The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

Henry James, in sketching his Portrait, takes a young, idealistic woman and explores the detour her fortunes take when she inherits a fortune from her uncle. Isabel Archer's aunt proposes to escort her across Europe after her father dies. Isabel charms her relations and so finds herself financially independent upon her uncle's decease. Isabel is largely self-educated, having spent much of her adolescence steeped in books; from literature she extracted a varied brew of self-aware knowledge and untempered opinions. "She had a theory that it was only on this condition that life was worth living; that one should be one of the best, should be conscious of a fine organization (she could not help knowing her organization was fine), should move in a realm of light, of natural wisdom, of happy impulse, of inspiration gracefully chronic."

Isabel has lots of theories, in fact, and her newfound riches allow her to execute them. "She always returned to her theory that a young woman whom after all everyone thought clever should begin by getting a general impression of life." Isabel embarks upon her European tour. While she considers marriage important, she strives to achieve a destiny and identification without having to marry advantageously. She refuses the hands of several worthy suitors, but she is eventually captivated by a destitute widower whose good taste, veneer of decorum, ostensibly humble existence, and good favor by Madame Merle, a friend of Isabel's, do much to recommend him to her. Defying the misgivings of her relatives, she weds him.

Though she is years in discovering it, Isabel's marriage is solely mercenary on her husband's part. When a wedding occurs in the very middle of a book, depend upon it to be unfortunate. Isabel learns that Madame Merle is the illegitimate mother of her husband's daughter, and the motive behind Merle's encouragement of the courtship becomes apparent to her. Distraught over this discovery, Isabel flees to the bedside of her dying cousin, whose deteriorating health adds to her agony. After his funeral, an old suitor beseeches Isabel to run away with him and salvage some sort of happiness out of life, but she steadfastly refuses and returns home to a husband who despises her.

Isabel makes the right decision. The climactic scene is deeply reminiscent of Jane Eyre's refusal of Mr. Rochester; both women decline the fervent pleas of men to forsake their scruples and disregard the eyes of the world. Isabel's ideals may not have prevented her from being deceived when the correct path was obscure, but they allowed her to choose wisely when the decision was clear.

The story elicits many moral lessons, though from what I understand James was averse to viewing fiction in such a didactic manner. Money often causes more problems than it solves. Consult one's family in matters of romance; their sensibilities are not clouded by the illusions of infatuation. Accept responsibility for the byproducts of mistakes. Have an open mind, but not one too open. Take care as to whom one invites into confidence; even the least likely can harbor ulterior motives.

James retains vestiges of the traditional view of women as inferior. When Isabe speaks in illogical tautology, it is considered characteristic of gender. "'Because it's not,' Isabel said femininely. "I know it's not.'" And later, James remarks, "She knew how to think- an accomplishment rare in women." At the risk of disparaging my gender just to make myself look better, I'm sometimes half inclined to agree.

James' writing involves a delightful dearth of symbolism, making the book eminently accessible. He desires solely to analyze a young woman's fate when her free will is enhanced by pecuniary freedom, and the result is blatantly apparent. Stocked with a surfeit of self-assurance, she is easily ensnared, and, along with her bookish ideals, is beset by the terrible actuality of reality. But she is not vanquished entirely.