Isabel is too perfect for anyone.She's charming, witty,innocent.She's a handsome fortune .She's independent,she has the whole world in front of her.But also,she is proud too proud to accept the offer which can change her miserable fate at last,which is caused by her own mistake.The more I read the book,the more upset and depressed I become.It's like the only way out of the maze is just at hand but you simply would not go out .Instead you go deeper into the maze,which is full of uncertainty and misery because you are too proud to admit that you were wrong. 感觉很压抑 很痛苦,读到最后,看到这本小说以Isabel 的回到Rome结尾 真的很纠结 很痛苦~~~~~~
Henry James受George Eliot影响非常明显,喜欢借助大量细腻的心理刻画来塑造人物性格,但他失败之处在于缺乏足够的对话和行动支撑,人物形象过于抽象,远远不及George Eliot笔下的人物生动饱满,甚至人物性格的定位也缺乏说服力。尤其主角的portrait,本来就因为视角繁多,且主角对自身形象的大量思考和实际表现之间存在不同程度的冲突,人物性格的把握已有些复杂,又加上许多特征简直是被作者强行添描上,而没有从人物本身生发出来,实在难以叫人信服。难怪博尔赫斯要说,"Despite the scruples and delicate complexities of James his work suffers from a major defect: the absence of life."
四十几章之前一直觉得各个角色像飘乎的影子,作者并不急于追求性格塑造上的一致性和连贯性,只零星地描绘人物性格中往往不相关联的各个侧面,无限地撑开缓慢的情节,做着某种胸有成竹的准备。书读一半过去,让人越来越怀疑是否主线要在临近结尾才会爆发出来…… 终于James在Isabel婚后来了个似乎不耐烦的一跳,所有情节突然紧凑起来,对话、神情和动作也明显增多,前半段杂乱的拼贴画才像是有了连贯的补色,在渐近结尾处comes to life。
What Contributes to Isabel's Tragedy?
For a lady who bestowed upon dazzling beauty by god, and inherited a handsome amount of money from her uncle, wonderful life, like a volume of painting , was supposed to unfold itself before her. But, for Isabel, it's much of the opposite. And I, though cannot bring her self-demolition to a halt, want to explore the reason behind it.
The first and also the root reason is culturally based. Back then, roughly in the 1860s, United States is a new- born country. With a history of not more than 100 years, it didn't offer a cultural repository rich enough to partake. While Europe, across the pond, after thousands of years' deposition, had seen a blossom in all kinds of aspects----Literature, painting, sculpture and etc. And for Isabel, she is strongly enchanted in these things, to the extent that she herself cannot handle it. That explained her refusal to Warburton's marriage proposal. He is too perfect, as she put it, to get married. Warburton carries all the quality that a country like Britain can offer-----handsome appearance, noble title, wealth, high personal quality and you name it. It overwhelmed Isabel, so herself think. On the contrary, Goodwood, though whose passion for Isabel had never faded for a second, lacked what Isabel expect or, also we can say, what Warburton had. This is why he can never win the heart of Isabel. Differed form both Warburton and Goodwood, Osmond is a great blend of the two mentioned, at least from Isabel's viewpoint. he didn't have as high a temperament as Warburten, but culturally richer than Goodwood. In brief, he standed in the middle, which is why he succeeded in this three suitors' competition and constituted Isabel's doomed marriage,
The second reason is more personal. Isabel has a very fertile mind. And usually people of this kind will never let others change their course of life, no matter how strong the objectional force are. This make it reasonable why Isabel braved so many person's objection to her marriage and still leapt into it. She is so DAME bullheaded!
The third reason lies in Madame Merlin, who set a trap for Isabel immediately after she heard of that Isabel inherited a considerable amount of money. Her strong personal charisma deluded Isabel and finally lead her into astray. However, the trap is, in another way, a trap for herself. Because when you stake your life on other person's life, however how favorable it worked in your way, it's still not your life, and you will never get satisfied. Madame Merlin's later life justified it.
That's all for this tragedy------a tragedy staged by the era, the man, then woman, and also herself.
