As can be inferred from the title, this novel is really a character study, and what a fascinating – and occasionally infuriating – character Henry James created with Isabel Archer. As I was reading, I wasn’t sure if I liked or despised her, I recognized myself in some of her behaviors, and shook my head at others. Wonderfully realized and complex, it’s impossible not to be fascinated with Isabel, so I get why her three suitors just won’t leave her be.

Isabel is very modern for the time at which “Portrait of a Lady” was written: stubborn, highly intelligent and fiercely independent; but she lacks worldly experience, so she makes willful choices that aren’t always the smartest. In a typically American way, Isabel desires above all the freedom to make her own choices. But the freedom to choose often entails the freedom to makes mistakes: this is essential to self-discovery, of course, and Isabel being full of contradictions (and a rather high opinion of herself) she will not let herself be swayed from doing exactly what she wants to do…

We all make mistakes: that’s life, and no mistakes would make for rather short and boring novels. But I am confused as to what Mr. James is trying to say about female independence: how independent is Isabel, really? Freedom entails responsibility, and I found Isabel rather capricious and immature in her reasoning: it seems to me that she rejects Goodwood and Lord Warburton more to show that she can than for any other reason, as if to show off her capacity to say no. She admits to wanting to be happy, and not knowing what happiness is all in the same breath. Poor Henrietta tries really hard to tell her she needs to keep her wits about her, but Isabel reacts to that the same way teenage girls react when their mother scolds them: by being defiant and sulky and throwing the baby out with the bathwater. She wants to be strong and assertive and while she claims that bad choices are hers to make, that doesn’t make them any less bad. Her lack of experience allow the deviousness of Osmond to work with ridiculous easiness: he just has to not fall all over himself to get her attention as she is fascinated and seduced. Gawd, teenage girl behavior, again! Idealism is great, but realism is important too: the world does not adapt to our whims, and Isabel learns that the hard way.

In some ways, this felt like the urban version of “Far From the Madding Crowd”: pretty headstrong lady with three beaus who makes all the wrong decision and is too proud to admit she put her foot in it up to the ankle. The difference here being that Mr. Goodwood, Lord Warburton and Mr. Osmond are all detestable. At least Bathsheba had Gabriel Oak, but poor Isabel only has a pile of louts… It was also hard for me to not think of “Liaisons Dangereuses” while reading “Portrait”: Isabel is no hare-brained Cécile, but in Ralph Touchette’s words, she gets caught just the same – there are no scandals, but plenty of misery. The general ambiguity that permeates this novel like a fog is fascinating: Is James praising feminism, or does he think it’s a doomed effort? Is he pro-marriage, or virulently against it (I mean, find one happy union in this book… go on… I’ll wait…)?

When Isabel realizes that she married a pretentious poser, she knows she has no options but to put up with it, because she can’t bring herself to do anything she would consider dishonorable. That, and her pride won’t allow her to show she is unhappy, even to her closest friends. She also considers the welfare of her stepdaughter very carefully: the repercussion of a scandal would affect Pansy and her chances of escaping the scheming her father and his acolyte probably have in store for her.

I am a huge Edith Wharton fan, and I knew James had been her close friend and inspiration, so I knew I would enjoy his work, but I also found it a lot less engaging than Wharton’s. It took me a while to read “Portrait of a Lady” because it was a strangely impersonal reading experience: I didn’t feel much for any of the characters besides a mild pity that they should all make such unhappy lives for themselves. Osmond and Madame Merle are certainly malevolent and manipulative, but I was expecting them to be more outrageous in their behavior towards Isabel: their villainy is not at the same level as the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil. As lovely as the writing was, the whole novel ended up feeling a bit too flat to really be enjoyable: I never felt immersed in the world on the page, and while this might have been deliberate on James' part, I did not enjoy feeling so remote from the story I was reading. This was disappointing, because I had heard so many people rave about this classic, and I thought I would love it. 3 underwhelmed stars.

"Portrait of a Lady" has been gathering dust on one of my tbr shelves for years because I stupidly thought it would be a chore to read. I was so wrong! I loved it! A profound novel that is riveting and brilliant with an ending that has left my head spinning.

I just...I don't know. I have now read The Portrait of a Lady and I'm just feeling a little flat. Like I stubbed my toe on something invisible, and I'm not quite sure what. I'm not sure why this book didn't grab me, I only know it didn't.

Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the recent changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.

