On The Creation Of Isabel Archer-a Typical Jamesian Lady

Henry James is one of the greatest American novelists and critics. His fictional theory and practice contributed much to the development of fiction. Isabel Archer is the heroine of The Portrait of a Lady, which is acknowledged as a masterpiece of Henry James. This thesis attempts to study how Henry James created Isabel Archer, a woman with complex and contradictory character.The creation of Isabel was first due to James's personal experiences, especially his family and the education he received, his childhood experiences, his experiences in Europe and his special relationship with his cousin Minny Temple. Isabel's complex and contradictory character also results from James's complex thoughts, which were influenced by various trends of thought, especially Transcendentalism, traditional ideas and pragmatism. As a result, on the one hand, Isabel loves freedom and independence like Transcendentalists and emphasizes life and experience as well as intelligence and consciousness like pragmatists; on the other hand, she obeys strictly traditional moral and marital values which restrict her freedom and independence and decrease her opportunities to explore life and gain experience as much as possible.This thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter One analyzes the influence of Henry James's specific experiences on Isabel's character and experiences, including James's family and the education he received, his childhood experiences, his experiences in Europe and his cousin Minny Temple-the archetype of Isabel.Chapter Two investigates the influence of Transcendentalism on Henry James, Henry James's attitude towards Transcendentalism and how Transcendentalism is reflected by Isabel. Three aspects of Transcendentalism are discussed, which are the individual, freedom and independence.Chapter Three deals with the influence of traditional ideas on Henry James, Henry James's attitude towards traditional ideas and how traditional ideas are reflected by Isabel. The traditional moral and marital values are mainly studied. Chapter Four studies the influence of pragmatism on Henry James, Henry James's attitude towards pragmatism and how pragmatism is reflected by Isabel. Pragmatism's emphasis on life and experience as well as its emphasis on intelligence and consciousness are the chapter's major concerns.Through the thesis, it is easy to arrive at the conclusion that Isabel's complex and contradictory character is a direct reflection of James's complicated thoughts and James's complicated thoughts derived from the influence of various trends of thought on him.