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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
In lieu of writing a comprehensive review of this beautifully written, quite long, book, I will simply just share some of my favorite lines:
"She was really tired; she knew it, and knew she should pay for it on the morrow; but it was her habit at this period to carry exhaustion to the furthest point and confess to it only when dissimulation broke down."-pg99
"Isabel's chief dread in life at this period of her development was that she should appear narrow-minded; what she feared next afterwards was that she should really be so."-pg114
"'I'm capable of nothing with regard to you,' he went on, 'but of just being infernally in love with you."-pg208
"'Do you know where you're drifting'...'No, I haven't the least idea, and I find it very pleasant not to know. A swift carriage, of a dark night, rattling with four horses over roads that one can't see-that's my idea of happiness."-pg219
"With all her love of knowledge she had a natural shrinking from raising curtains and looking into unlighted corners. The love of knowledge coexisted in her mind with the finest capacity for ignorance."-pg251
"Apologies, Mrs Touchett intimated, were f no more use to her than bubbles, and she herself never dealt in such articles. One either did the thing or one didn't, and what one 'would' have done belonged to the sphere of the irrelevant, like the idea of a future life or of the origin of things."-pg374
"It was the tragic part of happiness; one's right was always made of the wrong of someone else."-pg401
"What kept Ralph alive was simply the fact that he had not yet seen enough of the person in the world in whom he was most interested: he was not yet satisfied."-pg446
"She was really tired; she knew it, and knew she should pay for it on the morrow; but it was her habit at this period to carry exhaustion to the furthest point and confess to it only when dissimulation broke down."-pg99
"Isabel's chief dread in life at this period of her development was that she should appear narrow-minded; what she feared next afterwards was that she should really be so."-pg114
"'I'm capable of nothing with regard to you,' he went on, 'but of just being infernally in love with you."-pg208
"'Do you know where you're drifting'...'No, I haven't the least idea, and I find it very pleasant not to know. A swift carriage, of a dark night, rattling with four horses over roads that one can't see-that's my idea of happiness."-pg219
"With all her love of knowledge she had a natural shrinking from raising curtains and looking into unlighted corners. The love of knowledge coexisted in her mind with the finest capacity for ignorance."-pg251
"Apologies, Mrs Touchett intimated, were f no more use to her than bubbles, and she herself never dealt in such articles. One either did the thing or one didn't, and what one 'would' have done belonged to the sphere of the irrelevant, like the idea of a future life or of the origin of things."-pg374
"It was the tragic part of happiness; one's right was always made of the wrong of someone else."-pg401
"What kept Ralph alive was simply the fact that he had not yet seen enough of the person in the world in whom he was most interested: he was not yet satisfied."-pg446
I was pretty underwhelmed by this story, nothing really sparked an interest in this book and I feel rather meh finishing it. Don't have much to take away from this classic but would maybe read another book by Henry James before I make up my mind of this author
Very elegant prose, very detailed and complex characters. Was really impressed by how well-drawn the dialogue and psychology of the characters are. Much has been written on Isabel Archer and (of course!) Madame Merle, but I thought that Pansy Osmond was rather interesting as well: eerie, uncanny, pitiable, yet endearing. My initial intuition on Isabel's choice at the end was the high import she places on promises, and shortly before leaving Rome she made a promise to Pansy. I'll have to reread to see if that is truly accurate though.
It makes me wonder if there's such a thing as being too reflective. I love the part about their visit to the sights in Rome.
Masterful writing. I dog-eared many pages to go back and reread the litany of perfect sentences within. Dialogue also rife with God-tier retorts and sick burns. Isabel Archer def a HoF literary character.
Never thought to pick up The Portrait of a Lady until I finished Elif Batuman's Either/Or. In the latter, the protagonist discusses the book and author at some length. This intrigued me. So after finishing The Portrait of a Lady, in a fit of re-appreciation I went back to the section of Batuman's book where Selin critiques the book and James.
Never thought to pick up The Portrait of a Lady until I finished Elif Batuman's Either/Or. In the latter, the protagonist discusses the book and author at some length. This intrigued me. So after finishing The Portrait of a Lady, in a fit of re-appreciation I went back to the section of Batuman's book where Selin critiques the book and James.
What makes James amazing is what makes him difficult. He writes and writes and writes, and yet, the reader is left to do most of the heavy lifting. So the reader knows so much about Isabel Archer's interior life, but the reader is still left to figure out her motivations. Its frustrating and fascinating. Also, when i retire I am doing a paper on his use of setting as character development.
Second or third time trying to finish it, which I did! I don't think that I'm going to read more Henry James the investigation of a single action from every concievable angle just didn't work for me.
Dear lord, so boring. I had to read this for a university course and I still remember disliking it. I much prefer Edith Wharton. The only Henry James I've ever liked is "The Turn of the Screw" and "Daisy Miller."
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was a little skeptical of this book because the only other Henry James book I've read was dreadful. But I went for it because we were reading it for book club. And you know what!? I actually really liked this one! For one, I could actually understand what was going on, and two, it had a "Downton Abbey" kind of feel to it. But I do feel quite badly for Isabel in this book. Just goes to show how important decisions are and the consequences that follow are what you have to live with.
This is a classic that is actually worth reading!
This is a classic that is actually worth reading!