Abstract

Henry James is regarded as a psychological realistic novelist. When he was young, he traveled between Europe and America. In his early adulthood, he was determined to create literature. He had the experience of living in both Europe and America. He knew about European and American society and he also knew the difference between European people and American people. Henry James always wanted to make a comparison between European civilization and American civilization. So there are a lot of novels that he wrote was about the problems emerged in the communication between Europeans and Americans. Henry James mainly focused on people’s inner world and he devoted himself to show the different state of minds and emotions of people under different situations. The flow of consciousness of Isabel in The Portrait of a Lady developed the plot. Different inner thoughts of Isabel under different situation were shown in detail in the novel. Henry James showed the process of Isabel’s feeling and awareness of the objective environment. This paper analyzes the image and the characteristics of three main American characters in this novel—Isabel Archer, Gilbert Osmond and Ralph Touchett by analyzing the relationships between characters and the plot. This paper also explains the different thoughts and traits of the three main characters under the background of European culture, also demonstrates: the formation of character in the novel is closely related to the environment.

Key words: Image; European and American culture; Character traits

Contents

摘要

Abstract

Introduction-1

1. The Image of Isabel Archer-2

1.1 Isabel’s pursuit of liberty and independence-2

1.2 Isabel’s attitude towards marriage-3

1.3 Isabel’s growth-4

2. The Image of Gilbert Osmond-5

2.1 Osmond’s evil nature-5

2.2 Osmond’s family connections-5

2.3 Osmond and his wife Isabel-6

3. The Image of Ralph Touchett-7

3.1 Ralph’s misfortune-8

3.2 Ralph’s Care for Isabel-9

3.3 Ralph’s Influence on Isabel-9

Conclusion-11

Acknowledgments-14