Customer Reviews

The Portrait of a Lady (Oxford World's Classics)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Isabel Archer, a bright and independent young American, makes her first trip to Europe in the company of her aunt, Mrs. Touchett, who lives outside of London in a 400-year-old estate, she discovers a totally different world, one which does not encourage her independent thinking or behavior and which is governed by rigid social codes. This contrast between American and European values, vividly dramatized here, is a consistent theme in James's novels, one based on his own experiences living in the US and England. In prose that is filled with rich observations about places, customs, and attitudes, James portrays Isabel's European coming-of-age, as she discovers that she must curb her intellect and independence if she is to fit into the social scheme in which she now finds herself.

Isabel Archer, one of James's most fully drawn characters, has postponed a marriage in America for a year of travel abroad, only to discover upon her precipitate and ill-considered marriage to an American living in Florence, that it is her need to be independent that makes her marriage a disaster. Gilbert Osmond, an American art collector living in Florence, marries Isabel for the fortune she has inherited from her uncle, treating her like an object d'art which he expects to remain "on the shelf." Madame Serena Merle, his long-time lover, is, like Osmond, an American whose venality and lack of scruples have been encouraged, if not developed, by the European milieu in which they live.

James packs more information into one paragraph than many writers do in an entire chapter. Distanced and formal, he presents psychologically realistic characters whose behavior is a direct outgrowth of their upbringing, with their conflicts resulting from the differences between their expectations and the reality of their changed settings. The subordinate characters, Ralph Touchett, Pansy Osmond, her suitor Edward Rosier, American journalist Henrietta Stackpole, Isabel's former suitor Caspar Stackpole, and Lord Warburton, whose love of Isabel leads him to court Pansy, are as fascinating psychologically and as much a product of their own upbringing as is Isabel.

As the setting moves from America to England, Paris, Florence, and Rome, James develops his themes, and as Isabel's life becomes more complex, her increasingly difficult and emotionally affecting choices about her life make her increasingly fascinating to the reader. James's trenchant observations about the relationship between individuals and society and about the effects of one's setting on one's behavior are enhanced by the elegance and density of his prose, making this a novel one must read slowly--and savor. Mary Whipple

There are two Portraits of a Lady 1881 and 1908--the novel is perhaps the most beautiful in the language--this edition is marked by John Updike's superb introduction and his gracious reference to Graham Greene's introduction to an earlier edition. Mr Updikes's introduction is wonderfully insightful though I would also suggest Prof. F,O, Matthiessen's brilliant essay exploring the 5000 revisions James made as lucid and essential--Mr Updike I hope will excuse me if I confess Greene's essay is the best I have read--though it unlikely to please academics.

So I urge readers to buy this edition. Having said that I also suggest the Norton edition which contains all the corrections James made in 1908. I have been looking for the 1881 edition--is it in print? Do please leave a comment if you know --thank you.

I really enjoyed this book,. I read it a few years ago, and it really stuck with me. I would give it more stars if I could.

It is so very well written and interesting to read.

Well i read this book in college, and then saw the movie as my first date with the girl I'm gonna marry. This hardcoevr addition was perfect for hidding a ring.