An Analysis of Isabel Archer’sTragedy in The Portrait of a lady

1.Introduction

The Portrait of a lady was James’s first unquestioned masterpiece which talks about the misfortune life of main character Isabel Archer. This thesis is divided into three parts. The first part is about the interior factors which are her characters. The second part is about the exterior factors of her tragedy. The social and economic restrictions were imposed on average women of the 19th century. The third part is about her marriage. She becomes confined to the prison of the loveless marriage.

2.Interior Factors for Isabel’s Tragedy

2.1Isabel’s Romance of Herself

“Isabel Archer was a young person of many theories; her imagination was remarkably active.”（Henry James l981： 40） James tells us， “She had an unquenchable desire to think well of herself” （41）. Though Isabel has a great fund of self-awareness， her approach to life is too romantic， idealistic and theoretic.

When we first see her she is reading a history of German thought. And the narrator continues to say， “Her reputation of reading a great deal hung about her like the cloudy envelope of a goddess in an epic.” （27）. When Mrs Touchett offers to take her to Europe， she shows great excitement and joyance. “To go to Florence，” says Isabel， “I’d promise almost anything！” （22）. Even so， Isabel admits that she does not hate the house or the circumstance of her early life. “I like places in which things have happened，” says Isabel， “—even if they are sad things” （21）. From all of those things， we get impressed by Isabel’s particularity and romantic disposition. She romantically believes that the world lies before her to choose and to do whatever she will. And she has chosen： she has staked her whole life on her need and her right to choose. It is her choice， as we will note afterwards， that leads her to tragedy.

2.2Isabel’s Narcissism

Isabel’s narcissism is reflected by the superiority she holds for herself. She takes pride in her Aunt Varian’s high opinion that she is writing a book. She needs not display actual accomplishments to convey the idea of her superiority. And Isabel’s self- gratifications are associated with intolerance for frustration： “It seemed to her often that her mind moved more quickly than theirs， and this encouraged an impatience that might easily be confronted with superiority” （47）. She doesn’t want to be tied up because of her narcissism. And she rejects others’ love and pursues her freedom. As a result， she comes across a seemingly talented American painter in Florence and has a loveless marriage.

3.Exterior Factors for Isabel’s Tragedy

3.1The Time Isabel Lived in

During the 19th century， it was believed that men and women played different social and familial roles. Men were considered to be active， dominant and materialistic， while women were supposed to be passive， submissive and domestic. We can see from these that a good girl should be well-behaved and support men. When they become a wife， it was the wife’s duty to bury her superiority and exhibit loving and cheerful submission. Husband was the head of the family; wife ought to submit herself to the head of the family. In this time， Isabel was affected by these thoughts. From these things， we can know that why she has a loveless marriage and her tragedy.

3.2Isabel’s Wealth

Her cousin loves her and persuades his father to give Isabel a rich heritage. And her destiny changes because of the heritage. She thinks that there is freedom because of nothing. This heritage becomes her pressure and she decides to give it to others. Osmond gets married with her just because of her heritage that’s one reason why she cannot get the true love. Just like her friend said， “For such a girl as Isabel， this huge wealth can only be a hidden curse” （177）.

4.Isabel’s Marriage

Isabel Archer chooses to return to her unhappy marriage which reflects the thoughts in 19th century affect them deeply. Since her marriage， she is driven by her sense of duty to please， to content her husband. Isabel’s feelings after her marriage are brilliantly expounded by one sentence in Chapter 41： “… she sometimes felt a sort of passion of tenderness for memories which no other merit than that they belonged to her unmarried life” （368）. The following sentence suggests a lot： “It was surprising， as I say， the hold it had taken of her—the idea of assisting her husband to be pleased” （366）. When she rejects the divorce， her tragedy would continue. She would always have a loveless marriage.

5.Conclusion

Isabel’s tragic fate is built up carefully and gradually. Her lack of maternity becomes a crucial clue for her fate. In the novel， Isabel’s mother dies in her childhood and is hardly mentioned. Both her aunt and her friend fail to take the role. And the maternal absence leads to her need for narcissistic. Her narcissism makes her become detached from her suitors Caspar Goodwood and Lord Warburton， while the appearance of Gilbert Osmond creates a fake maternal atmosphere for her. It is the flaws in her character that lead her step by step to her downfall. Isabel， with her romantic illusions， her penchant of grand definitions， her innocent belief in an ideal of happiness， her inconsistent mind， her self-sufficiency as well as her problem aestheticism， certainly provides an easy victim for the factual and conventional society in which she finds herself. Therefore，her tragedy is consequent.

References

1.Fowler. Virginia C 1983 Henry James’s American Girl [M]， Wisconsin： The University of Wisconsin Press.

2.James， Henry 1981. The Portrait of a Lady [M] Oxford： Oxford University Press.

3.Leon Edel 1963 The Conquest of London [M]New Jersey： Englewood Cliff， N.J. Prentice-Hall， Inc.

4.Richard Chase 1957. The American Novel and its Tradition [M]， London： The Johns Hopkins University Press.