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I know Henry James is not everyone’s cup of tea but I love the long sentences, the way the story kind of oozes along, the psychological analysis, it’s good stuff! James was well aware what people thought of his stories. In the introduction to Portrait of a Lady he writes,
I’m often accused of no having ‘story’ enough. I seem to myself to have as much as I need — to show my people, to exhibit their relations with each other; for that is all my measure.
And that is what he does, examines relationships.
In Portrait of a Lady we have the young American Isabel Archer whose father has just died. Her two older sisters are married and Isabel is left with only a small income and no idea what to do with herself. Her aunt swoops in from England and whisks her to Gardencourt where Isabel meets her uncle, Mr. Touchett and cousin Ralph. The Touchett’s are American expats who have more or less gone native, so to speak.
Isabel is naive and energetic, she wants to live life to its fullest on her own terms. She is without guile and so utterly charming that all the young men seem to fall in love with her. She left a suitor behind in America who eventually follows her to England in hopes of getting Isabel to marry him. Ralph’s friend and neighbor, Lord Warburton, is smitten and within days of meeting Isabel proposes. Isabel turns them all down because she is too well aware of the trap marriage will make for her.
Ralph loves Isabel too but keeps it to himself. Instead of asking her to marry him, when Mr. Touchett dies, Ralph asks that he settle a large part of his estate on Isabel. Ralph wants to see what kind of person and life Isabel will have when she has the money to do whatever she pleases.
At first it all goes well. But then Isabel falls into the clutches of Madame Merle who is nothing but gracious and perfect on the outside but a wicked schemer on the inside. Madame Merle sets up Isabel with Gilbert Osmond, an American expatriate living in Italy. He has a young daughter, Pansy, and a sad story of his wife’s death. He has no money but exquisite taste revealed in his collections of art and other items. Isabel is such a unique piece of work herself, plus she has money, so Osmond turns on the charm and adds Isabel to his collection by convincing her to marry him.
Of course it is not a happy marriage. Isabel refuses to properly fit into Osmond’s collection. There is much that happens with Isabel and Lord Warburton, with Pansy and her suitors, with Osmond and Madame Merle. Many times Isabel is offered the chance to escape her marriage but she refuses to leave out of sheer stubbornness and a belief that she made her bed and now she has to lie in it.
There are exciting secrets revealed. Marital arguments. Threats. For nothing happening there is quite a lot that happens! The ending is infuriatingly ambiguous. Isabel went to England against Osmond’s wishes to attend Ralph on his deathbed. Afterwards she returns to Italy but we are not sure if she returns to Osmond or if she returns to rescue Pansy from the convent Osmond has put her in as punishment.
Isabel is a frustrating character. She is independent and smart and speaks her mind. Yet she is always trying to be the good wife. She submits to Osmond as best she can, but her nature will only allow her to bend so far before she rebels. So she suffers both mentally and emotionally. It is well within her power to do something about it but she refuses. I wanted to yell at her. Ralph and Lord Warburton do. Well, they don’t yell, they are gentlemen after all, but they express their concern and strongly urge Isabel to leave. But the ending leaves us hanging. Will she go back to Osmond? I like to think she won’t but I don’t feel confident in that.
Isabel’s marriage is in direct comparison in many ways with the independent Henrietta Stackpole, feminist, journalist, and friend of Isabel. Henrietta and Ralph’s friend Mr. Bantling hit it off and begin traveling together. It is an entirely unconventional relationship but it works. Eventually Henrietta and Mr. Bantling get married but it is on Henrietta’s terms and we can believe that theirs will be a successful marriage. I loved Henrietta, she is what Isabel wanted to be (kind of) but couldn’t manage. The novel would be fun to reread some time and compare the two women and their marriages more carefully.
I read Portrait of a Lady along with Danielle. I liked it a lot more than she did but I think we both enjoyed it. It is one of James’s most popular long novels and if you are wanting to try Henry James and are a bit nervous about it, I think Portrait of a Lady is a good place to start.
I never for one minute entertained the possibility that she would go back to Osmond. She can, at least, learn from her mistakes!
