Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady is considered to be one of the first American novels to make full use of social and psychological realism as European authors - such as Flaubert, Balzac and George Eliot - were already practicing in their works. Considered to be his biggest accomplishment along with The Ambassadors, Portrait added Isabel Archer to the company of great fictional heroines - as the likes of Elizabeth Bennet, Becky Sharp and Jane Eyre - and, in a century marked by unsatisfied bourgeois wives and adultery in fiction - Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina come to mind -, it was a breath of fresh air to accompany and delve into James' protagonist's thoughts and inner feelings.

Starting with a very slow pace, the narrative contains long and elaborate descriptions. It feels James is painting a richly detailed picture for every scene. As we arrive in Gardencourt - the Touchett's English country estate where our story opens and closes -, we encounter Mr. Touchett, his son Ralph and a family friend called Lord Warburton. Among other things, they discuss how Mrs. Lydia Touchett is in America and will bring along her niece called Isabel Archer to visit Europe.

Isabel is a young woman, from Albany, New York, who accepts her aunt's offer to initially stay with her in Gardencourt and then later travel through the continent, eager to explore and be enriched by the places she's never been before and experience life at its fullest. Upon her arrival, we begin to learn what her ideals and plans are, along with her hopes and dreams.

Since the beginning, her cousin Ralph seems to have been as curious as we were to see what Isabel would make of her life. In a way, we almost could say Ralph was conducting an experiment: Isabel had an independent mind, she was emotionally and psychologically self-sufficient - didn't seem inclined to get married for the time being, which was different for a girl of her age at the time. She was thirsty for knowledge first and foremost: “I don’t want to begin life by marrying”, Isabel asserts to Ralph. “There are other things a woman can do." But without money, how far could she go with her unattached ways? She was probably bound to eventually getting married. Her cousin, then, arranged it and she became financially independent as well. Certain that he was doing Isabel a good deed, Ralph convinced his father - who was very fond of Isabel - at his deathbed to leave her an impressive amount of money. Now she had all that was necessary to decide her destiny without any barriers or anyone to hold her back. The experiment was on.

After traveling for over a year, the now wealthy Isabel Archer is in Florence, where her aunt lives. A friend she greatly admired, Madame Merle - Mrs. Touchett's close friend who Isabel got acquainted with some time after she arrived in Gardencourt - skillfully introduces her to Gilbert Osmond: an American expatriate widower who's lived in Italy for years. Isabel is very impressed with his refinement and intelligence and thinks of him as having a beautiful mind. Despite her family and friends complaints about this relationship, Isabel - after having declined two previous suitors - accepts Osmond's marriage proposal.

The story then jumps in time and there's a narrative shift: for a bit, James leaves Isabel and Osmond in the background while he focuses on Pansy Osmond - Osmond's young daughter - and Edward Rosier - Isabel's childhood friend who's in love with Miss Osmond and is trying to get Madame Merle to help him marry his darling girl. Through their story, we still have glimpses of Isabel's life and we learn that she's been now married for two years and that she lost a son who died six months after his birth. Isabel and her husband seems to disagree about everything and we learn she's unhappy.

Henry James, who once conducted a very slow paced - almost contemplative - narrative, gradually started to accelerate it, adding drama and a sense of urgency to his words.

Right after an unsettling argument with Osmond one evening, Isabel, now feeling more distraught than ever, starts pondering and analyzing the many circumstances she finds herself in. The author immerses us in a deeply personal and intensely psychological account of her thoughts and emotions. Among the things Isabel reflected upon for a long time were the conclusion that her husband must hate her and the realization that Osmond had gained total control of her - the once independent and strong witted woman was now a subjugated spirit; the woman who once seemed to be against doing what was expected of her was now conforming to her husband's decisions. "When the clock struck four she got up; she was going to bed at last, for the lamp had long since gone out and the candles burned down to their sockets."

