Return Or Not Return-Isabel's Dilemma

As an outstanding American novelist, stylist, and critic, Henry James leaves us with numerous literary and critical works. These works have never really gone out of public attention since they came into being although they may have been ignored for a short period from time to time. The Portrait of a Lady, the best novel of his"middle period,"is perhaps one of the most widely reviewed works of Henry James'. It deals with James'"international theme"and portrays an innocent American young girl in her contact with sophisticated Europeans. The drama is not created by her actions but by the thoughts in her mind.The Portrait of a Lady may dull many people but at the same time interest many others because of its subtle, vivid, and profound presentation of human mind. While readers are fascinated by the inner world of the heroin, Archer Isabel, they are usually equally puzzled first by her refusal of the prosperous English nobleman Lord Warburton and then by her final decision to return to her cruel, autocratic and loveless husband, Gilbert Osmond, when she can escape him by accepting the proposal of her faithful American suitor, Caspar Goodwood. Many interpretations from the reading world are put forward from the perspective of morality, explaining that Isabel returns to Rome to keep her promise to Osmond's daughter Pansy that she will never abandon her. What's more, she must, in the eyes of moralists, keep to her commitment to their matrimony.This thesis is intended to interpret Isabel's choice from the Feminist perspective, arguing that Isabel is not a passive object to be molded by her surroundings, but a conscious subject with strong will to see, to choose, to decide for herself. It is her female agency that finally helps her to regain her consciousness of self and get out of her dilemma when she is faced with the difficult choice as to whether she should go back to Rome. The thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One gives a brief introduction to Henry James and an overview of the critiques and reviews on Isabel's choice and the purpose of this thesis. Chapter Two focuses on a tentative analysis of the characteristics of the protagonist Isabel based on the reading of the text, laying a foundation for further discussion on the female characters and her choice in the later chapters. Chapter Three and Chapter Four respectively deals with two types of women depicted in the text, namely"the muted group"and"the independent women", centering on the two living situations a woman may choose at the time thus pointing out the dilemma Isabel is faced with. Chapter Five reaches the conclusion that Isabel can become neither one of the"muted group", nor one of the"independent women"and that only by developing her own agency can she become a really independent woman.