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Jeanne, I don’t feel as confident as you do! She is well aware that she made a mistake but all along she has been of the mind that she needs to take responsibility for her mistakes and so remain with Osmond. I’d like to think that Ralph shook her out of that but I can’t be entirely sure! 🙂
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You’ve almost convinced me. I skipped over some parts of your review
because I didn’t want to know too much. I’ve read Daisy Miller twice and
Turn of the Screw twice—guess it’s time to give POAL a atry—but not yet!
Still, I’m encouraged, thank you.
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booksandbuttons, almost convinced you? I’ll take that! 😀 If you have read Daisy Miller and Turn of the Screw you will do just fine with the novel.
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I am glad you like it…I really do like Henry James and his writings, but I could not bring myself to like Portrait of a Lady…I mean Isabel had so much potential but she chose to do nothing with it, even after she realizes that she made some bad decisions…that submitting to Osmond was something I never got and found kind of contradictory to her fundamentally independent character!
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cirtnecce, Isabel being so infuriating is all part of the fun of the novel! One could very well argue that Ralph’s gift of his inheritance was what sunk her boat, and what does that say in the end about money? It’s a really rich book I think and Osmond is a delicious bad guy.
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I absolutely love PoL – it was the novel which made me want to study literature at University. As you say, she’s such an enthralling, infuriating character – and Osmond is such a wonderful villain. Jane Campion’s film adaptation is exquisite, too.
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widget, ah, that is marvelous! To be inspired to study literature by Henry James 🙂 Osmond is so wonderful because he is so bland seeming, so outwardly proper. But the things that go on behind closed doors! I will have to be sure to watch Campion’s film!
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Interestingly, I’ve been reading this novel together with some friends.
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Di, what fun! I hope you have been enjoying it!
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Yeah I have, so far, though sometimes it’s a bit frustrating.
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Di, oh yes, definitely frustrating, and it only gets worse!
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I have had a copy sitting sitting on the shelf in my bedroom for about a decade. I keep telling myself I will start it “next week,” but instead I dust around it. I didn’t read all of your review, because I want to be surprised. (I stopped at the third paragraph) But I got the gist that you liked it, and none of your suggestions have disappointed yet. I will definitely get to it…next week. (Only now I think I really will).
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Grad, I totally understand how that goes! And while PoL is really good, it isn’t exactly new and shiny or an exciting page turner. When you do get to it, I hope you like it!
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This was the first Henry James novel that I read and is still my favourite. I have to admit that I only read it in the first place because we had a BBC adaptation of it here in the 60s with Richard Chamberlain playing Ralph. I don’t know if it is available on DVD but if it is it is well worth seeking out.
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Alex, it’s a good novel with some really good characters in it. There is a newer version of the film from 1996 with Nicole Kidman as Isael and John Malkevitch as Osmond 🙂
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Not a patch on Richard Chamberlain 😉
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Ha! You made me laugh! He was dreamy for his day, I will give you that!
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I read this the first time with eyes drooping because it felt so SLOW. But I was persuaded to give it another go and while I can’t say I’m a James fan I did at least appreciate POAL significantly more second time around. As for the ending, I do hope she doesn’t go back to Oswald but am not convinced she didnt
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BookerTalk, I thought it had a zippy beginning but it does slow down not in a bad way I don;t think, but you definitely can’t be sleepy when reading it, not good bedtime reading. Or it is if your object is to fall asleep 😉 I hope you have better luck the next time around!
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I am halfway through right now (side note to Di – I won’t need 4 more weeks, I guess). Osmond is not even a bad guy at this point.
As far as long sentences and ooziness go, this seems pretty middling. Middling even for James, right? Nothing like those big late novels, like The Golden Bowl. But also nowhere near, I don’t know, László Krasznahorkai. I guess it depends on what you’re used to. Some of the book, especially the dialogue, seems pretty zippy to me, sometimes too zippy, like it’s from a 1930s Hollywood comedy.
The Campion film is quite good. She makes some interesting changes. Not just changes required for adaptation – she is pursuing her own ideas.
