Abstract

Henry James is one of the most prolific and greatest America writers. The Portrait of a Lady is regarded as his masterpiece in his early literary career. He creates “New Woman” in The Portrait of a Lady. This thesis studies the feminism in The Portrait of a Lady based on the theory of close reading. The feminism is reflected by the changes of the protagonist’s self-consciousness. The thesis probes into the development of the female self-consciousness through the changes of Isabel’s ideology in different times. It is divided into three phases: the first phase is the sleeping of Isabel in marriage; the second one is the budding of Isabel’s female self-consciousness; the third one is the development of Isabel’s self-consciousness. By the analysis of the feminism in The Portrait of a Lady, the thesis aims at giving readers a new perspective to know more about The Portrait of a Lady and feminism.

Keywords: Henry James; The Portrait of a Lady; close reading; feminism; female self-consciousness

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 The Author and His Works-1

1.2. Theoretical Basis and Study Significance-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. Feminism Reflected by the Changes of Isabel’s Female Self-consciousness-3

3.1 Sleeping of Isabel in the Marriage-3

3.2 The Budding of Isabel’s Female Self-consciousness-7

3.3 Development of Isabel’s Self-consciousness-9

4. Conclusion-12

Works Cited-14