The Portrait Of A Lady贵妇人画像

The Portrait Of A Lady《贵妇人的肖像》 作者:Henry James Born: April 15, 1843, New York City Died: February 28, 1916 (aged 72), London Occupation: Writer Nationality: American; acquired British nationality in 1915 Writing Career (3 stages) Stage1. (1865~1881) 1. creating ―the international novel‖ (国际小说)and ―international theme‖(国际题材) 2. Focusing on the difference between new America and old Europe Works: Daisy Miller《黛西·密勒》 The Portrait Of A Lady《贵妇人的肖像》 ?For James, America represented optimism and innocence, while Europe represented decadence and social sophistication; ?The Portrait of a Lady is often considered to be James's greatest achievement. In it, he explored many of his most characteristic themes, including the conflict between American individualism and European social custom and the situation of Americans in Europe. (警告:这是老师上的,不要照抄哦!属于主题里面的哈) In his apprentice years, culminating with the masterwork The Portrait of a Lady, his style was simple and direct (by the standards of Victorian magazine writing) and he experimented widely with forms and methods, generally narrating from a conventionally omniscient point of view. Stage2. (1882~1895) Focusing on a certain aspect of social issues Examples: ?The Bostonians《波士顿人》 ?The Princess Casamassima《卡萨玛西玛公主》 In the second period, as noted above, he abandoned the serialised novel and from 1890 to about 1897, he wrote short stories and plays. Stage 3.(1895~1916) 1. in the 5 early years, writing some medium-length novels and stories about young generation Example: The Turn of The Screw《拧螺丝》 2. In the later years, paying more attention to the psychological analysis Example: The Ambassadors《专使》 Finally, in his third and last period he returned to the long, serialised novel. Beginning in the second period, but most noticeably in the third, he increasingly abandoned direct statement in favour of frequent double negatives, and complex descriptive imagery. Single paragraphs began to run for page after page, in which an initial noun would be succeeded by pronouns surrounded by clouds of adjectives and prepositional clauses, far from their original referents, and verbs would be deferred and then preceded by a series of adverbs. The overall effect could be a vivid evocation of a scene as perceived by a sensitive observer. In its intense focus on the consciousness of his major characters, James's later work foreshadows extensive developments in 20th century fiction. James is one of the major figures of trans-Atlantic literature. His works frequently juxtapose characters from the Old World (Europe), embodying a feudal civilization that is beautiful, often corrupt, and alluring, and from the New World (United States), where people are often brash, open, and assertive and embody the virtues—freedom and a more highly evolved moral character—of the new American society. James explores this clash of personalities and cultures, in stories of personal relationships in which power is exercised well or badly. His protagonists were often young American women facing oppression or abuse. It is also possible to see many of James's stories as psychological thought-experiments. The Portrait of a Lady may be an experiment to see what happens when an idealistic young woman suddenly becomes very rich. In many of his tales, characters seem to exemplify alternate futures and possibilities, as most markedly in "The Jolly Corner", in which the protagonist and a ghost-doppelganger live alternate American and European lives; and in others, like The Ambassadors, an older James seems fondly to regard his own younger self facing a crucial moment. 作品: Character List Isabel Archer - The novel's protagonist, the Lady of the title. Isabel is a young woman from Albany, New York, who travels to Europe with her aunt, Mrs. Touchett. Isabel's experiences in Europe—she is wooed by an English lord, inherits a fortune, and falls prey to a vil lainous scheme to marry her to the sinister Gilbert Osmond—force her to confront the conflict between her desire for personal independence and her commitment to social propriety. Isabel is the main focus of Portrait of a Lady, and most of the thematic exploration of the novel occurs through her actions, thoughts, and experiences. Ultimately, Isabel chooses to remain in her miserable marriage to Osmond rather than to violate custom by leaving him and searching for a happier life. Gilbert Osmond - A cruel, narcissistic gentleman of no particular social standing or wealth, who seduces Isabel and marries her for her money. An art collector, Osmond poses as a disinterested aesthete, but in reality he is desperate for the recognition and admiration of those around him. He treats everyone who loves him as simply an object to be used to fulfill his desires; he bases his daughter Pansy's upbringing on the idea that she should be unswervingly subservient to him, and he even treats his longtime lover Madame Merle as a mere tool. Isabel's marriage to Osmond forces her to confront the conflict between her desire for independence and the painful social proprieties that force her to remain in her marriage. Madame Merle - An accomplished, graceful, and manipulative woman, Madame Merle is a popular lady who does not have a husband or a fortune. Motivated by her love for Gilbert Osmond, Merle manipulates Isabel into marrying Osmond, delivering Isabel's fortune into his hands and ruining Isabel's life in the process. Unbeknownst to either Isabel or Pansy, Merle is not only Osmond's lover, but she is also Pansy's mother, a fact that was covered up after Pansy's birth. Pansy was raised to believe that her mother died in childbirth. Ralph Touchett - Isabel's