"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."
----- G.B.Shaw

With no offence to men at all, I quoted the above because of its relevance with this work by Henry James.

Essentially written about the idea of freedom / liberty, its assertion and realization, in the wake of limits imposed by conventions or moral ideals, specifically in case of women, is at the heart of this work. A beautiful Portrait, a work of art. An art work not because the protagonist is looked upon as an object by other characters, but also because one can look upon the portrait, marvel at the depth of her character and contemplate what her final gesture meant.

While Ralph, her cousin, is amused by her and helps her to inherit a fortune, if only to witness what the liberal woman would make of it, a reader looks upon her, empathetically. While Madam Merle orchestrates (arranges) her meeting with Osmond and make sure that she marries him, the reader is appalled at the apparent innocence on her face. While Osmond thinks of her as a material to work with, thereby decorating his house with her, the reader is apprehensive about her next step. While Mr. Goodwood never looses interest in her life and come back again and again to see how she is living, the reader is curiously stirred by mere thought of a passion.

So everyone, including the reader, look upon her, judge her decisions and contemplate her steps.

But this work by James is not mere that. It is a reflection upon the ideal of freedom and its execution in a woman’s life; an action, struggle and the consequent decisions taken, by choice. This is what James has achieved with this work; that liberty is not only an ideal but a responsibility too. Though the reader may not approve of her step at the end, keeping in mind the betrayal of trust brought about by Madam Merle and Osmond, but it is to kept in mind that her decision at the end is her own will too. A will which comes not merely from the limitations imposed but also from the vow to remain true to oneself. In Isabel’s case, it must be attributed to her choice to remain present in Pansy’s life.


P.S.A star less because of the apparent infatuation of H.James with aristocracy; big houses, paintings, idle ways, travels and interestingly, no one seemed to be doing anything of importance whatsoever other than taking an interest in Isabel’s life.

“Her old habit had been to live by enthusiasm, to fall in love with suddenly-perceived possibilities, with the idea of a new attempt.”

Henry James, I do love you! I thought I did, but it had been such a long time, so many books and so many classic authors ago that I read you, I wasn’t sure. This was your test, and you aced it.

The Portrait of a Lady is a very special novel for a number of reasons, foremost for the writing. There are some places you just like to be, and I like to be surrounded by Henry James’ words. His prose is like a big fluffy cloud I just love to float around in. The best specific I can give about his style is this. I read this book over a three month period, stopping for lots of other books in between, sometimes for weeks at a time. Every single time I went back to Portrait, the characters were still fresh in my mind. I knew exactly who they were. James paints them with such care. Yes, he spends a little time at it, but when he’s done, we have, well, a portrait if you will; a picture of a character that does not slip easily from our minds.

And what characters James creates! Isabel is a complex heroine. She is unique; we don’t quite understand her. She has ideas about ideas--particularly the morality of them. She wants very much to make her own decisions, and even more to live by her convictions. She wants this very particular type of independence.

We’re given the intricacies of Isabel’s character in combination and contrast with the other complex characters and these beautifully-drawn settings, and it’s like seeing a picture in many different lights. The result is she feels like a real person that, even though I’ve finished reading, I could continue to get to know better over time.

In contrast to this deep and subtle character analysis, the plot is relatively simple, but very engaging. A woman has opportunities, makes choices, and in the process, steps into something quite dark. She learns, and carries on.

“Instead of leading to the high places of happiness, from which the world would seem to lie below one, so that one could look down with a sense of exaltation and advantage, and judge and choose and pity, it led rather downward and earthward, into realms of restriction and depression, where the sound of other lives, easier and freer, was heard as from above, and served to deepen the feeling of failure.”

One of the most interesting themes explored is the idea of freedom. Isabel craves a specific kind of freedom, and she is surrounded by people who demonstrate freedom in different ways. Her cousin Ralph has the money to do what he wants, and is free to adore her with no expectations, because he is a cousin, but also because he is ill and won’t live long. Her Aunt, Mrs. Touchett, is a model of self-centered freedom: traveling when and where she pleases, unveiling her plans to her husband and son only through cryptic telegrams. Her friend Henrietta is a brash reporter who uses her freedom to always speak her mind, whether her thoughts are welcome or not. These characters show us a largely benevolent freedom, but there are others who give us the dark, malevolent side: freedom deprived, freedom distorted, freedom withheld.

It is in times of difficulty, so it seems, that we learn how strong our convictions are.

I love Isabel, for the ideas that drive her and for her uniqueness. As she goes on living as that almost-real person in my mind, I find myself wishing her well.

“But it seemed to her that she had done something; she had done what she preferred.”