Henry James was one of the m ost influential writers who were interested in the [605763]

Henry James was one of the m ost influential writers who were interested in the
consciousness of the individual and in how the complexities of society and destiny may
influence one’s capacity of action. Among others, the international theme is present in
many of his literary works, including “The Portrait of a Lady” . This theme was a result of
his many journeys to Europe. James originates from a wealthy family from New York
City and he was schooled both in the United States and in Europe where he met
influential scholars. Flaubert was one of the masters who inspired him to make use of
“the right word, the careful planning of the language and structure of the novel so as to
make it an accu rate register of reality” (Gray 262).
After the Civil War, the transatlantic interactions were encouraged because more
and more pe ople wanted to distract themselves from the situation in the United States
and discover new experiences on the European continent. Not only that they wanted to
escape from the post -war affairs but they were also interested, like Henry James, in
“learning t heir craft in Europe because of the dearth of art schools in America”.
(Rennella, Walton 369). These voyages to Europe became a means of personal and
intellectual growth. James also felt that he found something in Europe that America
didn’t have: “the item s of high civilization”, “a complexity of manners and types” (Gray
263) that inspired a novelist. However, he discovered that he could appreciate other
cultures and civilizations without reducing his admiration for his own culture. Therefore
in his first p eriod of writing we can observe a combination of realism and romanticism.
He maintained a “residue of American romanticism” illustrated in the narrative structures
that he chose -“stories of young American pilgrims, dark family secr ets, oppressive
villains ” (Gray 263)- but this residue is accompanied by “habits of realism, empirical
rigor and attention to mannerly detail that James, at least felt he owed to his European
masters.” (Gray 263)
This essay aims at discovering the international theme present in the novel “The
Portrait of a Lady”, starting from Gray’s assertion that the novel displays a “series of
contrasts between Europe and America” (Gray 262). The characters, the societies from
which they come and the traditions and models to which they are acc ustomed play an

important role in contouring these differences between the Old World and the New
World.
The “Portrait of a Lady” tells the story of Isabel Archer who lives in Albany, New
York. After her mother’s death she is looked after by her aunt Lydi a Touchett who brings
her to England in order to live at Gardencourt with her husband and their son, Ralph,
who suffers from tuberculosis. There she encounters Lord Warburton, a wealthy noble
man, whose proposal to marry him she refuses. She also refuses a proposal of another
rich suitor who comes after her from America: Caspar Goodwood. After her uncle’s
death she inherits a large amount of money; it was Ralph who convinced his father to
leave Isabel a larger inheritance. Later in the story she encounters Madame Merle, a
widower and an American expatriate who lives in Florence, Italy. Madame Merle
encourages the interactions between Isabel and her close friend Gilbert Osmond, who
is also an expatriate. Isabel accepts his proposal to marry him without knowin g of their
malevolent reasons and moves with him and his daughter, Pansy. She will soon
discover that Osmond is not the person he pretended to be and because of this
marriage she feels imprisoned. Osmond’s sister, Countess Gemini, will reveal to Isabel
that Pansy’s mother is not Osmond’s late wife but Madame Merle. Isabel realizes that
the only reason Osmond married her was to have access to her fortune. She goes back
to England after hearing that her cousin is dying. She meets Caspar Goodwood who
tries to convince her to flee with him but she returns to Italy, to her husband, accepting
her fate and respecting the promise made to Pansy that she would come back.
The characters will reveal that the social background from which they come plays
an important role in developing the contrasts between England and America , as it has
been suggested by Ike (Ike 25) . America will be reflected by innocence and
independence and Europe by knowledge and high civilization. Although Europe was
regarded as a place of high civil ization, liberation, opportunities and rescue, it will be
illustrated as a land of deceit, of incarceration and of corruption. America will be
reflected by innocence and independence. The contr ast between the two civilizations is
reflected in the contrast between the house from Albany and Gardencourt. The house in
Albany gave “the appearance of a bustling provincial inn” (James 32). The inn is a

symbolic element because people of diverse origins come there to spend the night just
like in America people from different and various nationalities came to settle. It is a
place of simplicity and plainness whereas Gardencourt is presented as having “a name
and a history”, having been built “under Edward the Sixth, having offered a night’s
hospitality to the great E lizabeth” (James 18). Gardencourt reflects the grandeur and the
aesthetic beauty of Europe, its great history and its high and advanced level of
civilization. “Such a contrast made between these two houses suggests that European
culture is rich in aestheti c imaginations, while that of America lacks it or is very poor in
it” (Ike 25).
In this novel the James places “the center of the interest in the conscious ness” of
Isabel Archer (Nettels 73), revealing her conscious mental processes and therefore we
are witnesses to her thoughts, to her moods, to her decisions. She is illustrated as the
American spirit of freedom and independence, as her aunt describes her being the
“sister’s girl […] qui te ind ependent” (James 24) and being characteriz ed by “too much
liberty” (James 69) She was born and raised in a society where there were few
authoritative instances that enforce in a strict ma nner conventions and traditions, as
Gray suggests in his analys is. (Gray 265) Her free -spirited character reaches a conflict
with the rigid rules of an European society and this clash between civilizations is
represented in the episode when she is eager to spend more time with her cousin and
Mr. Warburton but her aunt wants her to withdraw with her because in England young
ladies are not to spend their time alone with gentlemen at night and tells Isabel: “you’re
not at your best in Albany […] Young girls here – in decent houses – don’t sit alone with
the gentlemen late at night (James 69). The young, free spirited American character is
not used to be ing forced to accommodate conventions, but to choose to accommodate
or not. This aspect is also supported by a quote in which her thinking is described as not
being subject to authority. “Her thoughts were a tangle of vague outlines, which had
never been corrected by the judgment of people who seemed to her to speak with
authority” (James 55).
Isabel is very fond of her liberty acquired in America but at the same time she
yearns for knowledge. Isabel is eager to find the ideal model of civilization and of