wise, funny cousin, who is ill with lung disease throughout the entire novel, which ends shortly after his death. Ralph loves life, but he is kept from participating in it vigorously by his ailment; as a result, he acts as a dedicated spectator, resolving to live vicariously through his beloved cousin Isabel. It is Ralph who convinces Mr. Touchett to leave Isabel her fortune, and it is Ralph who is the staunchest advocate of Isabel remaining independent. Ralph serves as the moral center of Portrait of a Lady: his opinions about other characters are always accurate, and he serves as a kind of moral barometer for the reader, who can tell immediately whether a character is good or evil by Ralph's response to that character. Lord Warburton - An aristocratic neighbor of the Touchetts who falls in love with Isabel during her first visit to Gardencourt. Warburton remains in love with Isabel even after she rejects his proposal and later tries to marry Pansy simply to bring himself closer to Isabel's life. Caspar Goodwood - The son of a prominent Boston mill owner, Isabel's most dedicated suitor in America. Goodwood's charisma, simplicity, capability, and lack of sophistication make him the book's purest symbol of James's conception of America. Henrietta Stackpole - Isabel's fiercely independent friend, a feminist journalist who does not believe that women need men in order to be happy. Like Caspar, Henrietta is a symbol of America's democratic values throughout he book. After Isabel leaves for Europe, Henrietta fights a losing battle to keep her true to her American outlook, constantly encouraging her to marry Caspar Goodwood. At the end of the book, Henrietta disappoints Isabel by giving up her independence in order to marry Mr. Bantling. Mrs. Touchett - Isabel's aunt. Mrs. Touchett is an indomitable, independent old woman who first brings Isabel to Europe. The wife of Mr. Touchett and the mother of Ralph, Mrs. Touchett is separated from her husband, residing in Florence while he stays at Gardencourt. After Isabel inherits her fortune and falls under the sway of Merle and Osmond, Mrs. Touchett's importance in her life gradually declines. Pansy Osmond - Gilbert Osmond's placid, submissive daughter, raised in a convent to guarantee her obedience and docility. Pansy believes that her mother died in childbirth; in reality, her mother is Osmond's longtime lover, Madame Merle. When Isabel becomes Pansy's stepmother, she learns to love the girl; Pansy is a large part of the reason why Isabel chooses to return to Rome at the end of the novel, when she could escape her miserable marriage by remaining in England. Edward Rosier - A hapless American art collector who lives in Paris, Rosier falls in love with Pansy Osmond and does his best to win Osmond's permission to marry her. But though he sells his art collection and appeals to Madame Merle, Isabel, and the Countess Gemini, Rosier is unable to change Gilbert's mind that Pansy should marry a high-born, wealthy nobleman, not an obscure American with little money and no social standing to speak of. Mr. Touchett - An elderly American banker who has made his life and his vast fortune in England who is Ralph's father and the proprietor of Gardencourt. Before Mr. Touchett dies, Ralph convinces him to leave half his fortune to his niece Isabel, which will enable her to preserve her independence and avoid having to marry for money. Mr. Bantling - The game Englishman who acts as Henrietta's escort across Europe, eventually persuading her to marry him at the end of the novel. Countess Gemini - Osmond's vapid sister, who covers up her own marital infidelities by gossipping constantly about the affairs of other married women. The Countess seems to have a good heart, however, opposing Merle's scheme to marry Osmond and Isabel and eventually revealing to Isabel the truth of Merle's relationship to Osmond and Pansy's parentage. 写作背景Setting 1870s – Gardencourt, England; Florence and Rome, Italy; various other European locations; Albany, New York The novel opens and closes at Gardencourt, the Touchett family’s gracious English country estate. This place is particularly significant to our characters, and to our understanding of the novel as a whole. By framing the dramatic events of Isabel’s European adventures with the two Gardencourt sections, James makes this space reflective and calm. However, don’t confuse these things with happiness –both Gardencourt sections are darkened by deaths, first Mr. Touchett’s, and then Ralph’s. When Isabel arrives in England, fresh from her trans-Atlantic voyage, Gardencourt is a kind of restful middle-ground; it’s a very English landscape with American inhabitants, and provides a space for her to adjust to her new life as a jet-setter. By the time she returns to Gardencourt at the end of the novel, it again plays the role of a retreat – Ralph himself has returned to the house to die in peace, while Isabel flees to it to escape from her imprisonment in Osmond’s house. Sandwiched between these two Gardencourt episodes, we see Isabel in a variety of more exotic European settings – most importantly, in Italy. First, she settles for a short while in Florence at the home of her aunt, Mrs. Touchett, then Isabel and Osmond move to Rome following their marriage. Italy is a problematic and fascinating setting – it is neither England nor America, and our characters are oddly foreign in it. Isabel, most impo rtantly, is in a kind of exile in her Roman castle; she’s removed from her friends and family, and, although she is something of a famous hostess, she’s still outside of Italian socie ty. Interestingly, the characters that feel the most at home in Italy, Mrs. Touchett and Osmond, are both the most removed from society as a whole. Finally, Albany, New York, is a setting that is briefly seen, but quite significant –we first meet Isabel at her grandmother’s house here, and, for the rest of the novel, the spectral presence of America is very important. We are constantly reminded of the fact that Isabel is an American, and Henrietta Stackpole and Caspar Goodwood both bring an aura of American-ness with them wherever they go. 