elderly American banker who has made his life and his #ast fort ne in ngland who is

al!h)s father and the !ro!rietor of 'ardenco rt. (efore *r. +o chett dies, al!h con#inces him to lea#e

half his fort ne to his niece Isabel, which will enable her to !reser#e her inde!endence and a#oid ha#ing to

marry for money.

Mr $antlin% 7 +he game nglishman who acts as Henrietta)s escort across ro!e, e#ent ally

!ers ading her to marry him at the end of the no#el.

Countess Gemini 7 5smond)s #a!id sister, who co#ers ! her own marital infidelities by gossi!!ing

constantly abo t the affairs of other married women. +he &o ntess seems to ha#e a good heart, howe#er,

o!!osing *erle)s scheme to marry 5smond and Isabel and e#ent ally re#ealing to Isabel the tr th of

*erle)s relationshi! to 5smond and ansy)s !arentage.

The Realism o& Henr" 'ames

Henry ;ames has had a tremendo s infl ence on the de#elo!ment of the no#el. art of this infl ence has been thro gh the ty!e of realism that he em!loys. 5n the other hand, the most fre3 ent criticism against;ames has been that he is not realistic eno gh. *any critics ha#e ob ected that ;ames does not write abo tlife, that his no#els are filled with !eo!le whom one wo ld ne#er meet in this world. 5ne critic =H. /.*encken> s ggested that ;ames needed a good whiff of the &hicago stockyards so as to get a little life intohis no#els. 5thers ha#e s ggested that ;ames) world is too narrow and incom!lete to warrant classificationas a realistic de!iction of life.

Act ally, ;ames) realism is of a s!ecial sort. (y the early definitions, ;ames is not a realist. +he earlydefinitions stated that the no#elist sho ld acc rately de!ict life, and the no#el sho ld ?hold ! a mirror tolife?$ in other words, the early realist was s !!osed to make an almost scientific recording of life.

( t ;ames was not concerned with all as!ects of life. +here is nothing of the gly, the # lgar, the common,or the !ornogra!hic in ;ames. He was not concerned with !o#erty or with the middle class who had tostr ggle for a li#ing. Instead, he was interested in de!icting a class of !eo!le who co ld afford to de#otethemsel#es to the refinements of life.

@


5/7

hat then is ;ames s!ecial brand of realism hen we refer to ;ames) realism, we mean ;ames) fidelity tohis own material. +o best a!!reciate his no#els and his realism, we m st enter into ;ames) s!ecial world. Itis as tho gh we ascended a ladder and arri#ed at another world. 5nce we ha#e arri#ed at this s!ecial worldand once we acce!t it, then we see that ;ames is #ery realistic. +hat is, in terms of his world, he ne#er#iolates his character)s essence. +h s, ;ames) realism, in the tr est sense, means being faithf l to hischaracters. In other words, characters from other no#els often do things or commit acts that don)t seem to

blend in with their essential nat re. ( t the acts of the ;amesian character are always nderstandable in

terms of that character)s tr e nat re.

;ames e2!lained his own realism in terms of its o!!osition to romanticism. 4or ;ames the realisticre!resents those things which, sooner or later, in one way or another, e#eryone will enco nter. ( t theromantic stands for those things which, with all the efforts and all the wealth and facilities of the world,we can ne#er know directly. +h s, it is concei#able that one can e2!erience the same things that thecharacters are e2!eriencing in a ;ames no#el$ b t one can ne#er act ally enco nter the e#ents narrated inthe romantic no#el.

hen ;ames, therefore, creates a certain ty!e of character early in the no#el, this character will act in a

consistent manner thro gho t the entire book. +his is being realistic. +he character will ne#er do anythingthat is not logical and acce!table to his realistic nat re, or to o r conce!tion of what that character sho lddo.

In later years, ;ames, in writing abo t realism, maintained that he was more interested in a faithf lrendition of a character in any gi#en sit ation than in de!icting all as!ects of life. +herefore, when he hasonce drawn Isabel Archer)s character in one sit ation, the reader can antici!ate how she will act in anyother gi#en sit ation. Her actions are not ne2!lainable. e are able to logically nderstand all of heractions. +h s ;ames) realism wo ld ne#er allow the characters to !erform actions which wo ld beinconsistent with their tr e nat res.

Structure o& The !ortrait o& a Lad"

Almost all of ;ames) no#els are str ct red in the same way. +here m st be a center 7something towardwhich all the lines !oint and which ?s !remely matters.? +his is essentially ;ames) own e2!lanation of hisstr ct re. +he thing that ?s !remely matters? is the central idea of the no#el or that idea aro nd which theno#el f nctions. In The Portrait of a Lady, the thing that ?s !remely matters? is for Isabel Archer to ha#ethe o!!ort nity to de#elo! freely to the limits of her own ca!acity. %he is seen as a !erson who has great

!otential, b t she does not ha#e that freedom which wo ld allow her to de#elo! her own innate 3 alities.+herefore, almost all of the scenes and action of the no#el are designed to hinder or to bring to com!letionthis chance for Isabel to attain her f ll ca!acity.

;ames) creati#e !rocess is also im!ortant to nderstanding the str ct re of his works. He begins his no#elswith a sit ation and a character. *any writers, like Nathaniel Hawthorne, wo ld begin with an idea ortheme in mind and then wo ld create a sit ation and characters that wo ld ill minate the basic idea, b t;ames) techni3 e is st the o!!osite. He created a certain sit ation, and then he wo ld !lace his charactersin it. ;ames wo ld then, in effect, sit back and sim!ly obser#e what wo ld ha!!en when a character wasconfronted with this new sit ation. 5ften, ;ames said, he had7 no !artic lar ending in mind when he begana no#el. Instead, he wo ld let the character and sit ation determine the ending. +his allowed him more

freedom, and allowed him the o!!ort nity of ?getting to know? his character by obser#ing him in a seriesof scenes.