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Tom, oh yes, it has a very zippy beginning and is funny, but after the halfway mark I found it began to slow down and the end of the story is a long time in coming. Not in a bad way though. Definitely one of James’s more plot-y novels though. Glad to hear the Campion film is good. I think I will try to get my hands on it sometime. I look forward to your thoughts on the book, I’m sure you will tease out all sorts of interesting bits 🙂
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Really neat to read both of your perspectives and like I mentioned in Danielle’s post, I haven’t read any Henry James but I think I would like to although I may go with a shorter book first! I think I’m a bit scared by all those long sentences 🙂
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Iliana, glad you enjoyed them both! Those long sentences aren’t so bad really. He is so good at constructing them I hardly notice when one goes on for a whole page 🙂 A good shorter work to try is Turn of the Screw. It has excellent creep factor. And for something not creepy, The Aspern Papers is pretty good. 🙂
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It’s really funny how when you read a novel in school, and it’s been a while (20 years!) you’re only left with vague impressions of it… or maybe that’s just me! I do remember reading POL and really liking it. I think it’s great that you include “classic” literature in your reading – I mean to but don’t get around to it very often. As you said in an earlier comment, shiny new books are hard to resist!
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Laila, nope, not just you at all! I am quite familiar with those vague impressions of novels read in school long ago! Shiny new books are hard to resist, but I like a good classic too, hard to find a balance sometimes!
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Hmmm, you are making me want to try Henry James again! I tried one (Washington Square, I think) and didn’t finish it, which at the time was rare for me. But I’ve been reading a lot of old short stories for a project I’m doing, and I’m really enjoying them and the different rhythm they have compared to most modern books I read. I can’t really put my finger on what it is. Maybe that they feel more leisurely in pace and spend more time describing characters? I don’t know. But I wonder if I would be in the right frame of mind for some Henry James now. Maybe I’ll suggest it to my book club. We try to sprinkle in a classic from time to time.
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Tungsten Hippo, maybe try some of James’s short stories or novellas? He was very good at that form too. Turn of the Screw and Aspern Papers are both excellent. I completely understand what you mean about the different rhythm of old stories compared to modern ones. It can be quite a refreshing change.
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I like your take on the Henrietta S. angle–I didn’t give her as much thought as I should have and think she needs more attention really. I always thought Isabel was so assured but in comparison, it is really Henrietta who is and who is more self-confident and unbending and knows her own worth. In thinking about it–she is a very good foil, and Isabel dims just a tiny bit in comparison. I think she wants to be independent but by possibly going back to Osmond she just caves in and isn’t true to her self. It makes you wish there had been a sequel! 🙂 Thanks so much for reading along with me-I’m not sure I would have stuck it out, but in the end, it was of course, very worth it.
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Danielle, thanks! I liked Henrietta. She was actually based on a real life person. I wrote down her name somewhere but then of course I couldn’t find it! Henrietta was great and always true to herself, though she annoyed me with her insistence that Caspar and Isabel should be together. I never really liked Caspar and don’t think he would have been a good match for Isabel. Still, he would have been better than Osmond! Thank you too for reading along! I always enjoy them no mater how long it takes us 🙂
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I’m so happy to read this review – I’ve been wanting to try James and was pretty sure I wanted to start with Portrait of a Lady – this just cemented it for me. I see so many quotes & short passages from Portrait of a Lady that I love, I’m excited to immerse myself in his writing.
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Emily, PoL is a good place to start and I hope you enjoy it!
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I loved Portrait of a lady when I read it … But that was a long time ago. All I can say is that it resurrected James for me, after The ambassadors.
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whisperinggums, oh, I came very close to reading The Ambassadors instead of Portrait of a Lady. Is the other one so bad?
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I found it so, but I was in my early 20s … I may feel differently now.
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Oh, I should reread this! It was my first Henry J too, and I was surprised because I’d heard about the long sentences and the difficulty and it was actually very readable. (The Golden Bowl required more concentration.) His characters are so absorbing, I find the way they think and behave and deceive themselves very convincing.
But it’s so long ago! I’d forgotten that Henrietta even existed. Oops.
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Helen, Heh, the first James novel I ever tried to read was The Golden Bowl. I got about ten pages in and gave up. That was a long time ago and I think I would do much better now. His characters are absorbing and he is so good at the psychology. I read a collection of letters between him and William and he mentions trying to put his brother’s theories into his fiction. I think he succeeded!
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