Complicating things even further is the revelation Countess Gemini - Osmond's sister - makes to Isabel of a long time secret, that leaves her completely shaken. This only comes to deteriorate even more her relationship with Gilbert. Now, fully aware of the situation she was put in through manipulations and schemes, Isabel is faced with a big decision: her cousin Ralph is dying in Gardencourt and her dictatorial husband is completely against her visiting England. Showing the old Isabel may still be somewhere locked inside of herself, she confronts her husband and leaves to be with her cousin.

The Portrait of a Lady, through its length, presents a number of opposites, but the most striking ones are the battles between freedom vs. destiny and affection vs. betrayal. In the book's final moments, we witness that Isabel is offered a way to go back to where and to whom she was when she first came to Europe: "The world's all before us - and the world's very big", she is told. She could once again explore life and fill herself with hopes - but declined the opportunity: "The world's very small", she answered. With a much talked about conclusion that has both fascinated and infuriated - another battle of opposites? - readers, James' ending remains open to a lot of interpretations.

It's disturbing to watch an unhappily married woman with an opportunity to leave it all behind - and the means to do it - simply not choosing freedom. Did Osmond finally accomplish to shatter her spirit? Another theory is that maybe marriage was an unbreakable vow and she felt she had a moral duty to her husband. Or was she trying to be protective of Pansy - who was mirroring Isabel's unhappiness and was another example of a woman who seemed to think that she was obliged to follow other's decisions even if it made her unhappy - and determined to stand by her side and not let the same happen to her step daughter? Innumerable possibilities...

James has been known for structuring his novels with a series of circles surrounding a center. With that in mind, a hopeful interpretation of the book's ending is that, in order to complete that circle, Isabel must return to her husband, properly end her marriage so she could once again be able to start anew and free her spirit once and for all.

Rating: for such an interesting and comprehensive analysis of freedom, human consciousness and ultimately, existentialism: 4 stars.

I really don't understand why this novel has gotten so many positive reviews as I personally found it dull and completely lifeless. The main character, Isabel Archer, is apparently such an amazing woman that three men fall completely in love with her, two of which never stop. She manages to choose the worst one to marry and, although in love at first he grows to hate her because she doesn't adore him and do everything he says without question (great love story right?). As James didn't really touch on Isabel's personality, thoughts, or beliefs too much I failed to see what was so extraordinary about her that made these men fall madly in love?

The only character I did like was Ralph, who was clever and observant, and knew so much more than anyone guessed. He tries to help Isabel at the end by helping her to see that there is a way out of the darkness and into the light, but his words (once again) fall on deaf ears. I have no sympathy for Isabel as she created her own despair and lacked the strength to try and fix it.

Klasika yra klasika ir aš ją ne tik mėgstu, bet ir jaučiu pareigą skaityti. Ne vieną po kitos griaužti, bet karts nuo karto paįvairinti savo skaitymo meniu. Henry James "Moters portretas" priklauso būtent šiai kategorijai, o be to paskutiniu metu mane tiesiog užvaldžiusios storulės, tai aš tam norui jas skaityti per daug nesipriešinu ir skaitau vieną po kitos.

Naratyvas paprastas - jauna, daili amerikietė Izabelė atvyksta į Senąjį žemyną. Čia ji apsuka galvas daugumai. Visi ja žavisi, tad natūralu, kad jauna moteris sulaukia pasiūlymo tekėti ir net ne vieno. Deja, niekas jos širdies nepaliečia taip, kad ši ištartų lemtingąjį "taip". Miršta Izabelės dėdė ir palieka jai didžiulę sumą pinigų, tačiau jis net nenumano, kad toks jo poelgis iš esmės sugriaus Izabelės gyvenimą.

Pasakojimas, manau, patiks tokių kūrinių kaip "Forsaitų saga", "Ponia Bovari", "Belgravija" mylėtojams. Centrinė figūra, nieko nenustebinsiu pasakydama, - Izabelė. Tipiška amerikietė, bent jau kaip tai įsivaizduoja britai. Sako ką galvoja, svajoja, na ir, aišku, ta jos nepažabojama laisvė. Izabelei atvykus į Europą tarsi susiduria dvi kultūros - amerikietiška bei europietiška. Pasakojimas dalinai pastatytas ant šios įtampos. Kitas atramos taškas - jaunos moters vidinis pasaulis ir laimės paieškos.