B


6/7

+h s, the central sit ation in The Portrait of a Lady is the arri#al of a charming yo ng girl in ro!e whois restricted by ha#ing no means to tra#el and be free. *any characters who meet her wonder what wo ldha!!en if she were !erfectly free to de#elo! to her f llest. +he thing that ?s !remely matters? is the f llde#elo!ment of Isabel Archer. +h s, it m st be arranged to sec re money for her and then we will sim!lywatch her to see which of the great men of ro!e she will finally choose for a h sband.

e ha#e said that all lines m st !oint toward the thing that s !remely matters, b t these lines do not

follow a straight co rse. +his is not the way ;ames str ct res his no#els. #erything in the no#el is aimedat the central sit ation, b t he mo#es toward the center by e2!loring all the related matters. In other words,the str ct re co ld be best described by a series of circles aro nd the center. ach circle is an e#ent whichill minates the center, b t highlights only a !art of it. ach circle then is often a disc ssion by se#eraldifferent !eo!le. 4or e2am!le, one character obser#es something and then goes to another !erson todisc ss his obser#ation. +hen two other characters might disc ss the same e#ent. (y the end of the #ario sdisc ssions, ;ames has in#estigated all of the !sychological im!lications inherent in this !artic larsit ation. +his wo ld re!resent one circle. +hen, we go to another e#ent or sit ation, which will be f llydisc ssed before !roceeding to the ne2t. +h s by the end of the no#el, ;ames has !robed and e2aminede#ery moral, ethical, and !sychological as!ect of the central sit ation, and the reader has heard the #iewsof many !eo!le on the same s b ect.

&onse3 ently, the str ct res of ;ames) no#els are circ lar in a!!roach to the central s b ect, b t e#erycircle in some way ill minates the thing that s !remely matters. #ery incident f nctions to tell s moreabo t a character or the sit ation. +here is nothing that is s !erfl o s or e2traneo s.

Analysis

Ambition

IsabelCs innocence is a!!arent all the more when one sees it in shar! contrast with the ambition of*adame *erle and, to a lesser e2tent, 5smond. He is de!icted as too indolent to be as c nning as her,

altho gh he is willing to follow her schemes for the f t re. Altho gh this work is mainly concerned with

the !ortrayal of character rather than !lot, *adame *erleCs s bterf ge lends it an element of intrig e.

*adame *erle is constr cted as the e!itome of ambition as she gi#es her life o#er to the schemes that will

f rther the standing of her, 5smond and ansy. +hro gh this !ortrayal, it is !ossible to see a moral

criticism at !lay as she is !itied by Isabel once she disco#ers she is ansyCs mother.

Independence

+he !ortrait of Isabel changes from that of an inde!endent yo ng woman to a lady who wears a mask toconceal her emotions. hen she first a!!ears in the no#el, she asks n mero s 3 estions and has a thirst for

knowledge and e2!erience. hen she becomes a lady, she s cc mbs to the !atriarchal order and learns to

be the feminine woman that sho ld not ha#e ideas. Her s itor, 5smond, des!ises the inde!endence she

sed to dream of and critici"es her for ha#ing ideas. +hese ideas and interest in life =her DoriginalityC> are

3 ashed in marriage as he e2!ects her to be an ob ect of bea ty rather than an animate, inde!endent being.

Marria%e

+his is set ! as the antithesis of inde!endence for women es!ecially when one looks to the central

character, Isabel. +he only s ccessf l marriage, in terms of longe#ity and res!ect, is between her a nt and

ncle =the +o chetts> and this a!!ears to be beca se her a nt has li#ed in 4lorence rather than ngland.

(eca se of this treatment, it is tem!ting to see the no#el as offering a feminist criti3 e of marriage as it

6


7/7

re!resents a form of im!risonment if the h sband chooses to wield his sanctioned !ower.

*arriage is com!ared to a cage and a steel tra! and al!h wants Isabel to share his inheritance so that she

will ne#er ha#e to marry for money. He mistakenly belie#es this share will allow her to ha#e freedom,

when it instead became a reason for * adame *erle to find her an attracti#e s itor for 5smond.

hile the state of being married is often described in negati#e terms, it is worth noting that Isabel takes

the #ow of marriage to be a Dsacred actC. hen regarded as s ch, it becomes the cage al!h feared as it is

im!ossible to esca!e from her nha!!iness. %he is de!icted as seeing this doom as her destiny, as tho ghfate may not be challenged.

The (ew World and the Old World

The Portrait of a Lady draws on the !erennial ;amesian theme of Americans li#ing in ro!e. Isabel is a

sef l ci!her for !ortraying the yo ng !ro#incial American women who comes to ro!e and learns abo t

the traditions that end ! limiting her.

+he contrast between the new and old is not sim!lified, tho gh, as 5smond is American b t has learned to

as!ire and o#ertake the traditions that he sees in ro!ean life. He fa#ors the old o#er the new to the !oint

that he !refers to imm re his da ghter in a con#ent than risk her marrying below his ambition. His attem!t

to ob ectify Isabel f rther demonstrates his aim to limit rather than e2!lore.

E

Documents

The Portrait of a Lady.doc