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''The Portrait of a Lady'' is a novel by
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
, first published as a serial in ''
The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' and ''
Macmillan's Magazine ''Macmillan's Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine from 1859 to 1907 published by Alexander Macmillan. The magazine was a literary periodical that published fiction and non-fiction works from primarily British authors. Thomas Hughes had co ...
'' in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular 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, "affronting her destiny," finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of
Machiavellian Machiavellianism or Machiavellian may refer to: Politics *Machiavellianism (politics), the supposed political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli *Political realism Psychology *Machiavellianism (psychology), a personality trait centered on cold an ...
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 The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
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.


Plot summary

Isabel Archer, from
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
, is invited by her maternal aunt, Lydia Touchett, to visit Lydia's rich husband, Daniel, at his estate near London, following the death of Isabel's father. There, Isabel meets her uncle, her friendly invalid cousin Ralph Touchett, and the Touchetts' robust neighbor, Lord Warburton. Isabel later declines Warburton's sudden proposal of marriage. She also rejects the hand of Caspar Goodwood, the charismatic son and heir of a wealthy Boston mill owner. Although Isabel is drawn to Caspar, her commitment to her independence precludes such a marriage, which she feels would demand the sacrifice of her freedom. The elder Touchett grows ill and, at the request of his son, Ralph, leaves much of his estate to Isabel upon his death. With her large legacy, Isabel travels the Continent and meets an American expatriate, Gilbert Osmond, in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
. Although Isabel had previously rejected both Warburton and Goodwood, she accepts Osmond's proposal of marriage, unaware that it has been actively promoted by the accomplished but untrustworthy Madame Merle, another American expatriate, whom Isabel had met at the Touchetts' estate. Isabel and Osmond settle in Rome, but their marriage rapidly sours, owing to Osmond's overwhelming egotism and lack of genuine affection for his wife. Isabel grows fond of Pansy, Osmond's presumed daughter by his first marriage, and wants to grant her wish to marry Edward Rosier, a young art collector. The snobbish Osmond would prefer that Pansy accept the proposal of Warburton, who had previously proposed to Isabel. Isabel suspects, however, that Warburton may just be feigning interest in Pansy to get close to Isabel again, and the conflict creates even more strain within the unhappy marriage. Isabel then learns that Ralph is dying at his estate in England and prepares to go to him for his final hours, but Osmond selfishly opposes this plan. Meanwhile, Isabel learns from her sister-in-law that Pansy is actually the daughter of Madame Merle, who had had an adulterous relationship with Osmond for several years. Isabel pays a final visit to Pansy, who desperately begs her to return someday, which Isabel reluctantly promises to do. She then leaves, without telling her spiteful husband, to comfort the dying Ralph in England, where she remains until his death. Goodwood encounters her at Ralph's estate and begs her to leave Osmond and come away with him. He passionately embraces and kisses her, but Isabel flees. Goodwood seeks her out the next day but is told she has set off again for Rome. The ending is ambiguous, and the reader is left to imagine whether Isabel returned to Osmond to suffer out her marriage in noble tragedy (perhaps for Pansy's sake), or if she is going to rescue Pansy and leave Osmond.


Major themes

James's first idea for ''The Portrait of a Lady'' was simple: a young American woman "affronting her destiny," whatever it might be. Only then did he begin to form a plot to bring out the character of his central figure. This was the uncompromising story of the free-spirited Isabel losing her freedom—despite (or because of) suddenly coming into a great deal of money—and getting "ground in the very mill of the conventional."


