STUDII DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ ȘI LITERATURI ANGLO -AMERICANE [612819]

UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA
FACULTATEA DE LITERE
STUDII DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ ȘI LITERATURI ANGLO -AMERICANE

LUCRARE DE DISERTAȚIE

Îndrumător științific: Absolvent: [anonimizat]
2019

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UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA
FACULTATEA DE LITERE
STUDII DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ ȘI LITERATURI ANGLO -AMERICANE

FEMALE CHARACTERS IN HENRY JAMES’ NOVELS

Îndrumător științific:
Lector Univ. Dr. Aloisia Șorop Absolvent: [anonimizat]
2019

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CONTENTS

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………….
Chapter I: General aspects of Feminism ………………………………………. …………………………
1.1 Feminist Criticism …………………………………………………………………………………….
Chapter II: Henry James …………………………………. …………………………………………………….
2.1Henry James -Biography ……………………………………………………
2.2 Henry James and the women in his life ………………………………….
Chapter III: 3.1 The Portrait of a Lady with Mentor s…………………………………..
3.2 The Bostonians and the Complications of Marriage ……………………………
3.3 Finding Fulfillment in The Golden Bowl ……………………………………

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………

Works cited ……………………………………………………………………………….

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Introduction
The following work is entitled ’’Female characters in Henry James’ novels’’ and its main focus
is to analyze some of the most prominent characters James created.
The work consists of three chapters. In the first chapter I have approached the topic of feminism
and I have present ed its main features as well as its goals. The subchapter presents theoretical
notions regarding feminist criticism.
The second chapter is dedicated entirely to Henry James. Here I have outlined a short biography
of him presenting important aspects of his life and details about the most important works. In the
same chapter I have written about the most important women in his life and the type of
relationship he had with each of them. Moreover, I have presented the influence these women
exerted on his works .
The third chapter focuses on three of James’ fundamental works: The Portrait of a Lady , The
Bostonians and The Golden Bowl . In this chapter I have focused my attention on the female
characters and I have discussed about the relationships between them, th e mentorships that
occur, the complications of marriage and how each woman has a different perspective upon
their personal fulfillment.

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Chapter I
General aspects of Feminism
The following study approaches works of literature that try to deal with the topic of femin ism—
yet they are under no circum stances typical examples of “feminist literature.” Despite of the fact
that the notion “feminist literature” refers to feminist ideas, the complex nature of feminist
ideology and its diverse political and cultural manifestations represent a concept of “feminism”
which is undoubtedly difficult to define. There are no primary texts or theoretical sources
defining the feminism, its political roots refer to the attempt to obtain equal civil and political
rights for women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and in the efforts made nowadays
for an improved social status for women. However, in the 1970s and 1980s the struggle for equal
rights provided a different concept of liberation; Seyla Benhabib an d Drucilla Cornell indicate
the differences between liberal and radical feminism, by acknowledging that the latter tradition
had its roots in the anarchist, utopian -socialist, and communitarian movements of the previous
century, and that, in contrast with the bourgeois democratic and workers’ movements of
industrial capitalism, this sort of feminism did not have anything to do with aspects like
industrialism, modernization, urbanization, and economic growth. These movements shifted the
focus from the exten sion of universal rights to all, to the need for meaningful relations between
the self, nature, and others (365).
Mary Daly and Susan Griffin, two radical feminists stated that there was a serious need for
finding alternative forms of community, basing the ir statement on the personal and psychological
dimensions of women’s oppression. What is more, the development of feminism as a theoretical
discourse and the incorporation of women’s studies as an academic domain in the 1970s and
1980s made women to invest igate a variety of different intellectual traditions and theoretical
patterns, thus using sources such as Marxism, psychoanalysis, and semiotics. Consequently, to
be able to give a general definition of feminism, I will adopt Alison Jaggar’s formulation, a s
cited by Rita Felski, in which feminism is defined as all those types of efforts that try by no
means to stop the subordination of women (13).
The necessity of subjectivity —the woman as subject, that is — as a foundational category of
feminist discourse is directly related to the development of the women’s movement; the most

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important concern of the first wave of feminist action was to try to obtain more rights and
freedoms for women as well, a preoccupation which has its roots in the fight for worldwide
independence. Yet, the second wave of feminism, which emerged in the late 1960s and early
1970s,outlined the distinctive social, political, economic, and cultural experiences of women. As
a consequence, the existing political patterns seemed unable of handling “the varied constitution
of human subjects and the oppressive consequences of the suppression of difference” (Felski 72);
Liberalism and Marxism seemed no longer as the all -inclusive, definitive political theories, and,
especially in the 1970s, th e political activity ignored the precise dissimilarities between public
and private, personal and political spheres: the political action took economic exploitation and all
forms of isolation and deprivation as its starting point. Young underlines that mov ements of
oppressed groups asserted the right to cultivate their individual civilization and traditions, and
the women’s movement also aimed at supporting women’s needs and culture in a male –
dominated society. The women’s movement, along with other movemen ts of racially oppressed
groups, has produced “an image of public life in which persons stand forth in their difference,
and make public claims to have specific ends met” (381 -401).
A large number of texts referring to female frustration in male society we re published as a result
of the increasing influence of feminism as a major political and cultural movement. The woman –
centered literature focused on women’s disillusionment in stifling, middle -class marriages, as
well as the narratives of the female trans ition to selfknowledge. Although not all woman –
centered texts are feminist, most of the feminist literary works have centered on a female
protagonist, a tendency emerging from the second -wave feminism, in which the notion of female
experience has been of g reat importance. One defining feature of the women’s movement has
been, then, the study of the intimate rudiments of personal experience, which often become the
very point of the feminist narrative. To define feminist literature, then, I agree with Felski in
asserting that one should take account of all those texts that reveal a critical awareness of
women’s subordinate position and of gender as a challenging and tricky territory (14).
1.2 Feminist Criticism
Feminist criticism was instigated as the (female) readers’ response to the content of literary texts,
when sexual stereotyping took place. As a consequence, feminist criticism rendered readers
perceptive of and insightful to the issue of gender, and urged them to monitor the patriarchically

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orien ted political critique .Through the expanded argumentation and critique conducted by
feminist criticism, feminism now also includes aspects of social and personal life that were
previously suppressed —emotion, desire, the body, personal relations —aspects th at are included
in female identity and experience. Boris Frankel ackno wledges that feminism is preoccupied
with the politics of difference, yet many of the social issues involve both sexes and rise above
gender questions: problems such as war, economic pow er, public administration, religion,
education, poverty, legal rights and other public concerns call for a reconciliation of plural
identities with public identities and rights (281 -290).
The separation of public and private spheres, however, acquires poli tical implications for Felski,
who considers this to be a central focus of feminism, taking into account that the exclusion of
women from the public field and their containment within the private domestic realm has been
considered a prerequisite for the em ergence of a public sphere. Female enclosure in the private
domain guarantees, Felski continues, the unity and cohesion of the rational discursive public and
contains desires and emotional needs within the realm of the family, which provides an
emotional r efuge for the male worker while, at the same time, it (the family) constitutes the place
for women’s subordination and exploitation. Felski cites the slogan “the personal is the political”
that connects the supposedly “personal” problems that have affected women —rape, abortion,
child care, sexual division of labor —and affirms that these problems are actually political issues
that involve fundamental questions of power and highlight important aspects of social
organization. The feminist critique, however, ha s ventured to illustrate the personal dimensions
of the political, and examine the ways in which the rational public discourse has depended upon
an exclusion and objectification of a female other which is associated with the realm of the body
and which ins pires deep -seated anxieties and subsequent defense mechanisms. (72 -73).
A revival of cultural and ideological conflicts in the 1970s and 1980s, conflicts that were rooted
in the student and civil rights movements of the 1960s and were accentuated by the wo men’s
movement in the 1970s, expanded the influence of feminist ideology. Although economic and
class interests are still of major importance in determining social development, Felski reports that
the forms of radical opposition have emerged from groups wh ich perceive their interests and
political significance to be in direct conflict with prevailing cultural values. As far as oppression
in social and personal life is concerned, movements such as feminism have distinguished forms