Henry James (亨利•詹姆斯1843-1916)本人出生在美国,却游历欧洲各国,最后定居英国。这样的经历使得他的故事中总有一些美国女人在欧洲大陆的身影:中篇小说《Daisy Miller(戴西•米勒)》中的Daisy Miller,《The Wings of the Dove(鸽之翼)》的Milly, 而这部小说更是直接以一个美国女子作为主角。
虽然年轻的Isabel看不清人性中的欺骗,可是为什么即便她看得到Lord Warburton的美好的品格,却还是毫不犹豫地拒绝了Lord W的求婚呢?在书中,Isabel对自己拒绝Lord W求婚做过几次解释,无论是她自己的心理描写,还是和表哥的对话中,有一点她一直在强调:Lord W is too Perfect! 于是,我也不禁想问:Perfect for what? For her or else? HJ没有给出解答。
所以我只能猜测:Lord W is too perfect for marrying, so he is not for love. 并不是Lord W太完美Isabel配不上,而是在Isabel眼里Lord W已经成为了一个最理想的结婚对象—good looking, good manner, good fortune and an English peer。因为是最理想的结婚对象,所以就不是谈恋爱的对象。这个因果逻辑一看似乎很有问题,但是对于一个读小说长大的女孩来说却再正常不过了。
MM是HJ在这部小说中的刻画得最饱满的一个人物,尽管是一个反面角色。她有一些像《Vanity Fair(名利场)》里的Becky Sharp,是一个为了自己生存不择手段的机会主义者。她也有些像HJ自己的另一部小说中的《The Wings of the Dove(鸽之翼)》里的Kate,因为她费尽心机让Osmond娶Isabel是想为自己的女儿找一个好的继母。不像HJ对Osmond的刻画让人憎恶,我想HJ对MM还是寄予了一定的同情。
事实上,‘The Portrait’这部小说最大的不足是HJ对Isabel这个人物的塑造不足。 小说一直在强调Isabel是一个富有奇思妙想的女孩。HJ的原话是Isabel was a girl had lots of ideas。而事实是从读者的角度我们只能看到HJ是这么说的,但没有看到Isabel是怎么表现的。我只在Isabel初到英国的姨妈家的大庄园的第一幕颇有惊艳之感,之后,于Lord W,还是从美国追赶而来的Goodwood,乃至Osmond我都见不到Isabel的光彩可让前二者为她神魂颠倒。
I suddenly found myself sobbing like a baby after reading this novel, as if I myself had confronted that tragic destiny of Isabel. It’s said that a novel is in its broadest sense a personal, a direct impression of life. When we read between the lines, we are actually getting a rough experience of the heroin’s whole life. I can’t make clear whether I like Isabel or not. All I felt for her was just the deeply rooted sympathy. I can find the same part of her in my shadow. That’s why I’m so touched by her love story.
Henry James bestowed a large part of his own personality and experience on the heroin. She is quite independent and knowledgeable, so different from those who do nothing but wait for a husband to bring a destiny at that time. Sentimental as she is, Isabel indulges herself in literature, caring very little about the worldly life. She just wants to see the different world with her own eyes, and find something special to live for. As she says, just begin afresh, leaving all the past behind her. With this desire in mind, she refuses two of her suitors, since she believes they are “too perfect” for her, actually too different from her imaginary lover. It’s not that they are not good enough, but that she can’t take the active part in their relationship. If she accepts either of them, she may feel not so independent as she prefers to be, and she can’t find her marriage special enough to meet her own imagination. At last, disguised by her own theories, she marries Osmond, a poor, self-centered and care-for-nothing man. She strongly believes that she loves this man, because his life is quite natural and different from what common people dream of. Since she gets part of money from her uncle, she does not have to marry for money’s sake, she can do whatever she likes. However, it turns out that this man is absolutely not her style. He marries her just for her money. Isabel suddenly feels at loss, when she finds she has actually been cheated by her own imagination. The shocking experience turns her whole life into a terrible mental suffering. But she is too proud to let her friends know her sadness, too proud to accept her own failure. Instead, she would rather suffer in silence from the dark, dumb and suffocating life. Sometimes she feels a passionate need to cry out and accuse herself, to let her sorrow possess her, but she still can’t leave her husband. The novel ends with an open ending. It’s not clear whether she will leave her husband some years later. It’s only certain that she is suffering from the cost of her own pride, imagination, and all those not so admirable elements in her nature.
