4 out of 5 stars
As Isabel Archer experienced 150 years ago, the psychology or
independence versus marriage, wealth versus poverty, male versus female
and American versus European are as valid a topic for conversation and
meditation as they were in Victorian times. Henry James takes the
reader through these elements of psychology largely from the viewpoint
of the protagonist - Isabel Archer, and her interactions with family,
friends, suitors, lovers and children in this classic tale of romance,
tragedy and hope.
The fundamental thought that a woman has the
right to be independent was one of the driving forces behind the
narrative - and the sorrow that her marriage brings one of the driving
tragedies. Certainly ahead of its time as far as the self-sufficient
woman, there are two elements that appear to continue to drive the story
through some 550 pages of prose. The first is that ultimately there is
a need for interdependence, and independence is truly illusory. The
second is that there is a psychology to live vicariously as an element
of that independence. Throughout the book, the extremely well developed
characters interact in such a way as to imply independence, yet all the
lives weave together with Isabel at the center of the web, and any pull
on one strand impacts all others in some degree.
Many would rate
the book 5 stars based on reputation and the strength of the underlying
psychological elements. The fact the book resonates 150 years after it
was written is attestation to the timeless ability to tap the human
condition. However, the prose is dated and the development of the story
lengthy. The books ramps slowly, and only began really capturing the
imagination of this reader about 200 pages in. The modern "typical"
reader will find this a bit hard sledding to read and digest. It is a
book that should be read, but is of another age, and rates as such.