Kiek keistas man pasirodė vidinis Izabelės posūkis nuo laisvės ir noro keliauti iki moters, kuri uždaryta, kuri turi atsiklausti dėl kiekvieno žingsnio ir kuri net nenori ištrūkti. Pasakysiu atvirai - arba aš nesupratau arba autoriui nepavyko pagrįsti kodėl įvyko toks didžiulis posūkis.

Mėgtu aš tokias knygas. Suprantu, kad nepatiks visiems, bet čia, kaip sakoma, my cup of tea. Gana lėtas pasakojimas, kuriame vidinis vyksmas daug svarbesnis, o dar ta aristokratišką aplinka mane galutinai nuginkluoja. Patiko, bet vis tik liūdna, kad su tokiu polėkiu startavusi Izabelė, kaip įkvepianti jauna moteris, mano vilčių nepateisino.

Henry James was a bottom.

With this apercu in mind, you needn't get fussed up as to why Isabel Archer returns to Osmond. ~~ With the exception of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's illuminating criticism ("Epistemology of the Closet," 1990) there hasn't been any fresh Jamesian crit in over 50 years.

As the French would say, he's "de trop."

Like the paintings in the Uffizi Gallery that left some of the novel’s characters and the museum visitors in awe, James kept me in constant awe while immersing myself in his masterpiece. I am amiss for words to write the ”review”, feeling that anything I write would be like sacrilegious blotches on the canvass of perfection that I have just read.

Fortunately, the edition I read includes Colm Tóibín’s short but superb Afterword from which I’ll quote a few passages. Appropriately an “afterword,” only to be read after finishing the novel not because of the spoilers (hardly any are hinted at) but as an eloquent expression of the very same reflections a reader is left with after finishing this magnificent novel. Moreover, it contains a few biographical details, including real and fictional persons who inspired some of the scenes and characters. I was also elated to learn that the scene when Isabel Archer contemplates her life— in fact taking the entire chapter (42)—which grabbed me so much that I thought I read it in one breath, was later described by James himself as “obviously the best thing in the book.”

As Tóibín succinctly put it, the novel “blends architectural perfection with unerring characterization” and, while “James was concerned with consciousness rather than plot,” he “nonetheless understood that a novel must have a body as well as a soul.” And its soul is the titled Isabel Archer, the most fascinating, as well as the most complete in her portrayal, female fictional character that I have ever encountered. Tóibín said it best again: “He [James] was fearless in his depiction of the play of her consciousness; her high ideals and her need for freedom were dramatized against repression and dark restriction. In concentrating on her fate in the world, he created one of the most magnificent figures in the large and sprawling house of fiction.”

John Banville wrote a sequel, but I must give room to reading more James before I see what another talented writer had made of his unforgettable character. I read The Aspern Papers earlier this month, but now, after The Portrait, I am more than certain that there is no stopping for me in my reading journey with James this year.

After having read this “Portrait”, I’ve started to respect Emma Bovary’s life choices much more:-)

Update:
I am currently reading Borges’s essays. The one of them is a prologue to James’s story “The Abasement of the Northmores”. I’ve never heard of this story before and generally I loved James’s shorter fictions. So I am going to read it. However, Borges formulates something that expands and explains what I felt about James’s characters and his way of creating his fiction.

Paradoxically James is not a psychological novelist. The situations in his books do not emerge from his characters; the characters have been fabricated to justify situations.”

That was exactly what I felt reading this novel. It is certainly pertinent to Isabel Archer as a character. It was driven by the situations and James puzzling what to do with them picking up not the most realistic scenario, but the way that interested him even if by sacrificing the depth of his characters. We’ve discussed this in the comments under this box, but I was excited that Borges expressed it that way. I also agree that James’s novels are not necessarily psychological. But he can do a very deep psychology though when he chooses so; especially through subtle details.

Well this I found depressing. I don’t know why really because I’ve loved books with similar themes such as those by Edith Wharton. I just didn’t really take to Isabelle or her fate.