写作风格 Descriptive, detailed, and frank The writing of Henry James is famously descriptive, and this novel is no exception to the rule. People, places, relationships, feelings –basically, everything gets the patented Henry James Super Heavy Detail Treatment. This creates a rich, very real-feeling world, through which we can easily imagine our characters moving. However, despite the long, long passages of description (and long, long paragraphs in general), James still manages to come off as fresh, frank, and – more often than not – quite funny. His sense of humor often emerges from the details, and James knows how to walk the fine line between lyrical and boring by balancing it out with candor. His dialogue is also pricelessly funny at times, and always has the zingy feel of quick, real-life back and forth Critical, yet sympathetic The narrator’s attitude manages to be both distanced and interested in Isabel and her predicament. We get the feeling that the mysterious narrative voice really is sympathetic towards our heroine, but still maintains a critical and objective stance. The story unfolds in a direct and straightforward manner –there’s nothing tricky or misleading going on here – and reveals each character with a precision that’s almost scientific. Throughout the novel, there’s a profound sense of admiration and deep sympathy for Isabel, even though the narrator never comes right out and wails, "Oh, my! Isabel is so admirable, yet unfortunate!" At the same time, the novel asks us to be critical of this ad mirable heroine’s actions and choices, and not simply to be swept up in our like or dislike of the characters. Showing vs telling Showing --to write in a manner that allows the reader to experience the story through a character's action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the narrator's exposition, summarization, and description. The advice is not to be heavy-handed, but to allow issues to emerge from the text instead, and applies to non-fiction writing too. Showing-specific; telling vague ?examples ?telling: She went home in a bad mood. ?[What kind of a bad mood? How did she act or look?] ?showing: She stomped(重踏) home, hands jammed(塞进) in her pockets, angrily kicking rocks, dogs, small children, and anything else that crossed her path. ?telling: My neighbor bought a really nice old desk. ?[Why nice? How old? What kind of desk?] ?showing: My neighbor bought a solid oak, roll-top desk made in 1885 that contains a secret drawer triggered by a hidden spring. ?Vague: He was an attractive man. ?[Attractive in what ways - his appearance, personality, or both? Can you picture him from reading this sentence?] ?Specific: He had Paul Newman's eyes, Robert Redford's smile, Sylvester Stallone's body, and Bill Gates's money. Describe the elliptical technique James often uses in his narration. For many of the novel's most important scenes, James utilizes an elliptical technique, which means literally that he simply does not narrate them. Instead, many of the most crucial moments of the novel are skipped over, and the reader is left to infer that they have occurred based on later evidence and their mention in peripheral conversation. Moments which are eluded from the novel include Osmond's proposal to Isabel, their wedding, and Isabel's decision to return to Rome after traveling to England for Ralph's funeral. In this way, James tends to skip over the moments in which Isabel chooses to sacrifice her freedom for Gilbert Osmond; this helps to create the sense that Osmond is a sinister figure, as though, in choosing to be with him, Isabel is placing herself beyond the reach of the reader. Portrait of a Lady, as its title would suggest, is largely devoted to the character of Isabel Archer. How does James use his psychological portrayal of Isabel to justify her decision to surrender her treasured independence in order to marry Osmond? James's use of psychology in Portrait of a Lady enables him to unite his thematic exploration with his character portrayal. In short, the novel is an exploration of the conflict between individualism and social convention; James ensures that Isabel has a conscious commitment to individualism, but an unconscious desire for the comfort, safety, and stability of social custom. Isabel's upbringing was haphazard, and her father often left her to herself; this gave her a sense of intellectual independence, but it also made her long for a more secure environment. Additionally, Isabel's active imagination was nourished by her self-directed education in her grandmother's library. When she meets Gilbert Osmond, Isabel is attracted to the stability and direction his life seems to offer her, and her imagination enables her to overlook his obvious flaws—his arrogance, his narcissism, and his cruelty—and to create her own idyllic picture of him. In this way, Isabel allows her need for social convention to overcome her commitment to independence, and her marriage to Osmond becomes the tragic turning point in her life. 