Isabel Archer's Self-realization In The Cultural Conflicts

Henry James is generally acknowledged to be one of the greatest American novelists and critics and best known for his international fiction. His international fiction explores the conflicts of American and European cultures. The cultural conflicts between the Old world and the New are always shown in James's novels as the confrontation between American innocence and social naivete and European sophistication and complexity. The Portrait of a Lady is widely regarded as one of the best international novels of Henry James, therefore, many critics analyze its international theme from various perspectives. But the richness and complexity of The Portrait of a Lady amply suggests that James's vision of life is maturing and deepening. Henry James transcends the theme of cultural conflicts and progressively engages in fundamental human issues.On the one hand, Isabel's grand travel to Europe is a journey of the inquiring self endeavoring to obtain realization. On her journey to Europe, geographically from America to England, then from England to Italy, Isabel undergoes three moral awareness stages. In Albany, Isabel is an innocent girl with American idealism. Her experiences in England give her a new horizon and enhance her knowledge. However, her deeper knowledge and clear vision of life really begin in her tragic marriage in Italy. Through these experiences in Europe, Isabel acquires inch by inch...