8.5/10

This won’t get written the way I wanted to write it, as life has taken as many turns, in the past 6 weeks, as Henry James has commas ... and I can’t be spending much time reviewing — in writing, at least. More’s the pity since I had a lot to say on this one, this time ‘round.

I’ve become a bedside sitter, attendant, to a family member who has been, is, quite ill, ... and so while my time is spent in reading, I’m not sure I'm taking in all that much.

The end of this novel brought me to the beginning of the real life illness, and so Ralph and Isabelle’s last interview brought me to my (emotional) knees, as only those who have read this can appreciate. Hence no spoiler warnings necessary.

Not to turn this into a FB moment, which I loathe, I felt I just wanted to explain to my nearest and dearest goodreaderly friends that I haven't done a runner on you or my reviews, I’m just in a bit of a fog at the moment, from which I hope to emerge soon, and re sharpen my tongue for more irony and sarcasm laden reviews.

I’m sadly missing Ovid’s Metamorphoses group, in which I longed to participate, but the personal metamorphosis which is taking place at the moment is proving to be more transformative than even Ovid could hope to influence on me.

Still reading all your wonderful, witty, charming, insightful, inspiring ... and, most gratifyingly acerbic, reviews. They provide such a joyful, sustaining moment in my day.

Isabelle Archer will have to wait another day for my critique; but as she is the very Queen of Procrastination... and even perhaps Prevarication (since she seems to be so good at lying to herself, if nothing else), she won’t mind at all, as she sits through the night, watching for its end, as we all must do, have done.

The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James

The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881.

It is one of Henry James's most popular long novels and is regarded by critics as one of his finest.

The Portrait of a Lady is the story of a spirited young American woman Isabel Archer, who, in "confronting her destiny", finds it overwhelming.

She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates.

Like many of James's novels, it is set in Europe, mostly England and Italy.

Generally regarded as the masterpiece of James's early period, this novel reflects James's continuing interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former.

It also treats in a profound way the themes of personal freedom, responsibility, and betrayal.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز نوزدهم ماه نوامبر سال1976میلادی

عنوان: تصویر یک زن؛ اثر: هنری جیمز؛ مترجم: مجید مسعودی؛ نشر: تهران، در دو جلد، سال1348، در866ص، جلد دوم در31ص و433ص؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده19م

عنوان: تصویر یک زن؛ اثر: هنری جیمز؛ مترجم: مجید مسعودی؛ ویراستار: عنایت سمیعی؛ نشر: تهران، نیلوفر: شرکت انتشارات علمی فرهنگی، چاپ دوم از ویراست دوم سال1390، در798ص، شابک9789644484964؛

شخصیت اصلی داستان، چنانکه ‌از عنوان کتاب برمی‌آید، یک زن جوان به ‌نام: «ایزابل آرچر» است؛ «ایزابل» دختری «آمریکایی» و معصوم و جذابی‌ است، که ‌بنا به ‌پیشنهاد خاله‌ ی خویش خانم «تاچت»، و زیر پشتیبانی او، از «آمریکا» به ‌«انگلستان» می‌آید؛ «هنری جیمز» داستان را که پنجاه و چهار فصل دارد، و ترجمه ‌ی فارسی آن در866صفحه ‌است؛ در «انگلستان» و در محوطه‌ ی چمن وسیع خانه‌ ی خاله‌ ی «ایزابل» آغاز می‌کنند؛ حاضرین در صحنه، ‌سه ‌نفر هستند، که ‌هر سه ‌نقشی تعیین کننده، ‌در زندگی «ایزابل»، ایفا خواهند کرد؛ این سه تن «شوهر خاله‌ ی ایزابل آقای تاچت»، «پسر خاله ی ‌بیمار و دوست داشتنی او رالف»، و «دوست خانوادگی تاچت‌ ها لرد واربرتنِ سی و پنج ساله‌ ی جذاب، مجرد و بسیار ثروتمند»، هستند

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 15/10/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 04/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

n  The writing style of Henry James elevates the book, I can’t imagine anyone else writing this story and having such control over the narration as Henry James had.n
It’s a remarkable, stubborn work that requires the reader’s full attention, concentration, and engagement throughout the whole reading process.