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of discrimination and inequ ality that involve more than simply economics. No longer is it
possible, Felski continues, to perceive the working class as a privileged historical subject or to
assume that the emancipation of the proletariat would wipe out all forms of exploitation (74).
The numerous types and stages of oppression characterize a contemporary society whose
ideological complications and conflicts disturb the self reproduction of capitalism.
The last but not the least feature of feminism, however, is the movement’s interest to gradually
reform and ameliorate the position of women. Contemporary feminism also undertakes the
burden of exploring the current problems of being a woman.
Under no circumstance would feminist thinking justify women’s subordinate position; on the
contr ary, the ultimate goal in exploring these structures is to eventually change them. Rosalind
Coward believes this pledge involves a “double movement” that combines the desire to
understand how the female sex is subordinated with the need to challenge the ve ry idea of natural
sex roles (3). “The problem is,” Coward says, “that of understanding the position of women as a
sex without presuming that being a sex entails forms of natural behavior and position” (3, italics
mine). The contradiction entailed in tryin g to understand women as a sex and the sexual
categories as manufactured implies a separate female history and experiences, thus drastically
differentiating women from men, and admitting major disparities between the sexes.
This suggestion, however, Coward states, erases the possibility that sexual division is socially
constructed, whereas this exact contradiction —women treated as sex, but sexual categories being
social constructions —forms the bottom line of the feminist quest: to explore between
explanatio ns and thus expose dominant ways of conceptualizing sexuality and social relations (3,
italics in the text). Feminism, then, challenges theories of sexuality by revealing the dilemmas
between natural forces and social determination, concerns that lead to a n unresolved dispute
between forms of explanation of sexual relations. Nevertheless, it is not the task of the present
study to answer the problems, questions, and doubts posed by the feminist movement. Feminism,
in relation to realism and other forms of l iterature, constitutes a general framework for the deeper
analysis of the literary works that follow.

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Chapter II

2.1 Henry James –Biography
Henry James is considered one of the great est psychological realists in our time. Honored as one
of the greatest artists of the novel, he is also regarded as one of Ame rica's most influential critics
and literary theorists. During the fifty years of his literary career , which spanned the period from
the end of the American Civil War to the beginnin g of World War I, James created a great
number of tales and novels that fill thirty -six volumes and an almost equal number of volumes of
non-fiction prose, including travel books, autobiography, books of cri ticism, letters, and literary
notebooks.
Henry James was born in New York City on April 15, 1843, into a wealthy and socially well –
known family. His father, Henry James, Sr. lived in the middle of intellectual leader s of the time
and so his children could benefit from the cultural advantages of New England and, more
especially, Europe; before he reached his eighteenth birthday, the younger James had lived
abroad for extended periods on three separate occasions. James could not serve in the Civil War
because of medical reasons, more exactly because of an injury to his spine. Perhaps from the
same reason he never got married. At the age of th irty-three, he established himself in Europe,
living first for a year in Paris and then permanently in England. He becam e a British subject in
1915, a year before his death. The experience he acquired in Europe led him to define the "idea"
of Europe which is essential for one’s understanding of his fiction. In his early years, James
experienced the liberty of Americans to "deal freely with forms of civilization not our ow n . . .
and assimilate" and when he was twenty -six, he trave lled back to Europe, became part of
London intellectual l ife, and bec ame friend of prominent literary figures of the time . He went
back to America in 1870, travelled abroad a gain in 1872 , spent the winter of 1874 -75 in New
York, and finally left Ame rica in 1875, this time forever . In Eur ope, James could explore his
most r ecurring theme: the illumination of the present by "the sense of the past," the American
present illuminated by the sense of the European past .

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James' literary career has been separated into three stages or "periods": the early period, the
middle years, a nd the "later manner" or, more popularly, the major phase. The period of James'
apprenticeship and first success — the early period of his career — is characterized by his
discovery and development of the "international" theme: the study of the American ab road, the
juxtaposition of New World innocence and Old World e xperience, American freedom and
European convention, and an examination of the conflicting values of the two societies. Works
of this period include Roderick Hudson (1875); The American (1877), James' first really
successful novel; Daisy Miller (1879); The Europeans (1878); and the triumphant novel which
ends this period, The Portrait of a Lady (1881).
James' second period, the middle phase of h is career, has also been defined as the period o f his
"social" novels, implying a turning from the international theme to complex social and political
issues set against both New England and European backdrops. Among these type of novels
is The Bostonians (1886) which was not very well received by his pu blic.
The final period of James' career which is also known as the major phase is the period when he
wrote the works which are nowadays considered the peak of his achievement: The Wings of the
Dove (1902), The Ambassadors (1903), and The Golden Bowl (1904). In th ese three novels,
James explored again the "international" theme, but with a more subtle, mature way.

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1.2 Henry James and the women in his life
Henry James is a controversial nineteenth -century British -American author. The fact that he
kept his life quite private made him to become misunderstood. His father was an intellectual
following the religion of Swedenborg and the family moved back and for th from England to the
northeastern United States. All these travels and changes in his life helped him create a number
of relationships and gain a collection of places that would eventually mo ld his work as he started
writing.
Throughout his writing he criticized important aspects of life such as the social hierarchy,
conventional marriage, divorce and feminism. James had many close friendships with women
ranging from authors to actresses to housewives. The p eriod of his writing also happ ened to co –
occur with the height of the nineteenth -century feminist movement, especially in the United
States. At the time, women were expressing their opinions and ideas through conventions,
protests and conversations and their main goal was to obtain the righ t to vote in the United
States. Many of the novels and short stories James wrote present his view of feminism through
the development of the female characters, as well as the situations that arise from the
relationships these characters are a part of. In s ome of his most important novels, The Portrait of
a Lady, The Bostonians and The Golden Bowl , James addresses the topic of feminism. He uses
plenty of relationships, including mentorship, marriage and friendship, to embolden the ideals of
strength and equa lity in his female characters. As he critiques the idea of feminism as mainly
expressed through protests for political rights or the ability to perform roles reserved for men,
James presents the idea of independence for women as the internal fulfillment of their personal
desires that is evolved through social interactions and relationships.
The late nineteenth -century presented a totally different idea of feminism than present time.
Women in England were given the right to vote in 1918. Before 1920, women i n America were
not a ble to vote. Leading up to this , there were many different social and political movements.
The Seneca Fall Convention in 1848 helped to start the careers of many feminist activists in
America at the time. In 1870 women could keep their property in England. (PBS) This was
considered an important deal because previously divorce was hardly even an option, and it was
impossible for women to keep the properties they owned. Women were also making their needs

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heard in other, more subtle ways. W riters such as Edith Wharton and Charlotte Perkins Gilman
were pushing the boundaries of social norms and what a woman’s place in society was. These
efforts have given women a lot more freedom in present day America and England. No wadays,
feminism is consi dered a much more open and national problem than it was when James was
writing. Not to say it was not a hot topic at the time James was writing, but the topic was new to
society and the movement was just beginning to catch on. In his novels, James discus ses what
feminism is to him, a journey of internal achievement rather than a political struggle. Since
feminism is such a broad topic, there are a lot of discussions related to it and implicitly to James
and his ideas on feminism.
One of the main critics is Alfred Habegger, author of Henry James and The Woman Business .
Throughout his book, Habegger has written many articles, discussing some of James’s different
novels, letters and friendships with women. Even though his view changes, many of his articles
generally encourage the idea that James did support women. Another main scholar is Leon Edel,
author of Henry James: A Life , which is a five volume biography of James. In this biography,
Edel discusses many of the friendships James has with women and often refers to their
incorporation int o James’s novels, such as Minny Temple an Edith Wharton. Edel is very
interested in how these relationships add to the women Henry James has created within his
writing.
Another important scholar who joins the conversation is Leslie Petty. In spite of the fact that
Petty did not write a lot on James, she has one article titled "The Political Is Personal: The
Feminist Lesson of Henry James's The Bostonians " that really turns the conversation around on
The Bostonians . Petty finally ranges The Bostonians as a feminist novel, which is not something
that was easily done when it came out. In this way she presents herself as a new critic, with a
new opinion into the conversation of Henry James and feminism, whereas many of the oth er
critics are older.
All of these critics have created a conversation about Henry James and feminism which is in
progress. I will be contributing to it by analyzing some of his novels, and the relationships he
creates between women in these novels. This conversation centers on the women in his life, his
views on the political movements, as well as his treatment of his female characters. Most of these
discussions have been separate thus far.