In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook

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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ma quel che più lo offendeva, ella non tardò a percepirlo, era ch'ella avesse un suo modo di pensare e un cervello tutto suo. Ella avrebbe dovuto avere una mente asservita lui, attaccata alla sua come un piccolo stralcio di giardino a un gran parco di daini. Egli avrebbe rastrellato gentilmente il suolo e annaffiati i fiori, avrebbe sarchiato le aiuole e raccolto occasionalmente qualche mazzetto. Sarebbe stata una graziosa aggiunta di proprietà per un proprietario già ricco. Egli non desiderava ch'ella fosse stupida, al contrario: proprio perché era intelligente gli era piaciuta; ma si aspettava che la sua intelligenza operasse interamente a favore di lui, e ben lungi dal desiderare che la sua mente fosse vuota, si era lusingato che potesse ricevere un'impronta dalla sua.

Non potevo iniziare questa recensione se non citando uno dei passi del romanzo che mi ha colpito di più, e mi sono dovuta trattenere, perché Henry James sarebbe da citare tutto.
L'ho fatto di nuovo, ho fatto passare secoli per una recensione e continuerò a farlo, perché non ho tempo e da un po' nemmeno un computer, ma questo romanzo stava lì, in attesa che scrivessi qualcosa e ho dovuto per forza ritagliarmi uno spazietto.
"Paesaggio d'anime, tratteggiato da un maestro del realismo psicologico." È così che nel retro copertina viene descritto James, e io non potrei essere più d'accordo, perché dire che i suoi personaggi sono semplicemente ben caratterizzati sarebbe troppo poco. L'eroina del romanzo è Isabel Archer, giovane americana orfana di padre e di madre, che entra a far parte della famiglia inglese della zia, sorella della madre, che decide di occuparsi di lei. Isabel dimostra di essere una ragazza aperta al cambiamento, ben disposta ad imparare e a seguire i consigli della zia, ma ciò non toglie che sia dotata di una coscienza propria e che sogni l'indipendenza. Indipendenza che verrà grazie al cugino Ralph, che la renderà padrona di un'eredità importante.
Isabel Archer è una sorta di eroina anti-eroina, dotata dei soliti bei sentimenti che si trovano nelle eroine classiche ma anche con qualcosa in più. È palese la sua voglia di fare da sé, di viaggiare e scoprire il mondo, ma proprio la sua indipendenza la porterà vicino alla rovina. Sono tanti i personaggi che entrano in contatto con lei e ciascuno di loro cerca di indicarle la strada, sempre sottoforma di un buon matrimonio. Ma lei va per la sua strada e quando questa si rivela essere piena di infelicità e delusioni, non cerca aiuto ma prova a nascondere la sua palese infelicità agli amici di un tempo, senza rinnegare nulla e accettando i propri errori.
L'accostamento con Emma Bovary non mi aveva fatto ben sperare ma una scintilla di speranza nel suo futuro si intravede ancora.
Henry James accosta la vita di Isabel a quella di due antagonisti, se così si possono chiamare, che non vengono presentati come tali al lettore, o meglio il lettore capisce che c'è qualcosa sotto e ha libera interpretazione dei fatti e dei caratteri, capendo così le influenze che possono portare a personalità più deboli, come la piccola Pansy, punto in cui Henry James non lascia un briciolo di speranza.
Curioso poi, che proprio Isabel, che tanto sognava l'indipendenza, si ritrovi poi non padrona della sua vita. Ma se l'ambiguità di quei due personaggi era chiara al lettore, non era ancora chiara ad Isabel, ingannata senza pietà.
A fare da sfondo alle vicende non solo il paesaggio inglese ma anche l'Italia, con Roma e Firenze che rendono questo quadro ancora più bello.
Del suo romanzo Henry James dice:

La prima critica ovviamente sarà che non è compiuto - che non ho accompagnato la protagonista fino alla conclusione della vicenda, che l'ho lasciata en l'air -. Ciò è vero e falso al tempo stesso. Non si dice mai tutto di una cosa: si finisce per scegliere soltanto ciò che sta bene assieme, ciò che ho fatto ha questa compatezza: sta bene assieme. In sé è compiuto: quanto al resto, ci si potrà sempre tornare sopra, in un secondo tempo.

Henry James lascia perciò un finale aperto alla sua protagonista, un ritratto imperfetto e un futuro incerto, a differenza di tutti gli altri personaggi, ma che proprio nelle ultime azioni di Isabel mi ha fatto ben sperare, ritrovando in lei quell'indipendenza che le era stata strappata.

"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.