In many ways, the character of Isabel Archer is a modern, new kind of heroine: The American girl. Her personality is strongly ruled over by curiosity, intelligence, and free spirit. The beauty in Isabel lies in her liberal nature, the inner qualities that make her magnetic to all of the observers in the novel, they make her a sort of a celestial body pulling and maintaining her satellites in their orbit.

The impression that the reader has of Isabel, the one which James is presenting, can be seen as a collection of individual experiences that the characters have with Isabel. Just like, Lord Warburton, Ralph Touchett, Caspar Goodwood, Henrietta Stackpoole, Gilbert Osmond, Madame Merle, etc. observe Isabel and paint their Portrait of a lady, so does the reader.

We see Lady Isabel Archer through multiple points of view, left to draw our own impression on her character. There is no concrete, fixed idea of who Isabel is, even the characters change their opinion of her as the novel progresses. Henry James managed to present one life seen through many people around it and still it not being an accurate representation of that life.

n   “We see our lives from our own point of view; that is the privilege of the weakest and humblest of us all.”n

In that context, the true antagonist of the novel wasn’t Madame Merle and Gilbert Osmond with their manipulative scheme, but the cold, dispassionate, lifeless aestheticism.
Both Osmond and Ralph are avid collectors of art, relatively young, rich, and with no distinctive career, both have a similar fascination with Isabel, one wishes to possess her and the other to observe her, the main difference is that Ralph gains the sympathy of readers because he feels the guilt of his actions that lead Isabel to the life she otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance to live. Both belong on the same scale on different ends, framing Isabel as a work of art, not an individual.

On the other hand, Isabel has only one goal – to reach independence and to live freely. Clearly, social expectations put certain pressure on her, but her true problem is her tragic flaw: her immaturity and inexperience. She doesn’t know of the existence of people as Osmond, Mme. Merle. She is attracted to Osmond because he presents something new, unseen, left to be filled with substance. He draws her in with his surface appeal of independence and mystery.
A characteristic of Isabel is that she wants to live and experience everything on her skin, she reaches independence on the closing pages of the novel – her decision is left to be carried out outside the sight of any perceiver, the reader included.

n   ‘‘Do you know where you are drifting?’’ Henrietta went on, holding out her bonnet delicately.
‘‘No, I haven’t the least idea, and I find it very pleasant not to know. A swift carriage, of a dark night, rattling with four horses over roads that one can’t see—that’s my idea of happiness.’’n

The conclusion of the novel echoes just as loudly as the closing of the door at the end of Ibsen’s Noora, both women are left to do with their lives what they want, achieving liberty.

A forte of Henry James is the brilliance of the form, the stylization of the language, the beauty of a wide array of words, phrases used in the novel.
I believe that if one would read this novel, read it carefully, they would understand life closely – more intimately than before.

n   "The peril for you is that you live too much in the world of your own dreams. You’re not enough in contact with reality––with the toiling, striving, suffering, I may even say sinning, world that surrounds you. You’re too fastidious; you’ve too many graceful illusions. Your newly-acquired thousands will shut you up more and more to the society of a few selfish and heartless people who will be interested in keeping them up.’

Isabel’s eyes expanded as she gazed at this lurid scene. ‘What are my illusions?’ she asked. ‘I try so hard not to have any.’

