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Isabel and 4 Men
2007/02/02 16:49:53瀏覽343|回應0|推薦0

In Henry James’s The Portrait of a Lady, the major female protagonist Isabel Archer has been observed through the lens of a male’s viewpoint, be it the writer himself or the fictional character Ralph Touchett. Isabel, according to James, is a young and ambitious woman, holding a blind vision to reality, whose distorted awareness puts her at the mercy of the self-destructive inner conflict struggling in her mind. The whole story is about Isabel and her relationships with the four male friends. With properties and social status, the first suitor Lord Warburton is a distinguished nobleman who offers her an opportunity to glimpse the higher world of aristocratic and political dominance. Yet for Isabel, Warburton’s proposal seems not a guaranty to a promising marriage life, whereas it is something that is considered as an escape to her fate and to separate her from the chances and dangers of life itself. Therefore, her rejection of Warburton’s proposal suggests her puritan spirituality that gets her away from the social realities of life. Her nephew Ralph adores her extremely but she could not detest it because of ignorance and his illness prevents him from becoming a proper suitor. The third gentleman from America, Caspar Goodwood, expresses his tender love to Isabel for a couple of times but still receives the cold shoulder from Isabel. Her last refusal of Caspar could indicate her denial of part of America that Goodwood represents—the young, strong, uninhibited, and determined. Finally, she chooses Osmond, an expatriate American living in Florence pursuing the life of decadence that turns out to be an obstacle to Isabel’s individuality. Thus, James’s Isabel becomes Osmond’s favorite portrait that could glorify his social position and indulge him in the world of wealth.

 

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