Literary significance and criticism

''The Portrait of a Lady'' has received critical acclaim since its first publication in ''
The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', and it remains the most popular of James's longer fictions. Contemporary critics recognise that James had pushed the analysis of human consciousness and motivation to new levels, particularly in such passages as Chapter 42, where Isabel meditates deep into the night about her marriage and the trap she seems to have fallen into. James made an in-depth account of Isabel's deepest terrors in his preface to the 1908 ''New York Edition'' of the novel. More recent criticism has been levelled by feminists. In particular, Isabel's final return to Osmond has fascinated critics, who have debated whether James sufficiently justifies this seemingly paradoxical rejection of freedom. One interpretation is that Isabel feels as honour-bound to the promise she has made to stepdaughter Pansy as she does to her marriage to Osmond, and that she believes the scene her "unacceptable" trip to England will create with Osmond will leave her in a more justifiable position to abandon her dreadful marriage. The extensive revisions James made for the 1908 ''New York Edition'' generally have been accepted as improvements, unlike the changes he made to other texts, such as '' The American'' or ''
Roderick Hudson ''Roderick Hudson'' is a novel by Henry James. Originally published between January and December 1875 as a serial in '' The Atlantic Monthly'', it is a bildungsroman that traces the development of the title character, a sculptor. Plot summary Ro ...
''. The revision of the final scene between Isabel and Goodwood has been especially applauded. As Edward Wagenknecht noted, James "makes it as clear as any modern novelist could make it by using all the four-letter words in the dictionary that
sabel Sabel may refer to: * Sabel (TV series), ''Sabel'' (TV series), a Philippine soap opera * Sabel (surname), a Germanic surname * Sabel (film), ''Sabel'' (film), a 2004 Philippine film * Antonette Ruth Sabel (1894-1974), music educator See also

...
has been roused as never before in her life, roused in the true sense perhaps for the first time in her life." James's verbal magic allowed him to both obey and evade the restrictive conventions of his day for the treatment of sexuality in literature. Critic Alfred Habegger has written that the main character of ''Portrait'' was inspired by Christie Archer, the protagonist from Anne Moncure Crane's novel ''Reginald Archer'' (1871). Crane (1838–1872) may have influenced James, who Habegger considers was interested in Crane's female characters. In the preface to the 1908 ''New York Edition'' of the novel, James referred to several of
George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...
's female protagonists as possible influences on this novel. Habegger questions this and quotes others as doing the same. In another critical article, "Rewriting Misogyny: ''The Portrait of a Lady'' and the Popular Fiction Debate", Paul M. Hadella mentions the similarities with Crane.


Adaptations for stage and screen

In 1884, when the actor
Lawrence Barrett Lawrence Barrett (April 4, 1838 – March 20, 1891) was an American stage actor. Biography A native of Paterson, New Jersey, Barrett was born in 1838 to Mary Agnes (née Read) Barrett and tailor Thomas Barrett, Irish immigrants who had settle ...
wanted James to turn the novel into a play, James replied that he did not think it could be done. In his opinion, given in the preface to the New York Edition, the best scene in the book consists of Isabel sitting motionless in a chair. The story was adapted as a Broadway play by William Archibald, which opened in December 1954, with
Barbara O'Neil Barbara O'Neil (July 17, 1910 – September 3, 1980) was an American film and stage actress. She appeared in the film ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ' ...
in the role of Madame Serena Merle. In 1968 the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
produced a television miniseries of '' The Portrait of a Lady'', starring Suzanne Neve as Isabel and
Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show '' Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shō ...
as Ralph Touchett. ''The Portrait of a Lady'' was adapted in 1996 by New Zealand director
Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...
, into a film starring
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...
as Isabel,
John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...
as Osmond, and
Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...
as Madame Merle. It was also adapted into the
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
Parchaiyan''. It was translated into Urdu by
Haseena Moin Haseena Moin (20 November 1941 – 26 March 2021) was a Pakistani dramatist, playwright and scriptwriter. She wrote several plays for stage, radio, and television. She was the recipient of the Pride of Performance award for her services to the ...
and the central characters were played by Rahat Kazmi, Sahira Kazmi, Talat Hussain and Shakeel.