‘Well,’ said Henrietta, ‘you think you can lead a romantic life, that you can live by pleasing yourself and pleasing others. You’ll find you’re mistaken. Whatever life you lead you must put your soul in it––to make any sort of success of it; and from the moment you do that it ceases to be romance, I assure you: it becomes grim reality! And you can’t always please yourself; you must sometimes please other people. That, I admit, you’re very ready to do; but there’s another thing that’s still more important––you must often displease others. You must always be ready for that––you must never shrink from it. That doesn’t suit you at all––you’re too fond of admiration, you like to be thought well of. You think we can escape disagreeable duties by taking romantic views––that’s your great illusion, my dear. But we can’t. You must be prepared on many occasions in life to please no one at all––not even yourself.’n

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n  Update: 15.12.2021.n I tried writing a review for the book and failed, Henry James has me stupefied by his greatness, I haven't stopped thinking about Isabel Archer ever since I finished this novel - which is the highest praise for any book.
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n   The absolute perfection of a novel!n

I admit it took a while(more like 200 pages) for me to really get into it, but I am so glad I continued reading - such a pleasant surprise, definitely will be thinking about this book in the next few weeks(my book is full of annotations) or so.
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The language is unbelievably exceptional…..
the power - the seduction - the story - the characters - [complex yet translucent and comprehensible] ….was brilliantly written.
My enjoyment was plentiful….
….the themes about freedom, choice, searching for one’s own identity, marriage, resistance of victimization, sexual equality, how people behave, relationship entanglements, manipulation, drama…
it’s all there ….
and….
Isabel Archer was a fascinating- innocent, intelligent, personality of a protagonist!

“The danger of a high spirit was the danger of a high inconsistency”.

“There are only two types of class…
….people I trust…
And
….people I don’t…
Luckily Isabell fell into the first type of class”…..

“Isabell‘s originality is that she gave the impression of having independent thoughts totally of her own”…..

“She had effaced herself when he first knew her; she had made herself small, pretending there was less of her than there really was”.

“Don’t make me out too old, Isabel patiently answered.
You come back to that very often, and I’ve never denied it. But I must tell you that, old friends as we are, if you had done me the honor to ask me to marry you I should have refused you on the spot”.

“This subtle modulation marked a momentous discovery—the perception of an entirely new attitude on the part of her listener. Madame Merle had guesssd in an instant that everything was at end between them, and in the space of another instant she had guessed the reason why. The person who stood there was not the same one she had seen hitherto, but was a very different person—a person who knew her secret. This discovery was tremendous, and from the moment she made it the most accomplished of women faltered and lost her courage. But only for that moment. Then the conscious stream of her perfect manner gathered itself again and flowed on as smoothly as might be to the end. But it was only because she had the end and you that she was able to proceed. She had been touched with a point that made her quiver, and she needed all the alertness of her will to repress her agitation. Her only safety was in her not betraying herself. She resisted this, but the startled quality of her voice refused to improve—she couldn’t help it—while she heard herself say she hardly knew what. The tide of her confidence ebbed, and she was able only just to glide into port, faintly grazing the bottom. Isabel saw it as distinctly as if it had been reflected in a large clear glass. It might have been a great moment for her, for it might have been a moment of triumph. That Madame Merle had lost her pluck and saw before her the phantom of exposure—this in itself was a revenge, this in itself was almost the promise of a brighter day. And for a moment during which she stood apparently looking out the window, with her back half-turned, Isabel enjoyed that knowledge. On the other side at the window lay the garden of the convent; but this is not what she saw; she saw nothing of the budding plants and the glowing afternoon. She saw, in the crude light of that revelation which had already become a part of experience to which the very fragility of the vessel in which it had been offered her only gave an intrinsic price, the dry staring fact that she had been an applied handle hung-up tool, as senseless and convenient as mere shaped wood and iron. All the bitterness of this knowledge surged into her soul again; it was as if she felt on her lips the taste of dishonour. There was a moment during which, if she had turned and spoken, she would have said something that would hiss like a lash. But she closed her eyes, and then the hideous vision dropped. What remained was the cleverest woman in the world standing there within a few feet of her and knowing as little what to think as the meanest. Isabel’s only revenge was to be silent still—to leave Madame Merle in this unprecedented situation”.

Written in 1881…..
understandably a classic masterpiece.

This is only the second Henry James novel I’ve read …
I read “Turn of the Screw”, years ago….
I’m thinking about “The Golden Bowl” …. for my next Henry James novel…but not immediately….

It’s clear Henry James books could be read and re-read —
….that to absorb all in one reading is highly unlikely.

masterpiece. best of James