The Portrait Of A Lady: A Cultural Psychoanalysis Approach To Lsabel Archer's Neurotic Structure

In this thesis, I will adopt Karen Horney's cultural psychoanalysis approach to explore Isabel Archer's inner world. The aim of this study is to study her neurotic structure formed under the influence of social culture, and offer better interpretations for her unusual behaviors caused by inner conflicts.According to Karen Horney's culture-psychology pathology, a "neurotic" person is generated not only by incidental individual experiences, but also by the specific cultural conditions under which he/she lives. In fact the cultural conditions not only lend weight and color to the individual experience but also determine his /her particular personality. The neurotic process is a special form of human development.My analysis begins with the introduction of the term 'Basic Evil'. Basic Evil results from disharmony of parenthood. Isabel Archer, in her childhood, suffers from mother's early death and incomplete patrilincal love. In such a family atmosphere, Isabel emerges a sense of insecurity, and shows hostility to people. Basic anxiety, whicji will start the wheels of neurosis, generates under the condition that she oppresses her hostility.Basic Anxiety plunges Isabel Archer into inner conflicts. The main stream of her conflicts reflects her attitudes towards marriage. In European culture, marrying is one of the most important matters best choice for a young lady. Marrying means giving up freedom. Isabel Archer is anxious on irreconcilable conflicts between freedom and marriage. When her potential demands are far away from the realities, hostility, loneliness, and helpless enhance Isabel's sense of anxiety.In order to re-obtain and guard her security, Isabel takes two kinds of defensive measures against anxieties. One is Moving Against People, the other is Moving Away From People, The defensive measures, in the end, worsen interpersonal relations between Isabel Archer and others.Meanwhile, Isabel Archer has an urgent desire for perfection She tries to create an Ideal Image to calm down her inner conflicts. The ideal image can bring self-satisfaction to her. The excessive demands for perfection will result in her blindness on making decisions.We, by the adoption of these ideas, can examine neurotic tendencies in IsabelArcher. The trend in Isabel Archer's neurotic development, in fact, involves a fundamental problem of morality-that of man's desire, drive, or social obligations to attain perfection. The problem of morality results from cultural conflicts between American culture and European culture. Hence, we cannot neglect the influences of social culture in the formation of neurosis. Furthermore, those cultural conflicts are the best materials for Henry James to create his 'international theme' in this novel.