Henry Jamse

A detailed Summary of Henry Jamse

Henry James writings, particularly ‘The Portrait of a Lady’

I read this book out of interest for another Henry James piece, liking Daisy Miller so much. I found that this book, as in Daisy Miller, has a female point of interest throughout. Isabel Archer is a young American girl brought to Europe after her father has died in America. Isabel is an independent girl, easily noticed by many others in her circle. I felt that Isabel was a woman in her time, in that she took notice of things that she wouldn’t have without certain without the opportunities she was given. In America she would have see and done other things, but in Europe she saw so much opportunity. I like the carefree attitude she had, but with the regard for her elders and common courtesy. The example in the book about being a proper young lady when it was not looked at very well that she stay up ‘alone’ with her cousin and another young man. She had asked her aunt to help her and tell her when she is doing, or about to do something saw as improper. I admired that. I think nowadays young women would revolt against proper if it meant something they did not wish to do.

Henry James’ writing was interesting to me in that

I really enjoyed this book and will recommend it to anyone who enjoys Henry James or even the time period of the Jane Austen novels.

he gave these characters a real life, with real life struggles and even consequences. I enjoy reading his work, very much like I enjoy watching and reading Jane Austen pieces as well. The time period is interesting to me and what is proper of a lady. That is a large piece of the world I do not understand. I am very much happy to see a woman and a man as equals. Of course there are things in society that women don’t do, or just aren’t a part of, but I am not one to be against that. What’s else interesting in the reading of ‘The Portrait of a Lady’ is that Isabel fell to something she would have been totally against if she had known the creature from another experience. The man she married was awful, and yet she married him with the idea that she was happy and that he was wonderful. He was exactly the type of man that, I think, kept her from getting married at all in the beginning. But, yet as a woman she felt the obligation to follow her husbands interests and thoughts, even though she was very much against them.

I know that these types of pieces are considered realism, but I see some romanticism in it also. I see it in the idea of who will marry and to the person they will marry. The idea of being arranged to marry someone is also true in this piece. The thought of who and when to marry these days is a different sort of decision, most of the time. Then in that day, it was who was rich, important in society and maybe a good looking catch. But, now it’s about love and relationships and I don’t know how things have changed so much. Sometimes I wish that I’d been born back in those times, even if I don’t believe in some of the behavior. I will de

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1257
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English