主题 Independence Quote ―Oh no; she has not adopted me. I'm not a candidate for adoption." "I beg a thousand pardons," Ralph murmured. "I meant – I meant – " He hardly knew what he meant. "You meant she has taken me up. Yes; she likes to take people up. She has been very kind to me; but," she added with a certain visible eagerness of desire to be explicit, "I'm very fond of my liberty. " (2.18) Isabel asserts herself in the face of Mrs. Touchett’s interest – she makes it quite clear to Ralph that she is still in control of herself, not his mother. --Isabel refuses the others’ proposal to show her independence. --Isabel refuses to give in to the traditional role that places women at the mercy of men through marriage. In this novel, Isabel Archer is totally independent after getting the fortune but it is the independence that makes her have so many self-judgments and ignore other’s advice. Love Quote “I came to England simply because you are here; I couldn't stay a t home after you had gone: I hated the country because you were not in it. If I like this country at present it is only because it holds you.” (11.14)-- Caspar Goodwood said to Isabel. Love, to Caspar Goodwood, is obsessive and all-encompassing; without Isabel, he cannot be happy. Love here is brutal, obsessive, possessive, usually thwarted, and often unrequited. Once you get past the roadblock of problematic romantic love, though, you see that there are infinite different kinds of love – love of family, love of friends, love of life – that make life more interesting and bearable for our characters. Lies and Deceit Quote "Well," said Caspar Goodwood simply, "she thinks I'm watching her." "Watching her?" "Trying to make out if she's happy." "That's easy to make out," said Ralph. "She's the most visibly happy woman I know." "I've been watching her. I was an old friend and it seemed to me I had the right. She pretends to be happy; that was what she undertook to be and I thought I should like to see for myself what it amounts to. I've seen." … (48.5) Isabel herself has become something of a master deceiver in the years since her marriage, and she actively tries to fool both Caspar and Ralph into thinking that she is more than "visibly happy." Women and Femininity "I'm glad they've taught you to obey," said Madame Merle. "That's what good little girls should do." "Oh yes, I obey very well," cried Pansy with soft eagerness, almost with boastfulness, as if she had been speaking of her piano-playing. And then she gave a faint, just audible sigh. (22.27) Pansy’s obedience is something she’s proud of –but, at the same time, she’s not entirely happy about it. 3.4. Literary significance & criticism The Portrait of a Lady received critical acclaim since its first publication in the pages of The Atlantic Monthly, and it remain s the most popular of James's longer fictions. Contemporary critics recognized that James had pushed the analysis of human con sciousness and motivation to new levels, particularly in such passages as the famous Chapter 42, where Isabel meditates deep in to the night about her marriage and the trap she seems to have fallen into. James made an in-depth account of Isabel's deepest te rrors in his preface to the New York Edition of the novel. More recent criticism has come at the novel from feminist. In particular, Isabel's final return to Osmond has fascinated critic s, who have debated whether James sufficiently justifies this seemingly paradoxical rejection of freedom. One interpretation is t hat Isabel not only feels as honor-bound to the promise she has made to stepdaughter Pansy as she does to Osmond, but also con siders that the scene her "unacceptable" trip to England will create with Osmond will leave her in a more justifiable position to a bandon her dreadful marriage. The extensive revisions James made for the 1908 New York Edition have generally been accepted as improvements, unlike the c hanges in other texts, such as The American or Roderick Hudson. The revision of the final scene between Isabel and Goodwood has been especially applauded. As Edward Wagenknecht noted, James "makes it as clear as any modern novelist could make it b y using all the four-letter words in the dictionary that [Isabel] has been roused as never before in her life, roused in the true sens e perhaps for the first time in her life." James's verbal magic allowed him to both obey and evade the restrictive conventions of his day for the treatment of sexuality in literature. Critic Alfred Habegger has claimed that the main character of Portrait was inspired by Christie Archer, the protagonist from Anne Moncure Crane's novel, Reginald Archer (1871). Crane (1838–1872) may have influenced James, who Habegger claimed was interested in Crane’s female characters. In the preface to the New York Edition of the novel, James referred to several of Ge orge Eliot's female protagonists as possible influences on the Portrait. Habegger questions this claim and quotes others as doing the same. 流派 Coming-of-Age, Realism Portrait of a Lady is definitely also one of the classics of the genre; Isabel’s transformation from a na?ve American import to a world-weary international woman of mystery is all about the harsh difference between idealistic youth and cynical, experienced age. With regards to James’s preferred modus operandi,Portrait is a famous example of the Realist novel (for others, see Madame Bovary, Anna Karenina, or any number of other super-famous novels of the nineteenth century). Basically, this means that the events of the novel could all happen quite conceivably in the real world that we live in – or rather, the one that James lived in – and the author shows life and humanity as they really are. By focusing on an individual life and all the people that touch it, James manages to show us a vast spectrum of human emotion.