Isabel Archers Downfall in Henry James The Portrait of a Lady
It is an unquestionable fact of life that human nature is flawed. Human beings have avariety of weaknesses that may differ from one person to the next. How one deals with thisultimately determines whether it will or will not destroy the person. The faults that humanspossess stem from an open field of possibilities that they are able to choose from as they buildtheir own character. However, as much as individual free will is desirable, as all other parts ofthe natural world, it can include negative aspects, as well. Probably, the most difficult elementis being able to make good choices, keeping in mind what Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Freedomis not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err." Once a state of freedom is attained,all of its sides are encompassed. This essential human cycle of freedom has progressed alongwith the changing times, views, and values in society. It is depicted by many authors incountless novels. Henry James' perception accurately describes the shifts that occurred insociety during the late nineteenth century. He uses colorful characters in his writings to expresshis opinions on actual revolutionary outlooks of the time and to comment on human nature. The
Isabel initially enjoys the fact that Osmond treats her with much respectand holds in contempt "the usual values in life such as the pursuit of wealth, success, fame, andsubservience to social opinion" (Sharma 18). Isabel believes herself completely free to choose to do against what appears most properand expected of her. Through Henry James' implied commentary, it is clearthat however perfect the American ideal of freedom may sound, it can be undesirable, as well. She needed an equal in her thoughts andideals. Therefore,either way, Isabel is building up for a terrible loss. Once again, Isabel does not know what to do. "Her notion ofhuman freedom, dignity, and responsibility, as well as her ideal of marriage and her conceptionof a woman's place in society, inexorably trace of her, paradoxically, her freely chosen path"(Santos 309). Her actions reveal her keeping with the views of the changing timesregarding freedom. When in the end Isabel rejects Caspar Goodwood's proposal of marriage for the last time,she is above all aware that Caspar's idea of freedom contradicts her own, that it would nullify hervery conception of herself. And so she believes she does when she fulfills her "one ambition- to be free tofollow out a good feeling" (James 374). She sees herself as a mere instrument, a useful tool in other people's hands, a merepuppet. When Isabel becomes graduallyaware of her error of judgment concerning Osmond's character- that though she had married infreedom, she had not married freedom- all her strength and sense of dignity come to her, as thecherished ideal of freedom as opposed to her husband's strict conformity to standard traditions. In conclusion, it is this decision that is her final undoing.
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