Un capolavoro fra i capolavori.
Un personaggio splendido, Isabel Archer, la Nuova Ragazza Americana che rifugge anche la più dorata gabbia matrimoniale pur di non rinunciare al suo sogno di totale ed inattaccabile indipendenza, che finisce per trasformarsi nell'antitesi della contemporanea Nora di Ibsen, attuando una ribellione al contrario che la porta non a sbattersi definitivamente la porta di una vita infelice alle spalle ma a rinchiudersi consapevolmente all'interno di essa.
Splendide anche le altre figure femminili presenti nel romanzo, soprattutto alla luce dei loro rapporti con Isabel; la non bella Madame Merle, descritta tuttavia come incredibilmente affascinante, abile manipolatrice degli stessi pensieri della protagonista della quale si finge amica; la giornalista Henrietta Stackpole, eccessiva fin quasi al ridicolo nella sua instancabile difesa dello stile di vita americano ai danni di quello britannico, annientata alla fine del romanzo in tutto il suo essere attraverso il matrimonio con il gentiluomo inglese Bantling ed il suo trasferimento definitivo in Europa, ma tuttavia sincera e sempre presente, con la sua affettuosa amicizia, per Isabel; la dolcissima Pansy, una pagina bianca; la contessa Gemini, chiacchierata e ormai totalmente priva di morale, un foglio su cui troppe mani avevano scritto, cancellato e scarabocchiato.
Un romanzo di incredibile spessore, una prosa inimitabile, il ritratto di una donna - che l'autore non descrive mai nella sua fisicità - che a poco a poco permette inconsciamente che anche tutto ciò che avrebbe dovuto garantirle l'agognata indipendenza la spinga con crescente decisione verso il baratro dell'infelicità; il tutto, simboleggiato dal personaggio di Ralph Touchett, forse fra tutti l'unico veramente innamorato di Isabel, l'unico a non cercare di rinchiuderla in una propria gabbia ma a spingerla, cercando di donarle ciò che ella desidera, in quella fabbricata per lei con grande ed astuta perizia da altri.
Imperdibile.

I would recommend this book if you like:
- Extremely entitled and capricious main protagonist ;
- Very poor decision making ;
- Claustrophobia from being inside a character’s dull head for so many pages ;
- A true effort to convince the reader that Isabel is interesting (EVERY man is love with her, isn’t that the best proof??) while giving her the enticing personality of a plastic chair ;
- People that just sit around to discuss things and never resolve anything ;
- Pointless thoughts, interminable dives into internalized masochism and the queen of denial ;
- A character study from someone that writes like he has never met a woman in his life (or just insufferable ones) ;
- The “I’m not like other girls” of Victorian era.

No offence to Henry James but I was bored out of my mind by this book and never want to read something like this ever again. I can’t remember the last time I disliked a main character that much.

The Portrait of a Lady surprised me. I haven't enjoyed James' books in the past but I absolutely loved this. Complex characters, witty dialogue and dense but lyrical writing style. It definitely has some dense parts that I struggled with but I was amazed by the dialogue and the character development. One star is knocked off because I wasn't as emotionally invested with the ending as I hoped I would be.

Last week while I was waiting for an interview call from an online company that never came through (maybe they got all the English teachers they need?), I picked up a copy of The Portrait of a Lady. Perhaps it is better to say that I picked up a part of the copy. You see, I've read the darn thing so many times it has literally fallen apart. Anyhow, there I was holding a part of my copy, figuring I'll read a few pages while I wait. I ended up reading for an hour and a half (as I said the call never came through). Once again, I was caught in the magic of this book. As I was going through all the underlined parts, I found myself finding new things to underline. I don't typically underline books at all, unless they are study materials, but I suppose I made this copy a study material. What impressed me once again were the dialogues. This time around I even came up with some new interpretations so the rereading proved to be not only enjoyable but interesting. It's always thrilling when you find something new in a classic you love, isn't it?

Curiously though, I wasn't crazy about this book the first time I read it. So I can understand anyone who disliked or was frustrated with this book. If you like Henry James, you'd probably heard about this one. This is his great classic. To be honest, I don't know how I would go about recommending this one. That's probably no wonder, since I found it difficult myself the first time around. If I remember well, when I read The Portrait of a Lady, I was already set on becoming a Henry James fan but still the book was a slow read. As I said, it really grew on me with time but that first read was mighty frustrating. I can certainly see how this book can irritate or even bore someone, it is quite long and there are definitely some slow parts. However, The Portrait of a Lady is a very important novel and a very popular one. As the title says it portrays a lady (Isabel) and a fascinating lady she is. The novel is not just about Isabel, but it portrays an entire society, American and European, with much success I might add. This social portrayal is present in other James' work but here due to the lenght of the novel perhaps, the author really goes about it.

The Portrait of a Lady is really a lovely book, very intelligent, often infused with atmosphere of sophisticated sadness- or at least that was what I’ve sensed more often than not. Isabel's quest for freedom is something we can all identify with. After all, isn't the elusive freedom something we all dream about but perhaps also something that we also don't quite understand.

