The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

This was a very long book!! My audio files came out to about 17 hrs. Volume I is especially lengthy in describing and protraying the main characters of the story. The real interesting attention-getting part doesn't come until volume II. If I had to recommend the book to anybody, I would explain the point of vol. I which is that Isabel Archer is a perfect American lady who attracts the very best of men and turns them down. She is also admired by her invalid cousin, Ralph, who convinces his dying father to bestow half his inheritance on her, thus making her a free and rich woman- able to do whatever she imagines in life. There are some good comparisons between the old and new worlds and the difference in social behaviors between the 2 that are quite interesting and just seeing the way things were back them might be worthwhile, but it does take a long time.

Then we get to vol. II. Isabel actually gets married!!! She was deceived into it though on account of her large inheritance. She also comes to find out that her husband had been an adulterer and her good friend his partner and the true mother of his fine daughter. The descriptions of the way Gilber, her husband, treats Isabel and Pansy, his daughter are very educational. He was so underhanded and good at manipulating appearances so that he would always be obeyed. Even so, Isabel has a hard time breaking away from him to comfort her cousin before his death, because she is so commited to the contract of marriage and admits she did it of her own free will. This is admirable and yet Gilbert was so mean, that I hoped she would leave since there were no children involved. Her longtime suitor whom she turned down many times again tried to canvince her to marry him, but in the end she returns to Rome although we don't know what she does once she gets there.

This book is all about relationships. There are several throughout. It is interesting to read about the different ones described. It is also nice to see the consequences of the heroine's decisions. Overall, I think it was worth listening to, but there are probably many other better books to study before this one.

Thanks for reading!!