In 1813, Jane Austen wrote that a man in possession of a great fortune “must be in want of a wife”. Nineteenth-century women, who almost never had a great fortune, had two options when it came to marriage: choose a husband or end up a spinster.
Henry James’ 1881 novel The Portrait of a Lady faces this problem head-on. Isabel Archer has it better than most Jane Austen heroines in terms of money. She has a fortune. She does not need a husband to provide for her. Or does she?
The story follows Isabel Archer as she travels to Europe with her aunt. Once there, she must decide if she wants to pursue marriage or not. The choice is clear for her aunt. Sooner or later, Isabel must marry.
After her arrival, the marriage proposals come at her rapidly. A rich American man, an English lord, her own cousin. However, Isabel rejects them all, to the disbelief of her aunt. How could she turn down an English aristocrat? However, Isabel tells Lord Warburton that she wants to preserve her freedom.
Isabel Archer is a protagonist who is constantly exploited and tossed around. The other characters behave as if she does not have a voice; when discussing who Isabel should marry, Isabel is never present. They project their hopes onto her. But what about her wishes? The people around Isabel ignore her desires. At the beginning of the novel, she insists that she wants to remain free. But this does not stop her aunt or her friends from imagining Isabel’s future for her. It is a problem for many fictional women — but also for many real-life women. Isabel watches from the sidelines while others seize her future.
Who painted this portrait of a lady? Certainly not Isabel. She does not paint her own portrait, nor make her own choices. Isabel Archer follows a long line of fictional women entrapped in marriages: Countess Olenska, Charlotte Lucas, Helen Graham. For Countess Olenska from Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, her separation from her husband makes her an outsider. She serves as an example to other women. Why would someone want to become an outcast like her?
Isabel’s friend Madame Merle wants what is best for her. She advises Isabel to marry Gilbert Osmond. In the end, this does not make Isabel happy. How powerful is Isabel, truly, despite her fortune? Society still imposes limits on women, even if they possess certain freedoms.
The novel offers a realistic representation of women. Isabel greatly values her freedom. But as a woman, she has obligations. Therein lies the power of the novel: Isabel cannot reconcile her freedom and her obligations as a woman. Did she ever have a realistic chance of remaining free? These are the questions Henry James poses to the reader.
The novel is worth reading in a modern context. Isabel Archer’s fate is not unique. The issues depicted in The Portrait of a Lady still spark discussions: to what degree does society dictate a woman’s life? Nearly a century and a half later, the novel continues to raise questions about the freedom of women.