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To contribute to this growing conversation I will be doing a clo se reading of three of James’s
novels incorporating the women who influenced him in real life in order to discuss how he
contributed to feminism through his belief of a woman’s personal desires. As said before, there
are critics who do not believe James co uld be considered a feminist.
As far as I am concerned, I strongly believe that through studying various novels he has written,
it does prove he supported the women’s movement in spite of the fact that he did not outwardly
express it. James was a sort of o ld fashioned and traditionalist and this is why he did not enjoy to
outwardly express his opinions on controversial issues to many.
James supported the real independence of women and did not always agree with other more
radical approaches such as the large protests going on in cities like Boston and London. This
became the topic of one of these novels I will be analyzing, The Bostonians . James received the
most backlash from feminists after writing this novel because he does critique the feminist
political and suffrage movement.
In my opinion, his view on feminism is reflected through the fact that all the women h e includes
in his works really reflect their individual paths towards independence.
In this paper I will be analyzing three of James’s most pivot al novels, The Portrait of a Lady,
The Bostonians and The Golden Bowl. These novels belong to the beginning, middle and end of
his writing career an d in this way they demonstrate an evolution of his opinion and view on
feminism. The first chapter centers on The Portrait of a Lady and how mentorships help to guide
the main character, Isabel, to where she is supposed to be in life. Her mentors give her the
strength and the ability to cr eate her own opinions and beliefs, some thing which she was not
always able to do in the beginning.
The next chapter focuses on The Bostonians and the different types of marriage seen within the
novel. These types of relationships try to support James’ ide a that feminism is about the
fulfillment of personal desire. They also demonstrate the types of people that are actually against
feminism, rather than those that just have differing opinions as to what it is.
The last chapter, and the final novel James wr ote, is The Golden Bowl . The Golden Bowl focuses
on a female rivalry, as well as friendship, and how these types of relationships give women the

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chance to evolve and discover their own desires. Maggie, one of the main characters, wants to be
a housewife, while her friend Charlotte loves to travel and explore life. James analyzes how both
of these views can contribute to the feminist movement, because both women are pursuing what
they want to become. Here James reaches his final conclusion as to what femini sm means, the
fulfillment of personal desire, as we said before.
Henry James insisted to be surrounded only by intelligent and creative companions. Many of the
friends James visited and wrote to were women, ranging from fellow authors and actresses to his
sister, Alice. The women he talked to allowed him to develop an appreciation and personal view
towards feminism. Although James kept in touch with many women, three stand out as lasting
companions and influences in his life; Mary (Minny) Temple, Alice Jam es, and Edith Wharton.
Each friendship with these ladies took on its own personal and individual relationship. The
influence of these relationships helped shape James’ view of feminism as a male entering into
this controversial conversation. James had a pa rticularly close relationship with is Minny
Temple. Temple was James’ first cousin and, as Leon Edel argues, “Henry James was in love,
but it was a love of an inner sort” (77). Temple was intelligent and charming; “she attracted
young men who could not be satisfied by a pretty face alone” (75). She had tuberculosis, so as
James began to travel abroad he and Temple often could only communicate through letters. As a
mentor, James was fiercely protective of Temple and the small legacy she would leave. Alfred
Habegger compared the original letters of Minny Temple to those published by Henry James in
his memoir Notes of a Son and a Brother . Habegger found that James’ “omissions and alterations
were far more extensive than anyone could have dreamed” (159). Temple was a very free and
flirtati ous spirit and she corresponded with many male and female friends. In Notes of a Son and
a Brother James warned readers that Temple’s letters were “essentially not love -letters.” To
James it was normal for Temple to have friends hips with many men, but to the society during
James’s time this was seen as strange. Although protective of how Temple acted, her spirit
invigorated James and acted as a creative outlet for him. First as the muse for Isabel Archer in
The Portrait of a Lady , followed by numerous other writings, it is clear Temple “became a
legend to [James] during the long years between the time of her death in 1870 and the closing
years of his own life” (LeClair 37).

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Alice James, Henry James’ sister, was one of his closest family members aside from his brother,
William. Alice died at a young age and was sick for a good part of her life. One of her most
notable qualities was her resistance towards the female role in society. Having a sister with such
strong opinions about th e treatment of women in society gave James an early stepping stone
towards forming his own opinion on feminism through writing. Alice often wrote about her ideas
of how women were treated to various friends and family members. In one letter to her Aunt
Kate, also close with Henry James, Alice states “the most I can ever hope to do in this world is
stay out of the way” (The Death and Letters of Alice James). Alice also was in a Boston
marriage with a woman named Katherine Lorring. As Alice’s health continued to decline James
began to take care of her, along with Katherine, shortly before Alice’s death in 1892 (PBS).
Katherine and Alice’s relationship was always a point of conflict between Alice and James.
Despite this, James genuinely cared for Alice and resp ected her opinions and decisions, although
he did not always agree with them. Even after her death, Alice continued to influence Henry,
specifically when he discovered her diary that discussed her life as well as her opinions on
inequality and social stand ing. Even though this surprised Henry, he only had praise for his sister
and her opinions (Fromm). Through their relationship, Alice helped Henry realize he could
discuss his opinions on feminism and gender in a subtle way.
James also shared a special fri endship with Edith Wharton, who was also a writer. They became
close friends around 1900 and they understood each other in a special manner that others did not.
Wharton admired James f or many years before they could meet and “what endeared her to James
was that she possessed also a civilized mind and an artist’s style” (Edel 579). Both critiqued each
other’s work, as well as respected it. Wharton was one of James’s most doctrinaire and
independent female friends, although she was part of a marriage that Jam es did not agree with.
He believed that her husband was not an intellectual, and often prevented her from improving as
an author. However, whenever they visited each other, Wharton “clearly took command” (581)
and James allowed her to do so. She consistently held her own throughout their close friendship,
which was difficult to do with someone as intellectual and opinionated as Henry James. Through
her strong demeanor and intellectual ability, she molded James’s final viewpoint of female
independe nce.

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Chapter III
3.1 Portrait of a Lady with Mentors
The Portrait of a Lady, which is one of James’ earlier novels, was published by James in 1881,
11 years after the death of Minny Temple, the muse for Isabel Archer. In the novel, Isabel
encounters various persons who play the role of mentors, some who sta y to guide her and others
who teach her specific lessons and leave. Her most influenti al mentor throughout the novel is her
cousin Ra lph. Even though there are also some female characters who will be extremely
influential in Isabel’s life.
Isabel is said to be Minny in the imagination of James. She is the representation of Minny and
what she could have become if she lived past 27 years old. Isabel’s special mentorship with
Ralph mirrors that of Minny and Henry. All the mentorships throughout the novel con tribute to
the author’s ideas on feminism. Strong mentor -mentee relationships through female -female pairs,
or male -female pairs co ntribute to the development of a strong and independent woman, similar
to his cousin Minny. Each mentor Isabel encounters affe cts her in a different way and gives her
the possibility to go on with her journey as a woman deciding what she truly wants out of life. .
For the purpose of this argument, a mentor is an individual who guides another individual, the
so- called mentee, thr ough critical stages of life. Sometimes these relationships can be reciprocal
as the role of mentor and mentee can change.
In this work I am focusing on the mentors that play a key role for females in James’ books,
discussing how women develop their person alities and blossom through the influence and
guidance of both men and women in their lives. Cross gender mentorships can have a “risk of
romantic and sexual involvement” which is why both parties “must define the boundaries of
intimacy” (Schwiebert). Love rs cannot play the role of mentors because they put emotions and
personal feelings before the mentorship. With these boundaries set, though, cross -gender
mentorships can be very effective. A mentor is not a person that others imitate but someone
whom they rather try to collect ideas from.
A mentor does not necessarily have to be a good person; some mentors teach lessons to their
mentees before allowing their true, selfish int entions to show. Sometimes the mentor -mentee

