The Portrait of a Lady

As school winds down for the year and the promise of summer becomes tangible, I have lost all interest in doing any work. I come home, sit at my computer, and think, "I should be working on my English project." Instead, I usually spend too much time on Facebook. My self-discipline is slipping completely.

And apparently, it's not only that that's slipping. This month seems to have been marked by huge mistakes I've made: running over my phone, for instance, or telling a neighbor something I shouldn't have. With each one, the guilt and self-frustration piles up until I am constantly berating myself for my mistakes. I'm not saying I haven't ever made mistakes before: it's just that this month has been overwhelmingly full of big ones. Right now, everytime something like that happens, I just say, "Story of my life."

And actually, I could also say, "Story of Isabel Archer's life." Because in The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James, the life of Isabel Archer is chronicled in 613 pages during the 19th century. Isabel begins life fresh, American, and idealistic, wanting nothing more than freedom. She is taken by her brisk aunt, Mrs. Touchett, to their estate in Europe. There, she meets her cousin, Ralph, their neighbor, Lord Warburton, and her uncle, Mr. Touchett. Ralph and Lord Warburton both fall in love with her, and Lord Warburton proposes. Henrietta Stackpole, Isabel's friend from America, comes to visit as well. After Mr. Touchett dies and leaves Isabel a fortune as a means to her freedom, she begins an exploration of Europe. But her exploration is cut short by the schemes of Madame Merle, a sophisticated, worldly woman, and Gilbert Osmond, a poor painter. Isabel falls directly into their trap, marrying Osmond, and winds up miserable for the rest of her life.

Isabel has three marriage proposals in the beginning: one of Mr. Goodwood, from America, another of Lord Warburton, and a third, unspoken one from her cousin Ralph. Yet in the end, it is Osmond she chooses to marry, a mistake which changes the rest of her life. Isabel's freedom is entirely cut off by Osmond, her ideas crushed, and her existence embittered. And all this plot is told in 500 pages.

The majority of The Portrait of a Lady is the above summary, with the plot peeking in between characterization and internal monologues and everyday happenings. I very nearly gave up many times, but told myself I would finish: I was so close, it would be a waste of all my time put into the book to quit now! And finish I did, triumphantly, after 2 1/2 months of reading.

Fortunately, the book ends with an excellent twist: and it's only here when you realize that something has been a little off about each character's actions... you've suspected their motives before, but never the motives behind those motives. (I know, it's a little confusing). And it's also at this point when you realize just how well drawn each character is. They aren't sketched or skimmed or left vague and open-ended: they're filled in and shaded and a finished work. The twist is subtle, though, nothing mind-blowing, but the perfect revelation to end the book with, to justify the final actions of the book. That being said, I don't think the twist justifies reading the entire novel.

Such a long novel justifies a long review, so there are two more topics to be covered. The first is the clear message of the novel. The contrast of Isabel, a fresh American, and Osmond or Madame Merle, all old and cultured Europeans, is constantly mentioned and discussed, not only in conversations but in the narrative as well. The novel clearly was written in a time when the "Old World" and the "New World" were encountering each other and mingling with uncertainty. I'm sure that in the time period, such an exploration of this was fascinating, but I feel the point was over driven.

Finally, the ending. As the reader, you have such hope that Isabel will overcome her problems, her mistakes in marrying Osmond and refusing the others... only to be sorely disappointed. The ending leaves the reader with a pretty certain idea of what happens next, but comes rather abruptly and disappoints entirely.

The life of Isabel Archer is essentially a complete disappointment from her high aspirations. But I think that our lives, no matter what mistakes we make, can always be redeemed by God. Conversely, our aspirations probably won't be what we get... we just have to learn to make the best of our situation, which Isabel doesn't. And I think that's an important lesson I learned from The Portrait of a Lady: not to waste time whining or worrying about our lives and use the time and position we have wisely.