I always believe that every woman’s love story is unexceptionally touching. At least we can feel some part of ourselves in it. From girlhood to marriage, it’s quite a long journey for girls. We have to experience the life cycle of puberty, menstruation, sexual initiation, pregnancy, childbirth and menopause. It’s said that women grow old gradually, while men grow old suddenly. Perhaps it makes some sense, but the life cycle itself is a kind of suffer, a bitter-sweet experience. So, to get someone really loves you and willing to accompany you through the whole life is quite a bliss for every girl. Love is such a complex feeling full of risks, devotion, imagination and inevitable pain. It’s so difficult to know clearly what you really dream of. Everybody is drifting in this small-large world, trying to find something to make their soul calm and complete, but how many of us are really content with what we get? Oscar Wilde once said there are two kinds of tragedy, one is that you can’t get the thing you longing for, the other is that you finally get what you desire of. Life sometimes looks like a drama, you have to struggle through all the trifles and sorrows, in order to catch the limited happiness and love. Maybe that’s the very essence of life, to struggle, to dream, to get and to lose. This endless cycle makes life a wonderful symphony.
I like this novel, because for me, it’s a process of psychological communication with a lady who experiences the bitterness of life. Each of us actually is drawing a portrait for ourselves throughout the whole life path. Whether attractive or not, it totally depends on our own choice, our dream, ambition, nature, and willingness to accept whatever circumstances in life.
我的很多感受跟楼主一样,James很多性格描写都不能说服我。不过我觉得后半段(Isabel婚后)情况好很多,至少展现人物性格的具体例子增多了。比如前面说Isabel非常聪明,她的追求者都觉得“some special preparation was required for talking with her”,这一点在后半段,比如Isabel带Pansy去参加的舞会上(43章),与Warburton的对话中应该能表现。后者在Isabel一针见血的要求下不得不说:“You're too pointed; I 've always to be defending myself.” 至于楼主问的,Warburton "too perfect for what",我猜测是因为James想要把Isabel塑造成一个一方面追求independence和liberty,一方面又急于施展自己的价值,甚至有点希望在弱者身上施恩的倾向,所以Warburton这种形象高大,人格完整又什么物质也不缺的人,会让Isabel觉得自己无所施展,恐怕婚后只能作为对方的依附(Dorothea的命运!)。她以为嫁了Osmond算是有用了,哪知道这才真正沦为这个艺术收藏家的一件摆设。
Henry James 只是在揭示这种 conflit between two different cultures.
亨利詹姆斯不是蛮喜欢英国的吗
I'm not sure Isabel is in love with Warburton. Warburton is an ideal, but Isabel wants her own life, and she never "felt" the love. She only feels a pride that the great Lord Warburton is devoted to her. And I'm not sure the ending means Isabel is going back to Osmond. She's just going back to Rome. Maybe she needs time to make the decision, maybe she's keeping her promise to visit Pansy, there is just no ending in the book.
I read the novel last summer, and in a mail wrote something that I rummaged out right away: "Her notion of the aristocratic life was simply the union of great knowledge with great liberty. The knowledge would give one a sense of duty and the liberty a sense of enjoyment..." that's the portrait of the lady, Isabel, the lonely pure pond lily in the cold wind and dead water, in Henry James' "The Portrait of a Lady " , which I read in the quiet corner in library. While reading, I drifted into meditating, into missing, of my girl, my sister I cannot help doting and relying on. I was comparing her with Isabel, and I found myself in ecstasy that my sister was much sharper and smarter and moreover I was by no means as ill and dying as Ralph, Isabel's cousin. I can protect her all through my life.
i like Henry James's sentimentality. His heroines are always seeking for something to save them from the suffocating dullness of life. They never have to worry about money, but ironically, it is money which set up a cage for them, just as in "The Portrait of a Lady " and "the wings of the Dove". They suffer from a kind of "unvoiced grief". Most of them are too clever and sensitive to feel the common happiness in life. It's real pathetic.
So waht do u think is the common happiness?
What is the common happiness? perhaps it's only a kind of feeling, a state of mind which can not be named. When you live as an outcast of the society, always seeking for your self-identity, and the so-called meaning of life, you must be unhappy. When you are too sentitive, indulging yourself in the human loneliness, and trying to dig for the very truth of life under the hypocritical surface, you can never be happy. Sometimes i have to doubt about the influence of reading, because it shows to us too much "real reality" of life which others even can not imagine. when your mind is enlightened, you can no longer be satisfied with the material life. instead, you want to seek for your dream, your value, your own ideas, and your own ethereal spiritual world. Just like H J's heroines, they are sensitive enough to be aware of the human sufferings, to feel the pent-up feelings and caged life of human beings.They are definitely unhappy. What is the common happiness for me? I've been tired of my spiritual journey. For me, right now happiness means to share the endlessly repeating life with the one i love, to enjoy everyday and make my simple life better and better even though it is by no means perfect. The soul of Chinese philosophy teaches us to broaden your inner-self instead of seeking from outside. That's what i am trying to do.