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relationship is very similar with that of a parent -child, it reflects a sort of familial relationship,
but not as formal. Firstly, one of the differences is that a mentor is free to express what he or she
wishes and feels without having to control himself or herself, like a parent often has t o do with a
child.
Secondly , a mentorship is a voluntary relationship , unlike parenthood. It is the volunta ry nature
of this relationship which empowers the mentors to suggest what they wish and think is best to
the mentee without as much familial repercussion. Not every blood -related familial relationship
can be seen as a mentorship, but many mentorships can be seen as a family -based rela tionships.
Marco DiRenzo, ChristyWeer and Frank Linnehan have researched these relationships and come
to the conclusion that “the presence of a family -based role model offers synergistic effects that
enable protégés to more fully capitalize on the vicariou s learning and guidance provided by their
mentors” (43).
James uses the mentorship to demonstrate female empowerment is not necessarily a social or
political discussion, but sometimes a personal, introspective one. Mrs. Touchett is the first
woman mentor t hat changed the course of Isabel’s life.
She is an older woman who has a house, a husband and child, but in spite of this she is still able
to travel and do as she wants. She believes that all women should be free to do as they wish and
she is lucky enough to have money of her own to spend.
In contrast to Mrs. Touchett, Isabel has a simple, domestic life and without her as a mentor,
Isabel may not have been able to escape from it. James portrays Mrs. Touchett as Isabel’s savior
from America and a life of t otal simplicity and boredom. Mrs. Touchett is an independent
woman, travelling Europe and often living apart from her husband. In the beginning this is all
Isabel wants; “to go to Florence…[she] would promise anything” (27). Mrs. Touchett could not
only gi ve her this opportunity, but mentor her through etiquette and relationships as Isabel grew
up. When first meeting, Mrs. Touchett tells Isabel “if you will be very good, and do everything I
tell you, I will take you [to Florence]” (27) and Isabel tells her she cannot promise that. Mrs.
Touchett still ends up taking Isabel abroad, because Isabel is “fond of her own way,” (27) a trait
that resonates with Mrs. Touchett. At this moment their mentor ship begins. As a mentor she is a
character that Isabel does not necessarily aspire to be, but can learn from. Isabel quickly realizes

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Mrs. Touchett “doesn't expect one to like her. She doesn't care whether one does or not,” (47)
often demonstrating a harsh and insensitive attitude relating to a stereotype of maleness. While
Isabel appreciates and likes Mrs. Touchett because of this, she does not wish to inherit these
qualities. Isabel is very sensible and sensitive, bu t still strong and independent just like her
mentor. This stark contrast shows the personality differen ce in types of strong, independent
females.
Mrs. Touchett is also the matriarch of her immediate family and the only one living by the end of
the novel. Her husband and son, Ralph, are barely capable of moving around their house,
Gardencourt. This makes Mr s. Touchett the only member of her family who is capable of living,
travelling and being independent whenever necessary. As a consequence, Isabel finds her staying
at Gardencourt boring; however she realizes she is “less advanced in life and less enlighten ed by
experience than Mrs. Touchett” (60) and should embrace Mrs. Touchett’s sense of independence
whether in Gardencourt or Florence. Mrs. Touchett also seems to influence Isabel’s opinion of
marriage for many years, stating “I should be sorry to play her such a trick” (44).
The most important thing Mrs. Touch ett teaches Isabel as a mentor is to be cautious in marriage
and not rush into any relationship. Mr. and Mrs. Touchett are not in love. Mr. Touchett is not a
cruel man in spite of the fact that his wife does everything she wishes, but it is clear if he had the
choice he would not be married.
From the very beginning Mrs. Touchett notices Isabel is similar to her because she refuses to be
held down by anything, including marriage. Mrs. Touchett serve s Isabel to remind her that there
is more to life than men, but also marriage does not have to be a trap. A woman is able to
redefine marriage based on her own ideas, as Mrs. Touchett has done. James does not use Mrs.
Touchett to make sure Isabel d oes not marry, but to help her make the ri ght decision if she
decides to marry.
Another female mentor is Henrietta Stackpole. She is from America, Isabel’s homeland. Whe n
introduced, she is seen as a truly American, always sticking up for her country over any of the
European opinions. This is in contrast to many of the other characters like Isabel and the
Touchetts, who think very highly of Europe compared to America.

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Henrietta is close in age to Isabel, but a force towards whomever she comes into contact with,
making her an acceptable mentor for Isabel.
Henrietta tries to teach Isabel speak her mind and defend her own opinions even if they are not
accep ted by others. This is totally in contrast to the guidance Isabel receives from other mentors
who try to teach her proper European etiquette. Isabel seemingly does not consider the path
Henrietta is trying to show her.
When talking about marrying a European Henrietta says “’if you marry one of these people I'll
never speak to you again,’” while Isabel responds “’ before making so terrible a threat you had
better wait till I'm asked’” (168). When Isabel allows Madame Merle to guide her into a marriage
with Osmond, Henrietta was the first person to tell Isabel that “she liked [Osmond] no better than
[Isabel’s] other admirers” (303). Since she did not like Isabel’s other admirers this certainly is
not much of a compliment.
The main difference between Henrietta and Isabel’s other mentors, is that she speaks her mind
and is also an avid women’s rights activist. She prov ides a totally different path of guidance for
Isabel away from societal conventions. As The Portrait of a Lady progresses, it seems as though
Isabel is also a mentor for Henrietta. This shows a mentor -mentee relationship can be reciprocal.
Henrietta meets Mr. Bantling and decides to marry him, even if she is aware of all the negative
aspects that a marriage involves. Isabel does not discourage Henrietta despite of the fact that she
herself has a loveless marriage. All the mentorships in the novel give the c haracters the
opportunity to learn from each other’s advancements and also mistakes. Henrietta is also shown
as a more forceful mentor figure. Instead of guiding Isabel, she often pushes situations onto
Isabel. Casper visits Isabel multiple times because “ Mrs.Stackpole let [him] know” where Isabel
was and even tells him she “would be willing to see [him] (155) even though this is grossly
untrue. As a mentor she means well, but instead of allowing Isabel to make her own decisions,
Henrietta attempts to make them. This is a more hands on type of mentorship, expanding further
upon the mother -daughter undertone in many fem ale-to-female mentorships. As a women’s
rights advocate, Henrietta also wants what is best for Isabel. To her it seems as though Isabel and
Casper could be a good, supportive couple. Although she does not always support the decisions
that Isabel makes, she continues to try and give her empowering alternatives even has Isabel
pushes her away. Henrietta’s evolution as Isabel’s mentor shows James’s evolution of a women’s

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rights activist and the idea that in the end t he most important thing is the fulfillment of each
individual woman.
Madame Merle seems to be another mentor to Isabel. She is apparently a strong, powerful
female character. James’ goal is to demonstrate that there can be fake and disguised mentorships
and that people are capable of everything only to achieve their needs.
Her manipulation shows that James does not consider all strong female characters are strong
mentors, or even good people. Madame Merle appears to be “a woman of strong impulses kept in
admirable order” (179) to Isabel. Immediately Isabel is drawn to her personality and outward
sense of confident independence. Madame Merle struggles to keep up appearances she believes
“a large part of [herself] is in the clothes [she] choose to wear” (205). This is a proof of what
James hates about society at the time, esp ecially where women are involved.
Madame Merle represents the kind of woman for whom materialism is the only way to succeed
in life . James is interested in the inner self and how females grow through the development of
their mind and aspirations. Madame M erle is the mere representation of what James hates about
a social, feminist approach. Isabel ends up married to Osmond because of Madame Merle’s
influence as a mentor. Marriage is often still expected in society, especially as a woman of high
status. Alth ough through this Madame Merle does create a new goal and path for Isabel, it is
based on the detrimental goals society imparts on a woman. This displays how not all female
“mentors” are true, good intentioned mentors because they are female. For Madame Me rle
mentorship is something which she uses as a disguise rather than a bond in the life of a female.
Madame Merle quickly succeeds to drag Isabel into a life driven by material interests and depart
her from her aunt.
James seems to criticize this external ly possessive way of living, especially as Madame Merle
states “’One's self —for other people —is one's expression of one's self; and one's house, one's
furniture, one's garments, the books one reads, the company one keeps —these things are all
expressive.’” (205). Material things such as furniture and dresses shoul d not influence the way a
woman is perceived, as Isabel replies “My clothes may express the dressmaker, but they don't
express me” (206). Although at first Isabel is not able to realize the type of woman Madame