Even during my first (difficult) reading, I found many things in this novel that I liked, from fantastic psychological portrait of its characters to its social commentary. The story is coherent and even the minor characters are colorful and memorable. There is a lot of attention to detail in this book. Nevertheless, I have to admit that it was nerve-racking to read towards the end. As for the ending, the first time I read it, it just drove me crazy. Simply said, I found Isabel's choices frustrating. When the novel is interesting enough to make you feel really frustrated and even a bit angry, I guess that is a compliment to its writer. With time I learned to appreciate the ending a bit more. It is a tragic story, but a beautiful one. A story so much like life itself- and that is why it must remain a bit unsatisfying. In fact, I think the frustrating ending is the novel's main achievement- it shows us the fragility of life. Who among us hasn't made terrible mistakes?

One of the most enthralling and enchanting novels that I've read in a long, long time. The Portrait of a Lady is early Henry James (written in 1881), and as cliche as it may sound, it is a veritable masterpiece. There is simply so much going on within the covers of this elegantly crafted and sophisticated novel that it will take me a while to sort out my swirling thoughts and emotions upon finishing it. Simply put though, this is the story of the young American woman, Isabel Archer, and her voyage of self-discovery among the staid and traditional landscape of British and European society. Isabel's ability to 'choose', and the 'choices' she makes are the thread that is carefully woven throughout the novel, and it raises her stature as a fictional heroine, in my opinion, to the level of that of an Anna Karenina or Dorothea Brooke. The novel's Chapter Forty-Two--with Isabel, by herself, sitting in the darkened room thinking for most of the night--is perhaps the greatest psychological tour-de-force I've encountered in fiction. I reread that chapter probably four times in a row, and simply marveled at the creative genius that is Henry James in writing this novel and creating the character of Isabel Archer. Stunning stuff!

This is an immensely powerful and profound novel that I am going to reread again very soon. I want to reread it in conjunction with a reading of Michael Gorra's recent book, Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece, a runner-up for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for biography and autobiography. Give me a couple of weeks to reread The Portrait of a Lady and Gorra's book, and I'll be back in an effort to provide a more comprehensive review that will do justice to what just may be the 'Great American Novel'.

Update July 7, 2024--

I just finished my second careful reading of The Portrait of a Lady and it bears up to my earlier accolades. This is a novel of "thought balloons", sure there is a lot of verbal dialog amongst the characters, but James spends a lot of the novel on the internal thoughts of his characters and particularly those of Isabel Archer. Finally, I have to say that I find the character of Gilbert Osmond to be one of the most monstrous creations in literary fiction, rivaling that of George Eliot's 'Henleigh Mallinger Grandcourt' in her last novel, Daniel Deronda. Now, I am going to read John Banville's 2017 novel Mrs Osmond which picks up where James ended his.

Le "Portrait de femme" est le chef-d'oeuvre d'Henry James, le plus important romancier américain pour la periode entre la fin de la Guerre de secession (1861-1865) et la première grande guerre. Ce roman raconte l' histoire d'une jeune héritière qui se fait prendre par un chasseur de fortune. L'idée est très simple voire banale. Le brio est dans les détails.
L'héroine Isabel Archer est aimée de quatres hommes. D'abord il y a Gilbert Osmond un être tout à fait abject qui l'épouse pour son argent. Il y a Ralph Touchett, l'alter ego d'Henry James, qui a les sentiments les plus délicats et les plus purs envers Isabel mais qui est trop bon pour ce monde et meurt à la fin du roman. Viens ensuite, Lord Warburton qui a des intentions honorables britanniques envers elle et Caspar Goodman qui a des intentions honorables américaines. Lord Warburton a le bonheur de finallement jeter l'éponge. Le pauvre Goodman persiste et est train de souffrir au dernier paragraphe du roman parce qu'Isabel l'a encore une fois fuit.
Henry James est la voix d'une époque révolué où les États-Unis etaient à 100 pourcent anglo-protestants et que les seules personnes de couleur vivaient au sud da la ligne Mason-Dixon. Ligne (39°43′15″ N). Il a fait partie d'une genération des Nouvelle-Anglais qui sont allés en Europe afin de devenir artistes. (On pense notamment aux peintres Mary Cassatt et Henry Whistler; aux architectets Louis Sullivan et William Jenney; et aux écrivains Edith Wharton et à la limite T.S. Eliot)
Les rapport sociaux entre les membres de la noblesse anglaise et les patriciens de la Nouvelle-Angleterre constitituent un des thèmes dominants de l'oeuvre d'Henry James. Personnellement je m'en sacre royallement et c'est pourquoi je ne lis jamais plus qu'un roman d'Henry James sur dix ans. Pourtant, il faut reconnaitre que dans le "Portrait de femme" Henry James se sert brillament de ce thème qui normallement m'agace profondement. C'est l'obsession avec la mode de vie de la noblesse anglaise qui pousse le vilain du roman à tous ses actes déloyalles.
Le "Portrait de femme"livre incontournable pour tous ceux qui veulent connaître l'histoire de la littérature américaine.