Marriage particularly for nineteenth century women determined their lifestyle and shaped their identity. Isabel accepts that for her, ‘Marriage meant that a woman should cleave to the man with whom……. She had stood at the altar.(The Portrait of a Lady p.575).
'Affronting her Destiny'
Women in nineteenth century society were expected to lead passive lives, usually in a domestic or nurturing role within marriage. Turning down two advantageous offers of marriage, Isabel wants to travel and see life. She does not wish to be confined by the establishment as represented by Lord Warburton or by the wealthy, American industrialist, Goodwood.
The visionary Isabel feels free from the encumbrances of society and thinks a person is not represented by their belongings, disagreeing with Madame Merle that ‘we’re each of us made up of some cluster of appurtenances’ (The Portrait of a Lady p.223).
Isabel Meets Gilbert Osmond
Her freedom of expression and ideas becomes constrained as her acquaintance with Osmond develops and she feels deprived ‘of all disposition to put herself forward’ (The Portrait of a Lady p. 279). Interacting with overlapping European societies adding to the mystery and difficulties, Isabel refuses to listen to advise from Ralph. Manipulated, overwhelmed and believing Osmond’s knowledge superior to her own, Isabel marries him, not realizing that Osmond embellishes his life by collecting art treasures and is adding the wealthy Isabel to his collection. Her oppressed position is mirrored by her growing isolation and loneliness.
Financial Freedom
Isabel searches for her sexuality which empowers but imprisons her. She lives in a male dominated society that defines the double standards of sexual morality. Isabel is given financial freedom usually enjoyed by men. Her aunt tells Isabel that she is ‘as free as the bird on the bough’ because ‘property erects a kind of barrier’ (The Portrait of a Lady p.242).
Yet Isabel’s inheritance becomes her ‘burden’ (The Portrait of a Lady p.458); wanting ‘to do something finely appreciable with her money’ (The Portrait of a Lady p.459) she marries a ‘man with the best taste in the world’ (The Portrait of a Lady p.458) in order to give it to him. Ultimately her marriage is an entrapment. When she finds herself in an unhappy marriage, she knows she has not used her inheritance wisely.
Isabel's Entrapment Within Marriage
Isabel fails to see that the man she loves wants to control her totally and believes ‘she had too many ideas and that she must get rid of them’ (The Portrait of a Lady p.460).
To defy Osmond in order to visit her dying cousin gives Isabel a moral dilemma. A married woman was supposed to obey and Osmond clearly states ‘If you leave Rome today it will be a piece of the most deliberate, the most calculated, opposition.’ (The Portrait of a Lady p.570).
Osmond, the Gothic Villain
She leaves anyway as Osmond becomes the traditional gothic villain. She recognizes Osmond ‘had put the lights out one by one’ and ‘the shadows had begun to gather’ ( The Portrait of a Lady p.456). Using the architecture metaphor that runs through the book, Henry likens Osmond’s personality to ‘the house of darkness, the house of dumbness, the house of suffocation’ (The Portrait of a Lady p.461).
The use of gothic conveys the male tyranny and female helplessness that could exist within a nineteenth century marriage. A sense of menace emphasises the position of female confinement within marriage. When Isabel decides not to take Goodwood’s offer of escape and returns to Rome, the gothic villain, Osmond, is defeated.
The gothic convention is a panic stricken heroine fleeing from the enemy but in James’ book, it is Isabel fleeing from rescue. James unites the gothic theme with Isabel’s new awareness that she has at last found herself - the strong , independent woman she been looking for.
James Henry The Portrait of a Lady (1881) With an introduction and notes by Nicola Bradbury. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN978-0-19-283369-3
 |