21
Merle is, she eventually becomes aware of the fact that Madame Merle is not the type of person
she should allow to influence her.
Madame Merle uses Isabel as an instrument to get closer with Osmond as well as gain more
material items and trips. When Isabel becomes aware of Madame Merle’s real reasons she tells
her “I think I should like never to see you again” and Madame Merle agrees quietly stating “I
shall go to America” (572). This is the first time Isabel truly frees herself from the negative
influences around her. Although Isabel did not always listen to her other mentors, such as Mrs.
Touchett and Henrietta, she shows her abilit y to grow and this also demonstrates she has gained
a lot of knowledge and inner strength from their advice and help. Isabel’s sparkling personality
shines through even when Madame Merle controls and plays with her.
There are many other characters that ca nnot be considered as mentors for Isabel. These include
Caspar Goodwood, Lord Warburhton and Gilbert Osmond. As I mentioned before when I
described a mentor, they cannot have any interest of love for one another. In spite of the fact that
Isabel did not tr uly love these men, they loved her.
First, Caspar Goodwood chased Isabel because of a strange obsession he had for her. It was
obvious from the beginning that he came to Europe for his selfish reason and not because he
wanted to help Isabel. Caspar state s in a letter to Isabel “[y]ou will remember that when you gave
me my dismissal at Albany, three months ago, I did not accept it. I protested against it…I had
come to see you with the hope that you would let me bring you over to my conviction” (101).
Caspa r tries to change Isabel’s opinions on marriage because he believes in this way he will
succeed to marry her. In spite of the fact that Isabel repeatedly asks him to stop and leave her, he
always ends up showing up again.
Similarly her husband, Gilbert O smond, could not be a mentor to Isabel. She sees him as a
possible option before they get married only due to the appearance he puts forth. Osmond is very
high cultured, although he no longer has much money. At first Isabel, perceives him as someone
who co uld teach her about high culture and class. But beyond this nice appearance he is no more
than a manipulative and exploitative man. He has a totally wrong and unpleasant way to raise
and treat females, unfortunately for Isabel as well as his daughter, Pans y. Unlike Isabel’s other
true mentors who allow her to be herself, Osmond does not even listen to her and treats her like

22
an object rather than a human. Osmond believes the worst of Isabel even telling her the tasks he
wishes
to complete “’won't be easy, w ith you working against me’" (485). The real damage he inflicts as
a negative role model is towards his daughter Pansy. He believes she is “a little convent -flower”
(262). Whenever she acts up, instead of helping her see her mistakes, he sends her to the
covenant to think about her actions. Although Pansy is a teenage, Osmond treats her like a five
year old girl .Osmond is jealous of every male that has shown an interest in Isabel, including
Ralph. Even when Ralph is dying Osmond thinks that the only rea son Pansy is visiting him is
“to take a revenge on [Osmond]” (549).He cannot control Isabel if she will become independent.
When Isabel goes to see Ralph as he is dying, Osmond tells her “If you leave Rome today it will
be a piece of the most deliberate, t he most calculated opposition” (549). Even in their last
encounter he does not seem to support her and it becomes clear to Isabel that Osmond cannot be
a helpful mentor, not even a loving spouse, he is the exact opposite. It is obvious that Osmond’s
only goal is to transform women into submissive beings so that they provide him with a life but
he is not willing to offer them the same support and happiness in return.
As the authorial figure in the novel, Ralph is perceived as the male entering a world th at many
believe to be strictly of females.in this way James uses Ralph to emphasize the qualities and
characteristics of a human, not their gender. As Isabel’s cousin, Ralph acts as a mentor and
counterpart in sensitivity. Unlike the other male characters in the novel, such as Osmond and
Casper, Ralph is driven by emotion and heart which make him a strong influence in Isabel’s life.
Ralph, although occasionally able to travel, has always been in an “enfeebled condition,” (36)
deteriorating more every year. Marriage is not an option for Ralph because of his poor health.
This makes him ineligible to be a romantic partner, but eligible to be a very helpful mentor.
Ralph i nsisted that Isabel got married unless her marriage was set in a foundation of love. He had
his father give Isabel a small fortune because “[i]f she has an easy income she'll never have to
marry for a support. That's what [he] want[s] cannily to prevent” (187). At the time women were
expected to marry so men would mock them if they did not. Ins tead of doing so, Ralph supported
Isabel in her quest and believed in her more than any of the other mentors did. Unfortunately,
being a single woman in nineteenth -century society was not easy at all. Ralph, as a mentor, is so
well intentioned that he does not see differences in gender. Isabel still cannot be truly free if she

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is not married, because she is still a woman. Unlike Osmond Ralph looks at Isabel as an
intellectual rather than an object and helps her foster this. When first meeting her he states “’you
apparently have a great passion for knowledge… you strike me as different from most girls’”
(46). Ralph acts as a distant authorial figure, unlike Isabel’s other more hands -on mentors.
The way Ralph acts towards Isabel mirrors James’s wish to “worsh ip Minny from a quiet and
discreet…distance” (Edel 77). In the novel Ralph’s main objective is to always mentor the
independence and passion in Isabel, rather than extinguish it as Osmond does. This is something
James wanted to foster in Minny Temple. He c ould not foster it as much as he wished to because
of their distant and separate schedules. Since Temple did die so young and was sick for many
years, she did not get to live the life she wished to live. James uses Isabel to give Temple the life
she could have had if she lived. He chooses to impart Ralph the burden of tuberculosis instead of
having Isabel suffer such a drama. In this way Isabel is able to continue living her life and help
the ones around her. Isabel becomes a step -mother for Pansy and also a mentor for her.
The empowerment of a female mentor -mentee relationship is strengthened as the mentee
becomes the mentor. Pansy is a scared teenager ruled by a very clamorous father. Although she
may never possess the strength Isabel does, Pansy begins to feed off of Isabel’s presence and
influence. Pansy believes she “shall always obey” (326) Osmond; this is how he raised her, he is
all she knows. Still, Isabel is able to somewhat infiltrate this bond and help Pansy grow. Isabel
“saw the poor girl had been vanquished” (569) by the end of the novel. Pansy is arguably why
Isabel goes back to Osmond and Rome. She is not as strong as Isabel and cannot advocate for
herself against her father. Pansy is the one good commitment that came out of Isabel’s
relatio nship with Osmond. Pansy is not meant to be “a little convent -flower,” (262) yet her
father calls her that and sends her to the convent for his own enjoyment. Her father uses this as a
form of control over her, not to impact her in any positive manner. Is abel comes into Pansy’s life
to strengthen her and help her be the best woman she can become. James makes it a point to
create round characters that are different from each other and often modeled off of the women in
his life. Pansy is not meant as a stand in for an independent female but rather a young girl that
needs the influence of an independent mentor. By using Isabel as a mentor when she has always
been a mentee, James is continuing the cycle of these relationships and the influence they have
on fema les.

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3.2 The Bostonians and the Complication of Marriage

As James moves past The Portrait of a Lady , his views concerning these mentorships and
feminism expand and obviously change. Between 1880 when The Portrait of a Lady appeared
and 1884 when James s tarted to write The Bostonians , the feminist movement really began to
take off politically. This provided James an interesting and amazing topic to study. Large scales
protests were occ urring repeatedly in America. The American Women Suffrage was created at
the end of 1869, fifteen years before James wrote The Bostonians. After he finished writ ing the
novel, the conventions and protest became really widespread . The impact of these movements
was so huge that women were given the right to vote seven years after the novel was published.
James’ intention was to write a novel which was centered on the feminist movement and its
impact on women as well as on society. However, it is up to the reader how well the novel
supports the feminist movement.
As Leslie Petty notices , “far from seeing in it any fictional resemblance to their activities…many
contemporary suffragists and other feminist activists dismissed James’s novel entirely” (377).
Besides Pe tty, th ere are a lot of other critics who claim that The Bostonians is a feminist novel
basing their arguments on the personal freedom and the intimate relationships that the novel
discusses and at the same time criticizing the strict expectations of the political feminist
movement. During this period James focuses on the gatherings, lectures and the rules and
standards of the political feminist movement which were in total contrast with the social
hierarchy women were part of. His focus became women’s fr eedom of choice and the dispute the
others were expecting from them. The concept of mentors is still used by James but this time he
focuses on the relationships that occur around the idea of marriage in the novel. By doing that he
wants to prove that marr iage can have an overwhelming impact on women, pushing her back or
helping her to evolve.
The Bostonians investigates the influence a marriage can exert on building or ruini ng the
independence of a woman. Vere na Tarrant and Olive Chancellor are the central characters of the
novels. Olive is an enthusiastic reformist whose main purpose is to transform Verena into one

