Portrait of a Lady - 1737 Words

First written in the 1880s and extensively revised in 1908, The Portrait of a Lady is often considered to be Jamess greatest achievement. In it, he explored many of his most characteristic themes, including the conflict between American individualism and European social custom and the situation of Americans in Europe. James proclaimed that â€Å"The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent reality.† Plot was for him but the extension of character. The novel must show rather than tell — he was interested in why people did as they did, rather than simply in what they did; motive was more important than deed. The observer of the dinner table and the drawing room, the country house and the salon, the library†¦show more content†¦But the narrative technique did not allow for it. So in the end The portrait of the Lady is finally not a modernist novel. There is no such a thing yet as the autonomy of the character; truly an exploration of a character’s psychological frame or mind, options. In a way Isabel remains emplotted by James. Like most of Jamess fiction of the 1870s, and the majority of his writing for the rest of his career, Portrait focuses on a group of expatriate Americans in England and Europe. Leisured, cultured, but just a bit bored, Daniel Touchett and his son Ralph are idly passing their time at Daniels country estate, Gardencourt, but find themselves reenergized when Daniels all but estranged wife, Lydia, brings with her to England her niece, a beautiful and enthusiastic orphan named Isabel Archer. Isabel is everything these men are not: lively, enthusiastic, and alert, she is a less flirtatious, more thoughtful version of Daisy Miller. But this American Girl, too, has the resistance to convention that both marks the type and makes its fate so problematic; when her Aunt Lydia reproaches her for staying up late to talk to Ralph and his friend, Lord Warburton, Isabel thanks her for informing her of the social prohibition but claims that she wants this knowledge only so as to choose whether to foll ow it. Despite, or perhaps because of, this very American insistence on freedom of choice, Isabel attracts one suitor after another: first Lord Warburton; thenShow MoreRelatedThe Portrait Of A Lady By Henry James870 Words   |  4 PagesThe Portrait of a Lady by Henry James is a heartfelt story about a naive American named Isabel Archer, who experienced love and heartbreak. â€Å"Pain s deep... but it passes, after all. It s passing now but love remains.† -Ralph Touchett. The main characters of this story are Isabel Archer, Ralph Touchett, Lord Warburton, Caspar Goodwood, Pansy Osmond, and Mr. Touchett. The time span was in the late 1860 s. The story starts at an old house in Florence. The book describes it as, â€Å"A long gabledRead More Henry James’ Portrait of a Lady Essay1273 Words   |  6 PagesHenry James’ Portrait of a Lady On her long journey from Rome her mind had been given up to vagueness; she was unable to question the future. She performed this journey with sightless eyes and took little pleasure in the countries she traversed, decked out though they were in the richest freshness of spring. Her thoughts followed their course through other countries†¹strange-looking, dimly-lighted, pathless lands, in which there was no change of seasons, but only as it seemed, a perpetual drearinessRead MoreNonconformism In The Portrait Of A Lady By Henry James854 Words   |  4 Pagesfor their lives by society in order to maintain status and respect in their communities. In the 1800s, women were strivers to their husbands and family, and were set to devote themselves entirely to that cause. In his 1881 romance novel, The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James provides challenges the concept of female individuality in society through the protagonist, Isabel Archer, who emphasizes how miserable obeying the status quo makes her; Nevertheless, Archer ignores her innermost desires to pleaseRead More Comparing Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady1425 Words   |  6 PagesFall from Innocence in Grendel, Neil Young and Portrait of a Lady      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to the Bible, God created man pure and innocent, oblivious to good and evil. The serpent of evil lured them to the tree of knowledge, however, and its fruit proved too much of a temptation. With a bite, their eyes... were opened, and the course of their lives, and the lives of mankind, were changed (Gen. 6-7, 22). Whether or not one accepts the Christian concept of creation, countless works of art are patternedRead More Comparing Faulkners Light in August and James Portrait of a Lady2862 Words   |  12 PagesComparing William Faulkners Light in August  and Henry James Portrait of a Lady Light in August   and Portrait of a Lady are two novels which embodies within them, life affirming morals. Authors like William Faulkner and Henry James possess the art of making the reader learn by experiencing for themselves.   William Faulkner uses the technique of introspection as well as by showing how characters and their actions can affect one another. Henry James also shows that a character’s actions and decisionsRead More Movie Essays - Jane Campions Film of Henry Jamess The Portrait of a Lady3966 Words   |  16 PagesJane Campions Film Version of Henry Jamess The Portrait of a Lady Jane Campions film version of Henry Jamess novel, The Portrait of a Lady, offers the viewer a sexually charged narrative of a young naive American girl in Victorian era Europe. Jamess novel focuses on what an exciting inward life may do for the person leading it even while it [a persons life] remains perfectly normal (James 54). James could not or would not place into his narrative the sexual thoughts, suggestions,Read MorePortrait Of A Lady By Khushwant Singh Chapter Summary CBSE Class XI XII CBSE Class 11 12 Study Materials Homework Help Extra Questions1287 Words   |  6 PagesMATHEMATICS PHYSICS Thursday, 4 July 2013 Popular Posts Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh - Chapter Summary The Photograph by Shirley Toulson Chapter Summary Short Synopsis A photograph descries 3 stages. In the first stage, the photograph shows the poet s mother standing at the each enjoyi... Story in a Nutshell In this story, Khushwant Singh draws a pen picture of his grand mother. He describes how he had  spent  his childhood Portrait of a Lady by Khushwant Singh Chapter Summary with her in theRead MoreArt History Formal Analysis - Comparison1659 Words   |  7 PagesFormal Analysis Paper The pieces Ann Whitley Russell, done by an unknown artist in around 1820 and Lady Frances Knowles, also done by an unknown artist, in the mid-late 17th century are both examples of portraits that portray the sitters in diverse yet insightful ways to viewers. Both Ann Whitley Russell and Lady Frances Knowles are works of art composed of oil paint on canvas. Although these portraits are different, the aspects of space, color, and composition are all important elements that mustRead MoreExamine Eliots treatment of women in Prufrock, Preludes, Portrait of1365 Words   |  6 PagesExamine Eliot’s treatment of women in Prufrock, Preludes, Portrait of a Lady and Rhapsody on a Windy Night In all four of the poems; ‘Prufrock’, ‘Preludes’, ‘Portrait of a Lady’ and ‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’, Eliot makes references to women. Eliot seems to treat women almost as objects to either be looked at with wonder and, at times, fascination or as objects to be scorned upon. In all of the poems Eliot makes the voice of the poem slightly distanced from the women and this, to me, makesRead MoreThe Lady With An Ermine1141 Words   |  5 PagesIn the first version, there was just a portrait of Cecilia, with no animal. In the second attempt, Leonardo included a small grey ermine. In the third and final version, a large white ermine replaced the grey ermine. This progress really shows why Leonardo da Vinci had so much trouble finishing his paintings. Also, originally the background was blue, but in 1800, Prince Adam Czartoryski bought the piece for Princess Izabella. She did not like the painting very much. â€Å"If it s a dog, it s a very