The Analysis On The Space Narrative Of The Portrait Of A Lady

Henry James was a famous novelist, stylist and critic in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He has an important influence in the history of western literature. The Portrait of a Lady is his early works and also his masterpiece. According to Edward W. Soja's views on three kinds of space which is put forward in his works Third Space----Journeys to Los Angeles and Other Real-and-Imagined Places, this paper is going to illustrate the art of space narrative in The Portrait of a Lady. Based on the definition of"the first space", the first chapter identifies houses as the study object of the first space in The Portrait of a Lady, and then explores their narrative function. The second chapter will show Isabel's growth process through the analysis of"the second space". Besides, it will point out the impact on readers'mental space because of the limited presentation of the second space. In chapter three, from the standpoint of"the third space", we will discuss the geographical space in The Portrait of a Lady, which reveals the cultural conflict and integration of European and American and implies a far-reaching significance.