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early in the novel. Both women are so fond on each other that they enter into a Boston marriage
A Boston marriage refers to a long -term relatio nship between two women who are very intimate
to each other and none of them is married. These women were quite independent of anyone else
and were expecting only love and understanding from the other. Things become problematic
when Verena begins interest ed in marriage. Verena is insistently pursued by Olive’s cousin,
Basil Ransom and Olive becomes annoyed by this idea. A real conflict occurs between Verena
and Olive caused by the fact that Verena is being courted by many other suitors. This struggle
also makes her consider marriage as a real option. Actually, the author makes the strange
decision to couple Verena and Oliver. Verena is perceived by the others as the reflection of
James’ sister and what he had wished for her to have: a multitude of options t o choose from.
Alice was a very independent and powerful woman and she was also involved in a Boston
marriage with a woman called Katherine Loring. Alice is often misunderstood and perceived as
a failure because of the mental health issues she suffered. H er illness made her unable to provide
all the things she needed for a living without help from anyone else in spite of the fact that she
was very smart. She is similar to Verena while Katherine is associated with Olive.
Katherine was the person who took c are of Alice after her passed away. More exactly, after the
death of Alice’s father, “in a state of collapse, [she] had been taken in by Katherine Loring”
(Edel 284). A few years after Alice’s father died, Katherine and Henry were entrusted with her
custod y and she moved to England in order to live with them. At this precise time James began
writing The Bostonians . When Katherine gets into Henry’s life, Edel says “one might say that the
figure of Olive Chancellor in The Bostonians had appeared upon the nov elist’s very doorstep”
(288). Olive and Verena’s relationship and iss ues deeply reflect those of Katherine and Alice.
As I said before, James’ decision to marry Verena is more likely an allusion t o Alice’s life. It is
actually almost the same thing as in The Portrait of a Lady with his representation of Minnie
Temple. Alice’s death occurred six years after the publication of the novel but James wanted to
keep her essence throughout the novel just like he did with his family and friends. Besides the
idea of marriage, we still notice that of mentorship in the novel.
In The Bostonians the only character who can be perceived as a mentor for the two women is
Mrs. Birdseye. Although her age enriches her with intelligence and a caring nature she proves to
be an ineffective mentor. She really agrees and embraces the ideals of the feminist movement

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but at times it is precisely her age which makes her unable to offer good advice. Olive admires
Mrs. Birdseye, saying"[s]he is one of our celebrities. She is the woman in the world, I suppose,
who has labored most for every wise reform…she was one of the earliest, one of the most
passionate, of the old Abolitionists” (James 19). Mrs. Birdseye was convinced that men could be
converted into feminism, and she made Olive an d the other younger feminist abolitionists believe
the same thing. Her ineffectiveness as a mentor is caused by the fact that she does not allow the
other women to have their own ideas and opinions but instead she tries to impose her own.
Because of her id ealism she is unable to respect the differences between individuals.
James believes that feminism can push women forward through their own ideas about
fulfillme nt. When Mrs. Birdseye noticed Verena, she “rested her dim, dry smile upon the
daughter, who wa s new to her, and it floated before her that she would probably be remarkable
as a genius…[t]here was a genius for Miss Birdseye in every bush” (30). Mrs. Birdseye really
enjoyed persuading other women to become part of the movement and make them believe i n
what she believed. That is why she cannot be considered a mentor, because she does not give the
other females the opportunity to experience and learn. Due to her age and wisdom she is
considered the mother of the movement. She focuses to make the feminis t movement a success
through her relationships with the other women.
James criticizes the fact that Mrs. Birdseye considers the two women as being favored rather
than people she can help to become happy. In this way, the author criticizes the feminist
movement too. Contrary to the ot her female characters, Olive’s sister, Adeline is the type of
person who really agrees with the rules of conventional marriage. James uses Adeline to embody
the wrong side of the feminist movement because in spite of the fact t hat she wants to find a man
she never succeeds to find one to marry her. Adeline has already been married but she has
become a widow at a young age and this makes her wish to get married again. Because of
women like her and their obsolete ideas and values the feminist movement is disregarded.
Adeline ‘s opinion is that men like Basil “expressed her own ideas about everything so vividly”
(150). She also thinks her sister Olive is “very dreadful” (75) because she argues all the time
about politics and th e feminist movement instead of being interested in men. Adeline is not a
main character but she represents the embodiment of the old fashioned woman who does not
want marriage to suffer any changes. She really wishes to be with someone and even yearns for

27
Basil: “she wrote him little notes every other day…proposed to drive him in the Park at unnatural
hours” (152). She goes on with her advances even if Basil shows her he is not interested in her
because she is “neither very fresh nor very beautiful, so h e could not easily have represented to
himself why she should take it into her head to marry” (151 -52) him. Basil refuses her because
she is not young and beautiful anymore and she is very cunning.
Basil is the typical husband in The Bostonians . But he i s definitely not the type of man a feminist
and a nonconformist woman like Olive would accept. Adeline does not agree with her sister’s
ideas because she represents the typical housewife who does not want to change. James portrays
Adeline as a character wh o defies any type of movement and especially the feminist movement
through her negativity and her old fashioned way of being.
The most controversial character in the novel is Verena Tarrant because of her inability to decide
whether she wants to support t he feminist movement or to get married. Verena is married
throughout the entire novel, in the beginning with Olive and then with Basil. He does not seem
the best option for her as he does not agree with her involvement in the feminist movement and
although he has many other suitors who would be more suitable for her, she chooses him.
One of her suitors is Henry Burrage. He is “a handsome youth, with a laughing, clever face, a
certain sumptuosity of apparel, an air of belonging to the "fast set" —a precociou s, good -natured
man of the world…” (118). He is really interested in Verena and asks her “if she wouldn't at least
appoint some evening when they might listen to her” (131). Despite of the fact that Henry is the
most eligible suitor and he continuously pur sues Verena throughout the novel, she feels no
attraction for him and they do not have a relationship. Unlike Henry, Basil represents the
traditional type of man the feminist movement fights against. Olive despises him because she
does not agree with his ideals of traditional marriage and the traditional roles of women. Verena
ends her marriage with him from the strange reason that she feels really attracted sexually to him
and she refuses to accept that. Many people discourage their relationship including critics lik e
Alfred Habegger. He believes Verena is a poor display of a female who seeks independence and
fights against marriage because Basil “is right about Verena’s nature…and Verena’s final cave
in” (Habegger 338). On the other hand, Basil really lo ves Verena and makes sure that she is
aware of this. Their relationship is based on natural sexual attraction as it is normal to be but this

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causes Verena to feel her independence is being threatened and she becomes confused about
what she wishes to have. Verena’s attitude a nd position enrages many women of the nineteenth
century, especially those involved in the feminist movement themselves. As a writer in the
“Women’s Journal” says, Verena is simply a “silly performer” (Habegger 341 ). In my opinion
Verena is not just a performer. She also embodies the uncertainty many women face during the
nineteenth century: what is more important between being a mother and becoming a reformist.
The relationship Verena has with Olive is also very interesting to analyze. Olive is against the
conventional marriage because she does not agree that the man is the only housekeeper. But she
herself is part of a marriage where she is the dominant figure. It seems that Olive only uses
Verena to give her more confidence in herself and her feelings do not seem deeper than
friendship. Olive only uses Verena for her own fulfillment and desires and this does not make
her better than Basil. She is after all a controversial representation of the nineteenth century
women because she has no problem with being alone. Olive is abandoned by everybody, yet she
still reminds them all “she had no intentions of quitting the game,” (307) the game against
conventional marriage roles, against men like Basil Ransom. Olive ends up delivering a speech
at the end of the novel, finding her own voice in her “rush to the front” (349).
Unlike Olive, Verena never reaches the independence that one feels without a commitment or
marriage because her relationships are very controlling. She actually finds her fulfil lment in
relationships because she is very easy going. Olive’s control over Verena is very prominent.
James uses Olive to demonstrate that even a woman can be completely dominant when she is in
love. Even if the end might seem sad because Verena “was in te ars” (436), it can be perceived
almost as a fulfillment for the two women.
In The Bostonians James does not prove he is against feminism, or the feminist movement. There
are critics of James who state The Bostonians cannot be considered a feminist text. Al fred
Habegger states “the male Jameses’ two -generation struggle against nineteenth -century feminism
and free love has endowed twentieth -century American readers with a gravely distorted picture
of some of their most farsighted political forebears” (Habegge r 341). The women in the novel
have their own opinions regarding marriage and relationships. While Olive does not agree with
marriage because it is not ‘feminist’, Verena finds accomplishment in the idea of marriage.