society. When she first encounters Madame Merle she is very fascinated by her
extravagant nature and by her way of approaching life. She considers her to be the
embodiment of high culture typical of the European society and she is rather
disappointed when she discovers that Madame Merl e is of American origin (Oltean 119)
: “Isabel would never have supposed that she ha d been born in Brooklyn” (James 158).
Although Isabel cons iders Madame Merle the model of high civilization, it was her who
persuaded Isabel to marry Osmond. She deceives her by presenting a fascinating
image of such a moral and decent man in order to make her accept his proposal. Her
superficiality and materiali stic nature are also displayed when she claims that Ralph
Touchett has reached nothing in life because he was too busy being ill while his father
is an illustrious figure because he made a great fortune, because he created his identity
on the basis on this wealth. Although Osmond and Madame are of American origin they
have been altered by the corruptive powers of the opulent Europe. As Ive suggests,
they are the reflection of the demoralizing side of the Europe as they are deceitful and
hypocritical and materialistic. Osmon d also deceives Isabel by conceiving his real self
which is “narrow and selfish” (James 299) as Ralph describes him “He judges and
measures, approves and condem ns, altogether by that.” (James 299) However, Isabel
doesn’t trust his beliefs but she will soon regret her decision to have married such a
man whose only interest was to own her fortune. His superficial and materialistic
attitude is reflected in his forbidding Pansy to marry Edward Rosier. Although Pansy
loves Rosier her father won’t allow her to ma rry him because his fortune is not large
enough, instead he would encourage her to marry a wealthy noble man with a higher
social status that is Lord Warburton. I think that through the character of Osmond
James criticizes the superficiality typical of the European continent. In those times
people were more interested in gaining a larger fortune than being morally contented.
“He and Madame Merle are the typical example of the harm that uprooting and cultura l
displacement can cause”. (Ive 37)
Furthermore, it has been suggested by Professor Oltean that Isabel’s journey
onto the European continent is “made up in fact of a never -ending series of thresho lds,
borders and gates” (Oltean 121). Although Europe represented for Isabel a place of
liberation and of opp ortunities it becomes a place of incarceration. Osmond imprisoned

her free spirit within the limits of their marriage. “He said to her one day that she had too
many ideas and that she has to get rid of them” (James 366). Another contrast between
the two worlds is illustrated in the different images of aristocratic life perceived by two
representatives of the two societies. On one hand, for Isabel, representing the American
spirit, the aristocratic life represents a combination of liberty and knowledge that give
one’s moral sense and enjoyment. On the other hand, for Osmond, the corrupted
Europeanized character, aristocratic life can be only described in terms of materialism,
prosperity and possessions. Thus, the free spirit of America is characterized by
innocence, liberty and morality whereas the corrupted European spirit is characterized
by materialism, hypocrisy and superficiality. Moreover those who were corrupted by the
European spirit were in fact Americans. They could not maintain their American values
and thus they were altered losing their American spirit by being Europeanized. As
Madame Merle asserts they are “not good Americans” but they are “certainly poor
Europeans”; they have “no natural place here” (James 175). But Isabel is the one who
tries to be the most faithful to the American spirit claiming that for her liberty was very
important. “If there is a thing in the world that I am fond of […] it is m y personal
independence” (James 146). But in the end she is deceived by appearances and
illusions and becomes incarcerated in her marriage with Osmond.
Furthermore , another character which reflects the American independent spirit is
Henrietta Stackpole who doesn’t trust the European culture as Isabel does. She is
skeptical about the transatlantic encoun ter; she often makes a comparison between
European and American practices and affairs. She disapproves of the European way of
living and she is very fond of her culture. Ike makes reference to one episode in which
Henrietta emphasizes the differences between Europe and America when she
questions the role of women. Lord Warburton’s sister tells him that she has to go home
but he doesn’t answer because he is preoccupied with his discussion with Isabel. His
sister stands by him obediently while Henrietta tells that “in America the g entlemen obey
the ladies (James 124). Although she appears to have strong opinions she has a clear
and objective perspective. It is Henrietta who tells Isabel that she lives in a world of
illusions and that England is not a place where she can live a romantic life as she