Editions

* James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. Mifflin and co., 1881 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. Mifflin and co., 1882 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. Vol.2, 1908 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady'', 1910 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady'', Macmillan and co., 1921 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. Oxford: World's Classics, 1981 (ed.
Nicola Bradbury Nicola Anne Lulham Bradbury D. Phil. (born 1951) is an English literary critic, lecturer, editor, and author, specializing in the 19th century novel. Life Bradbury was born in Weston-super-Mare, the daughter of Robin J. Bradbury and Joan Lulham, w ...
), * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. Bantam Classics, 1983 * James, Henry. The Portrait of a Lady, Penguin Classics, 1984 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. Bantam Books, 1987 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady'', Knopf, 1991 * James, Henry. ''A Norton critical edition The Portrait of a Lady'', Norton and co., 1995 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1997 * James, Henry. The Portrait of a Lady, Penguin Classics, 2003 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. with illustrations, 2016 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. Macmillan Collector's Library, 2018 * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady'', reprinted in pdf file for free use Planet publish ''The Portrait of a Lady'', http://www.planetpublish.com/free-ebooks/178/the-portrait-of-a-lady/


References


Sources

* ''
The Great Tradition ''The Great Tradition'' is a book of literary criticism written by F R Leavis, published in 1948 by Chatto & Windus. Highlights of the book In his work, Leavis names Jane Austen, George Eliot, Henry James, and Joseph Conrad as the great English ...
'' by
F. R. Leavis Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis (14 July 1895 – 14 April 1978) was an English literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for much of his career at Downing College, Cambridge, and later at the University of York. Leavis ra ...
(London: Chatto and Windus 1948) * ''The Novels of Henry James'' by Oscar Cargill (New York: Macmillan Co. 1961) * ''The Novels of Henry James'' by
Edward Wagenknecht Edward (Charles) Wagenknecht (March 28, 1900 – May 24, 2004) was an American literary critic and teacher who specialized in 19th century American literature. He wrote and edited many books on literature and movies, and taught for many years at ...
(New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. 1983) * ''Modern Critical Views: Henry James'' edited by
Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking wor ...
(New York: Chelsea House Publishers 1987) * ''The Portrait of a Lady: Maiden, Woman and Heroine'' by Lyall Powers (Boston: Twayne Publishers 1991) * ''Meaning in Henry James'' by Millicent Bell (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 1991) * ''A Companion to Henry James Studies'' edited by Daniel Fogel (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press 1993) * ''Henry James: A Collection of Critical Essays'' edited by Ruth Yeazell (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall 1994) * ''The Cambridge Companion to Henry James'' edited by Jonathan Freedman (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press 1998) * ''Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece'' by
Michael Gorra Michael Gorra (born 17 February 1957) is an American professor of English and literature, currently serving as the Mary Augusta Jordan Professor of English Language and Literature at Smith College, where he has taught since 1985. Writing and t ...
(Norton 2012) * Funston, Judith E. "Crane, Anne Moncure." American National Biography Online, Feb 2000 * * James, Henry. ''The Portrait of a Lady''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. * Lamm, Kimberly. "A Future for Isabel Archer: Jamesian Feminism, Leo Bersani, and Aesthetic Subjectivity". ''The Henry James Review''. Project Muse. Volume 32, 2011. 4 February 2013. * Jöttkandt, Sigi. "Portrait of an Act: Aesthetics and Ethics in The Portrait of a Lady". ''The Henry James Review''. Volume 25.1, 2004.67–86. 4 February 2013.


Further reading

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External links

* *
Original magazine publication of ''The Portrait of a Lady'' (1880–81)


* ttp://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=57§ion=notes Note on the various texts of ''The Portrait of a Lady''at the
Library of America The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published over 300 volumes by authors rang ...
web site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Portrait Of A Lady, The 1881 American novels 1881 British novels American novels adapted into films American novels adapted into plays British novels adapted into films Novels by Henry James American novels adapted into television shows British novels adapted into television shows Novels first published in serial form Novels set in Florence Novels set in Rome Works originally published in Macmillan's Magazine Works originally published in The Atlantic (magazine)