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Most of the novel is a mirror of what James would have wished for his sister, Alice. Verena is
definitely a proof for all the opportunities James wanted Alice could have had.
3.3 Finding Fulfillment in The Golden Bow l
As James became older his inspiration, his ideas and his style of writing changed. Women and
marriage plots still represented his main focus but changed his ideas regarding where or these
women would end up. Fourteen years after he wrote The Bostonians he entered a phase that
critics call his ultimate phase of writing and also the most representative one. During this phase
he created some of his most expanded and critically praised novels. His writing style becomes
more complex and his concern is to present more extensively the feelings, the thoughts of his
characters. This time he offers his readers complex descriptions which allow him to include his
own point of view rather than creating a dominating figure who could speak for him. One of
these complex novels is The Golden Bowl . The novel is a combination of the different phases
that James went through.
The setting is in England and it focuses on an unconventional marriage plot as well as social
hierarchy and titles .In this novel we notice Ja mes continues to discuss topics he has developed
in his previous novels The Portrait of a Lady and The Bostonians . The idea of female mentorship
which she created in The Portrait of a Lady and still approached in The Bostonians through
Olive and Verena's r elationship is also noticeable in The Golden Bowl. The only difference is
that he does not use so many mentorships and only focuses on the most important ones. James
finally reaches a conclusion about feminism and this is mainly due to his maturing as an a uthor
and due to the influence of the women in his life. He uses the character of Mary Verver to show
that personal fulfillment involves being independent and running from domesticity.
Independence does not mean total freedom from marital obligations or po litical movement but it
involves a certain control of domestic life. Around the time James was writing the novel, she was
spending more time with Edith Wharton than usually. Their relationship ''seems to suggest…a
directness, an openness, and freedom and truth'' (598). Their relationship allowed James to see
Wharton as she truly was. She was also a writer and was considered a new novelist of her time
and she enjoyed approaching topics like the struggles of unfulfilled females. Their special
relationship allowed James to use Wharton as a model in his novels as she was very innovative
for the time. It is again clearly that James was influenced by her style.

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The Golden Bowl is a complex study of marriage and adultery. The female characters of the
novel are Charlotte Stunt and Maggie Verver. Apparently, Charlotte is Maggie ’s opposite and
she is the heroine of the novel, which makes it difficult for Maggie to succeed as a leading
female character. As Hilary Schor says “if you took the edge out of Charlotte’s irony…she
might seem another Isabel Archer, challenging the world, asking it to meet her high
expectations” (240). Charlotte is very determined and she knows exactly which are her goals in
life. Her spirit and her curiosity drive people toward her and she is perceived by the others as
very friendly and easy going. Charlotte is not the type of woman who would enjoy a domestic
life. In spite of the fact that she does not refuse marriage or the idea of having children, these
would not make her feel fulfilled. She believes that marriage involves the loss of independence.
When she marries Mr. Verver she becomes unhappy because he does not seem to care about her
willing to travel, to go to parties and enjoy life. Charlotte is a fake friend. She only pr etends to be
Maggie’s friend because she has an affair with Prince and she wants to make it seem less
suspect. James uses Charlotte as a “New Woman” type of character . During the 1890’s new
women were described as “intelligent, educated, emancipated, inde pendent and self -supporting”
(Diniejko). Charlotte is not the true embodiment of the new woman because she conforms to
marriage but James does instill to her many all of these qua lities and also makes her middle
class, as opposed to Maggie, who is rich. As far as I am concerned, I truly consider Charlotte a
new woman because ‘’she is a female heroine who [ fights] against the traditional Victorian male
perception of woman” (Diniejko).
Mrs. Assingham is Charlotte’s friend and plays the role of potential men tor. As soon as Charlotte
arrives in London she is welcomed by Mrs. Assingham to stay at her house “’I can't have
her…alone at an hotel’" (James 29). But Charlotte is not who she seems to be. It is revealed to
the readers that she is very clever and cunning and she hides things from Mrs. Assingham.
Charlotte’s lack of a family background makes her be introverted and she is not able to
communicate with Mrs. Assingham. As the novel progresses it becomes obviou s that she is only
using Mrs. Assingham to get closer to Prince. Actually Charlotte and the Prince see each other
again is in Mrs. Assingham’s house. Charlotte and Mrs. Assingham do not truly have a mentor –
mentee relationship because the more Charlotte get s closer to Prince the less important her
relationship with Mrs. Assingham becomes. Their relationship and any possible mentorship ends
at a party when Mrs. Assingham tries to confront Charlotte about the Prince. The author himself

31
does not support Charlot te’s adultery even if it represents her fulfillment. James was a promoter
of strong morals and the new woman method does not always provide this.
As far as the character of Maggie is concerned she is exactly the opposite of Charlotte. She does
not know w ho she is, which are her expectations in life and she realizes only at the end that all
she has ever wanted was Prince. She definitely cannot be considered a symbol of the New
Women Movement . Unlike the other female characters analyzed in the novel, like Isabel, Verena
and Maggie, she is not as strong as they are. James intentionally does not portray her as fighter
because he wants to use her as an embodiment of the simple wife that is so common. Prince, for
example thinks she is a ch ild and treats her lik e a child “her exquisite colouring drops …They
were of the color of her innocence, and yet at the same time of her imagination” (8) . Maggie
finds independence in the domestic life rather than in a social or political life.
Mrs. Assingham also tries to be a mentor of Maggie and the two share a much more pleasant and
strong relationship. This is due to the fact that Maggie is more timid and more open to the help
and advice of Mrs. Assingham than Charlotte. Mrs. Assingham helps Maggie build her
confidence in he rself “figurative language [that] is largely mocking and actually serves to
emphasize that the male characters are quite passive and powerless” (Phipps 240). Through Mrs.
Assingham and Maggie’ s friendship , James is able to demonstrate his belief that mentees can
have many benefits from their relationships with mentors. Moreover, by showing the personal
success Maggie gets from this mentorship he also outlines the problems that total independence,
as well as the idea of a New Woman, can cause. He allows each female to have a choice, but stil l
seems believe in the power of mentorship to further fulfillment and personal growth. At their
first dinner party together “in truth partly by [Mrs. Assingham’s] help, int elligently, quite
gracefully accepted, that the little princess, in Maggie, was drawn up and emphasized” (349).
Mrs. Assingham tries to use her influenc e with Maggie to fix Maggie’s marriage. The climax of
the mentorship occurs when Maggie realizes that Pr ince has an affair with Charlotte. Maggie has
nobody else but Mrs. Assingham and at this point their relationship becomes even stronger. She
confesses to Mrs. Assingham that she is “bewildered and tormented, and that [she] has no one
to speak to but [her ]” (384) because she feels so disappointed and betrayed by Charlotte and
Prince . Maggie realizes that all she has in life is her mentor a nd all the others are dishonest. The
relationship she has with Mrs. Assingham is important bec ause in this way she bec omes more