wishes. The reality surrounding her is made of “toiling, striving, suffering, […] sinning”
(James 192).
However Ralph is the real embodiment of the moral model of high civilization
typical of Europe although he is of American origin. He succeeds in maintaining a pure
nature, uncorrupted by the sophisticated spirit of Europe. (Ike 32) He is one of the
characters who h as an objective perspective not being distorted by any malicious idea
or purpose and who has a transparent sight. Although Madame Merle said that Ralph
has done nothing in life because he wasn’t engaged in the activ e reality due to his
malady, it is in fac t this illness that preserved his pure condition and that prevented him
from falling into any evil temptation offered by the European continent. Wuchter
suggests that “being excluded from actively participating in life, Ralph has turned his
attention to th e passive exercise of contemplation” (Wuchter 17). Ralph is an observer
who is not involved in the material world but in the world of ideas and reflection.
Moreover Tanner asserts that “Ralph is the subtly debarred spectator who enjoys
everything in his im agination and nothing in action” (Ta nner 18). His source of joy
consists in “the sweet -tasting property of the observed thing” (James 47) . His illness
prevented him from being active in the material world and therefore h e ignored the
temptations of the sop histicated, corrupted Europe. He is more involved in the world of
imagination as he recognizes his pleasure to observe the people around him. “He
enjoyed the opportunity of observing him” [his f ather] (James 45). He considers seeing
her cousin “at play ” to be “the finest thing in nature”. (James 65). He recognizes this
pleasure of appreciation and admiration in front of his cousin when he says to her “I
content myself with watching you -with the deepest interest”. (James 136). However, i t
has been argued that Ralph “experime nts with his cousin Isabel Archer by convincing
his father to make her a rich woman” (Goodman 14) since h e paid very much attention
to her behavior and reactions . But h is intention was to truly help Isabel to live a free life,
to create her own de stiny, to preserve her “personal independence” because she often
said that these aspects were very important to her and marrying a man would diminish
her liberty. This was actually the reason why she refused Lord Warburton’s proposal.

“The idea of a dimin ished liberty was particularly disagreeable to Isabel at present,
because it seemed to her that she had just given a sort of personal accent to her
independence by looking so straight at Lord Warburton ’s big bribe and yet tu rning him
away from it.” (James 108)

He also addressed the problem of women who wait passively for a man to create their
destiny but he knew that Isabel has clear intentions regarding hers. And his assumption
is supported for instance when she tells Goodwood that she want s to choose her own
fate (James 146). Ralph re alizes that “his cousin was very brilliant […] intelligent and
generous” (James 64) and an independent woman with “intentions of her own” (James
64). He is therefore concerned with her future. His presupposition regardin g her
independent nature has been confirmed because when they discuss about her chance
of marrying Lord Warburton she tells Ralph that she doesn’t “want to begin life by
marrying. There are other things a woman could do” (James 137). She wants to
experienc e life on her own, not being tied to any conditions. Thus he decides to
convince his father to leave her a larger portion of the inheritance so that she would not
be obliged by circumstances to marry a man for financial support. This inheritance
would make her a free, independent woman. He explains to his father that “if she has an
easy income she’ll never have to marry for support. That’s what I want to prevent. She
wishes to be free and your bequest will make her free ”. (James 164). His unselfish and
benev olent nature is marked by this act of generosity as he offers her the freedom of
experiencing life without being dependent on any man. Therefore “ Ralph is indeed an
apostle of freedom but for Isabel he is much more than that: for her he is virtually the
author of her freedom” (Wuchter 25). His only purpose was to help and protect Isabel.
Although he appreciate s her, he is not in love with her. "He wondered whether he were
harboring 'love' for this spontaneous young woman from Albany; but he judged that on
the whole he was not" (James 65). He cares for Isabel and loves her as a sibling and
she represents for him “an open handed gift of fate” (James 64); he even acknowledges
this feeling for her: “I care for nothing but you” (James 64). He had a close relation with
his fath er and without his father his life would become “tasteless” but her presence at

Gardencourt was a pleasant and refreshing surprise that gave him reason to live. His
interest is to take care of her and therefore he is the reason why Isabel’s inheritan ce is a
large one. In spite of the fact that his act triggered the whole action of the novel he is
rather passive and contemplative due to his illness which he acknowledges that is
provoking his passivity. “But I have been absolutely passive.” (Jam es 112) Moreover,
although Ralph’s physical abilities have reduced , his sensorial capacities and intuition
have sharpened in the sense that he succeeds in maintaining a clear perspective of the
others. He presents to Isabel the true nature of Osmond, his selfishness an d
narrowness but she is too blinded by Osmond’s false appearance. Taking into
consideration his generous a ct and his benevolent intensions regarding his cousin I
think th at Ralph represents the uncorrupted model of high civilization . He offers her
freedom and also valuable pieces of advice in order to help her achieve her dream of
experiencing life independently.
In conclusion, the international theme contoured by Henry James is illustrated by
the clash between the American society and the European one, displayed through the
conflicts between the c haracters and through their way of approaching life and the idea
of civilization. I think that James portrayed through the characte rs’ attitude and manners
an image of an innocent America while the European continent took an ambivalent form
of corruption and high civilization.