Abstract: The Portrait of a Lady is Henry James’ masterpiece of his early writings and it is regarded as one of the best novels in the history of English and American literatures. The novel marks a new tendency of the art of fiction. This thesis attempts to analyze the causes of Isabel’s tragedy from both the internal and external perspectives. The external cause includes the social background and the family background. The internal cause includes Isabel’s personality and her attitude towards marriage. By means of a thorough analysis readers can have a better understanding of the Henry James as well as the theme of his novel, The Portrait of a Lady.

Key words: Henry James, tragedy, internal cause, external cause

摘要：《贵妇画像》是亨利·詹姆斯早期创作的代表作。这部作品被公认为英美文学史中最优秀的一本小说之一。该作品是“小说艺术的一个新的方向标”。本文试图从外因和内因的角度分析伊莎贝尔的悲剧成因。外因包括社会背景，家庭背景。内因包括伊莎贝尔的性格和她对婚姻的态度。通过详实的分析帮助读者更好地了解亨利·詹姆斯及其作品《贵妇画像》的主题含义。

关键词：亨利·詹姆斯; 悲剧；内因；外因