32
confident and more independent. Maggie’s form of independence and fulfillment is being a
housewife and having a simple and domestic life. Mrs. Assingham eventually helps her achieve
this at the end of the novel when Charlotte is forced to return to America.
The idea of independence and how it is perceived by women causes a constant rivalry between
Maggie and Charlotte. Their rivalry is not visible at first. At a certain point, Charlotte says "I've
been thinking of Maggie, a nd at last I yearned for her. I wanted to see her happy” (39). Both
women seem very friendly but they actually follow their own interest. Charlotte uses Maggie as
an excuse to see Prince again after they separate. Maggie uses Charlotte to g ive her father a wife,
because she believes he needs one now that she is married. Maggie tells her father “it used to be
right that you hadn't married, and that you didn't seem to want to” (126) but now it is different
because Maggie is married. As I said before they have different perceptions about independence.
Maggie’s idea of independ ence implies being married , having child ren and being in control of
the domestic sphere. Charlotte’s idea of independence is exactly the opposite and implies going
to parties, travelling f reely, without the constraint of another person telling her what to do. The
rivalry of these conflicting ideas is similar to the rivalry happening while James is writing The
Golden Bowl . The women’s suff rage movement that was occurring focused on the idea that
women should be able to have whatever jobs they want, have the ability to not marry and
generally be able to create a new idea of life and independence for themselves. This was shown
through the political protests shown in The Bostonians , but also thr ough women like Maggie
taking charge of their personal and social situations. Both parties did not always agree with the
tactics of the other, although they were generally fighting for the same idea. James is
demonstrating this conflict, through Maggie and Charlotte, while supporting the idea of
independence in the domestic sphere as well as the new ideas of independence from anything
viewed as a constraint for females. This rivalry is only subtly displayed at first as James
continues to develop Maggie and Charlotte, leading up to their ultimate set of goals and
differences.
As the novel progresses, James emphasizes the fact that no matter what sort of friendship Maggie
and Charlotte had there is nothing left of it when each of them becomes aware of the
manipulation of the other. Their relationship gradually becomes a sort of test in orde r to find who
knows what and who will win the men’s heart in the end. In the first book Charlotte seems to be

33
the ruler but the night that opens the second book is “the night when Maggie moves herself, like
an overlooked pawn in a chess game, into an unexp ected position, a position from which she can
begin gathering useful which is also to say threatening —knowledge” (Schor 240).
Both women love and want to have Prince. But from the two of them Maggie seems to want him
more as an ambition to fulfill her desi re of being a wife. As Gregory Phipps says “Maggie is
certainly acting out of jealousy, as her passion for Amerigo only starts to ‘vibrate with a
violence’ (p. 330) when she becomes aware of her competition with Charlotte” (243). Amerigo is
just a tool of fulfillment for the two women but they use him in a different way which is a proof
of their competitive spirit. On the other hand, both wan t Mr. Verver in a more platonic way.
Charlotte could possibly love Mr. Verver, but she does not succeed that becaus e of his strange
relationship with Maggie. She even feels annoyed because Maggie wants to have control of both
Mr. Verver and Prince. This makes Charlotte believe that her relationship with Prince is not
totally wrong. Maggie is extremely close with her f ather, but she cannot successfully have such a
close relationship with both her father and her husband as much as she may like to . Once
Maggie finds about Charlotte and Price her main goal becomes chasing Charlotte. James uses
this knowledge to help Maggi e grow into the strong and independent figure that she has the
potential to be. Maggie decides to place her marriage over her relationship with her father. She
even tries to convince her father to go to America saying “’your reputation there ? You've given it
up to them, the awful people, for less than nothing; you've given it up to them to tear to pieces, to
make their horrible vulgar jokes against you with’” (493). This seems to be a very intelligent
decision Maggie makes because in this way s he is able to leave behind her adolescence and
move forward to her marriage.
The golden bowl is the main symbol of the story representing many of the deteriorated
relationships. The bowl attracts both Maggie and Charlotte in spite of its possible imperfec tions.
Similarly, Maggie and Charlotte feel attracted by the imperfect relationships not only between
them but also between them and the men in their lives. Charlotte is originally told by the Prince
that the bowl “has a crack” and “it's exquisite. That's the danger” (89). The Prince is describing
the intertwined relationships in the novel with these few words. This is why even after her
conversation with the Prince, Charlotte still has an attraction to the bowl. Later in the novel,
Maggie uses the bowl as a pawn in her game with the Prince acknowledging it is cracked, and it

34
shatters just as the Prince walks into the room. Maggie, Charlotte, the Prince and Mr. Verver
have all been trapped in this golden bowl and when it shatters so do all of their relations hips. At
this time the Prince realizes Maggie knows about his relationship with Charlotte . This is a
symbol of the broken glass because now all the relationships are destroyed and nothing can
continue. Charlotte and Maggie led a deteriorated existence for a long time , but as p rogressive
women it was necessary to make a decision. This decision is symbolized by the bowl shattering
and Maggie sending her father to America with Charlotte . The bowl is also a symbol of the male
figures in the novel. Charlotte did not buy the bowl because of the Prince’s influence and their
connection to it, and Maggie bought the bowl for her father . This brings up the question in the
end of who really is the stronger female. There are critics who think that the end of the novel
shows that Maggie has won. The Prince tells Maggie “’I see nothing but you,’” yet Maggie does
not reply and only experiences the “pity and dread” (567) of his eyes . Even though both Maggie
and Charlotte fulfill some of their desires none of them is happy in the end.
In the end of the novel James underlines the negative effects of the competition between the two
women. Women can obtain independence and fulfillment i f they co -work and are willing to
create a positive mentorship. James intentionally left both women unhappy because he wanted to
underline the changes the movement should make as a whole. Women deserve their own
individual fulfillment that is empowered by positive relationships. Without this it will be difficult
for the movement to successfully continue to empower women while gaining their rights.

35
Conclusion

Literary theory and literary practice have been combined in this study, in analyzing works of
fiction within a framework of feminist theoretical approaches. Feminism h as been established as
an academic discipline, and consequently feminist in tellectuals employ use more and more
sophisticated means of theoretical argumentation and te xtual analysis which has caused strong
criticism of earlier feminist approaches to literatur e and culture , without, though, minimizing the
more popular forms of feminis t literary achievements. Actually , feminism does not always
represent a theoreti cal basis, but also a political ideology and a social movement concerned with
transformations and amendments. It is therefore not only expected, but also required for
feminism to reflect the relationship between theory and practice. It thus becomes importa nt to
state that in order to fulfill such goals and needs, feminis m should be perceived as a broad social
movement, encompassing the discussion of feminist literature.
Henry James is a controversial nineteenth -century British -American author. The period in which
he wrote coincided with the feminist movement. Throughout his writing he criticized important
aspects of feminism and other aspects of life such as the social hierarchy, conventional
marriage, divorce . In some of his most important n ovels, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians
and The Golden Bowl , James addresses the topic of feminism. He uses plenty of relationships,
including mentorship, marriage and friendship, to embolden the ideals of strength and equality in
his female characte rs. As he critiques the idea of feminism as mainly expressed through protests
for political rights or the ability to perform roles reserved for men, James presents the idea of
independence for women as the internal fulfillment of their personal desires tha t is evolved
through social interactions and relationships.
The Portrait of a Lady, is one of James’ earlier novels, and was published by James in 1881 . In
the novel, Isabel encounters various persons who play the role of mentors, some who stay to
guide he r and others who teach her specific lessons and leave. Isabel is considered a very
American heroine. She is not bound by the social mores of the Americans who have been
socially integrated into Europe (such as her relatives, the Touchetts). She is characterized by the
many possibilities her fresh perspective and loosely determined social relation to the world a llow

36
for her – but in the course of the novel, this freedom is shown to be not so easy to assert without
falling prey to the conventions and machinations of her more conservative peers. The novel is
about a desire for freedom, and the difficulties and illu sions one may fall prey to in the attempt to
assert one's own individuality. It is about the social interdependence of people on one another,
and the need to understand one's actions as related to the actions and desires of others. My
purpose was to analyz e the relationships she had with the other characters which I have called
’’mentors’’ and how they helped her to evolve.
The Bostonians investigates the influence a marriage can exert on building or ruini ng the
independence of a woman. Verena Tarrant and Olive Chancellor are the central characters of the
novel . Olive is an enthusiastic reformist whose main purpose is to transform Verena into one
early in the novel. Both women are so fond on each other that they enter into a Boston marriage
A Boston marria ge refers to a long -term relationship between two women who are very intimate
to each other and none of them is married. These women were quite independent of anyone else
and were expecting only love and understanding from the other. Things become problem atic
when Verena begins interested in marriage .
The Golden Bowl is a complex study of marriage and adultery. The real force of the story derives
from the subtle maneuverings, first of Charlotte Stamp and later of Maggie Verver (with some
considerable assistance from her father, Adam), to secure the love of Maggie’s husband, Prince
Amerigo.

37
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