The novel The Portrait of a Lady is universally accepted as Henry James's masterpiece. Through his whole writing career, Henry James expands the international theme and plays it to the peak. Compared with the other writers residing in foreign countries in the same period, James's attitude towards the different cultures of the two continents is tolerant. And he has a cosmopolitan mind but not just a satirical description of the cultures. He tries to give a special solution to the cultural conflict through his international novels. That is the ideal culture he longs for.The important difference is that the Americans pay more attention to the pragmatism, but the Europeans focus on the form and etiquette. The Americans appear to be natural, and the Europeans pursue the perfect form. Thus the Americans give a sense of sincerity, and the Europeans are paying more attention to elegance. So the Americans or Europeans cannot accept others'culture easily. And most of James's protagonists are portrayed as simple, small type, while the Europeans are more sophisticated and sleek type. But in James's eyes, both the America culture and Europe culture have their own merits and demerits; only the combination of the merits of the two continents is an ideal American culture.Henry James's novels are known by exploring the international themes, which originated from his own cultural identity. Henry James's cultural outlook is dynamic but not static. His attitude towards the relationship between Europe culture and America culture is changing over time. He denounces the lacking of American culture in his early works, and at that time his mind is full of Europe culture. He forms his own particular identity by denying critique. During his middle age, he begins to reflect, to experience and accept his local culture; in his later life, he becomes a cosmopolite, and explores the cultural fusion actively between the different cultures. While James is in the pursuit of self-identity, he tries to achieve his ideal of cultural fusion, which is known as his ideal culture. This also shows the difficulty in achieving the cultural fusion.In regard to James's literary works, it is the novels in dealing with the transatlantic conflict of cultures between America and Europe, more particularly, it is the American "innocence" and European "sophistication" are widely discussed. Some of the intercultural communication theories are used as the guidance in this thesis, attempts to explore the following issues:James's ideas of culture, in detail it is his ideal culture; his attitude towards the different cultures of America and Europe; and the solution given by James to cultural conflicts. This thesis gives an analysis of Isabel who pursuits her freedom by her own way from a new perspective. In the novel she tries to achieve James's ideal culture through her marriage choice. It is James's strong belief of his ideal culture endows Isabel the ability to decide her own fate at the crossroads of life, thus make her become the potential achiever of James's ideal culture.In the novels of Henry James, there is a sharp contrast between the Europe elegant culture and America materialistic culture. Europe has a long history, a thick cultural atmosphere, and forms a stable cultural circle. The elites of Europe work together and they make a significant contribution to literature, music, and sculpture. The people around the world are attracted by such brilliant culture. From the European, we always can see the noble and elegant attributes. But the America artists lose such attributes. In contrast to Europe, Americans believe in materialistic culture. And they pay more attention to materialism and pragmatism. The pursuit of money becomes a social mood. The wide spread of materialism makes a cultural deficiency of Americans'mind.The thesis is composed of introduction, main body and conclusion. In the introduction, Henry James's life and achievements are briefly introduced, and at the same time a summary of the novel is presented. Most of the previous studies on James's novels are focused on his international theme, and lots of them are just a comparison between the different cultures. This thesis is trying to discover something deeper rather than the simple comparisons. In detail it is the ideal culture Henry James longs for. The main body is divided into four chapters. Chapter one is a brief introduction of literature reviews and literary criticisms about Henry James and his novels. Besides, the identity negotiation theory is explained too. Chapter two talks about the particular environment at that age, which makes a strong influence on James's conception of "culture". In detail, the particular environment includes his growing-up experience, the large historical, social and cultural background, and Mathew Arnold's ideas on culture also deeply influence James's cultural outlook. The author of this thesis believes that here James does not just make a comparison or contrast of the different cultures between the two continents, in fact, he shows his reflection over American culture, especially to the materialism and individualism advocated by Emerson, and he is tiring to establish the national culture. The American "innocence" not only means pure morality, but also conveys the meaning of ignorance. And the European "sophistication" not only refers to corruption, but also refers to maturity and intelligence. Only the merge of Europe culture and America culture is the ideal culture that James longs for. Chapter three is a research on James's ideal culture expressed in Isabel's marriage choice. And chapter four is a study on James's ideal culture in the tea ceremony of The Portrait of a Lady.In fact, James's international novels become a faithful record in the process of forming his cultural outlook. And in his international novels, his bright expectations for American culture are showed out. The cultural conflicts James explores, and the solutions he gives in achieving cultural fusion thus become guidance for us to treat and absorb the alien cultures in the intercultural communication. |