A Pragmatistic Interpretation Of Isabel Archer In The Portrait Of A Lady

Henry James is one of the greatest novelists and critics in American literature. He makes great contribution in the field of fictional theory and practice. The Portrait of a Lady is one of the representative works of Henry James. The novel depicts the heroine Isabel Archer’s personal development and self realization. This thesis attempts to analyze the process of Isabel Archer’s growth from the perspective of pragmatism.Pragmatism is the native-born philosophy of America, the influence of which is both wide and far-reaching. The American realistic novelist Henry James has been greatly influenced by his brother William James, who is one of the representatives of pragmatism. Because of this deep influence, Henry James imbues his works with pragmatic thought. The Portrait of a Lady is regarded as the best novel in the history of English and American literature and it is famous for its rich depiction of Isabel’s life experience and contemplation. In the novel Isabel starts her journey to Europe as an inexperienced girl who has strong curiosity and naive ideas about freedom. Unpractical indigested knowledge leads her to make wrong judgment about reality and to fall successively into problematic situations. Her intelligence and consciousness develops with the accumulation of life experience which help her to complete the process of self inquiry and finally to realize her pursuit of happiness.This thesis is concentrated on the analysis of Henry James’s pragmatic thought embodied by Isabel Archer. The main part of the thesis has been divided into four chapters. The first chapter discusses Isabel’s change from innocence to perplexity. Isabel’s naive pursuit of freedom and strong curiosity are the expression of her innocence and ignorance. On the basis of analyzing her perplexity, this chapter intends to analyze the pragmatic viewpoints on true knowledge. The problematic situations Isabel found herself in serve as the starting point of her self inquiry.The second chapter elaborates Isabel’s self inquiry and the development of her self consciousness. With the enrichment of life experience Isabel begins to make supposition and deduction when faced with problematic situations. The writer employs abundant descriptions of psychological consciousness which reveal the growth of Isabel’s intelligence.Chapter three discusses the self awakening and rebirth of Isabel. Isabel introspects and reconstructs many ideas of her own because of suffering from painful life experience. Finally she returns to her tragic marriage out of her strong belief in and indomitable pursuit of an ideal moral life. Pragmatic ethical viewpoints are reflected by Isabel’s attitude toward life and subsequent decisions. Her return can be viewed as her determination to pursue happiness and live an ideal life.Chapter four is engaged in the brief tracing of the origin of Henry James’pragmatic thoughts from two aspects. One is from the historical background and the other is from his personal life experience.The conclusion states that Henry James’pragmatic thought is well embodied in the growth of Isabel. It is not difficult to see that pragmatism is not utilitarianism in the narrow sense. The successful creation of Isabel reveals its theoretical and practical significance.