The Portrait of a Lady (thematic)

Arnold Kettle’s argument that “The Portrait of a Lady, [by Henry James], is a novel is about destiny” is a recurring aspect of the novel. According to the dictionary, destiny means, “the predetermined or inevitable course of events considered beyond power or control of people”(dictionary). However, Isabel Archer’s destiny, to be free and independent, was not out of her control. In the denouement of the novel Isabel has a chance to live …

…and independent. Before Osmond, Isabel feels that marrying would be “to escape my fate” (James 120). She truly believes that she will not marry until she has gotten all she can out of life. “I too don’t wish to marry until I have seen Europe” (James 138). She has many ideas and dreams of her own; once she marries Osmond her dreams seem to fade away, and her destiny of independence is only a lost hope.