论文总字数：32330字

摘 要

亨利·詹姆斯有很多优秀的作品，《淑女画像》是他早期写作期间的代表作。他使用了心理现实主义并且成为“意识流”的先驱。

基于对心理现实主义的理解，本论文从不同角度探讨心理现实主义在小说中的运用及作用。并分析这种流派的独特性和它对读者产生的实际效果。

首先本论文介绍亨利·詹姆斯的生平和作品，然后介绍别人对他的评价以及目前的研究状况，之后分析心理现实主义在小说中的运用以及作用。在人物性格方面，论文分析了伊莎贝尔和奥赛蒙德的性格特征。本论文也分析了小说中心理现实主义所营造出来的真实感，之后分析了心理现实主义在景物象征方面的运用，，最后对整个分析进行总结。

关键词：心理现实主义；人物性格；小说主题；《淑女画像》；景物象征

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 1

3. The Application of Psychological Realism in Shaping the Personality of Characters 2

3.1 Personality of Isabel 3

3.2 Personality of Osmond 5

4. The Application of Psychological Realism in Creating the Atmosphere of Reality 7

4.1 Reality of Perspective Model 7

4.2 Reality of Conscious Activity 9

5. The Application of Psychological Realism in Drawing the Symbol of the Scenes 10

5.1 Grandmother’s House in Albany 11

5.2 Osmond’s House 11

5.3 Gardencourt 12

6. Conclusion 13

Works Cited 14

1. Introduction

Henry James (1843~1916), born in New York, is a remarkable English novelist. He has written numerous fictions which are popular among the world. He experiences the transition of capitalism to imperialism in the Europe and America. At that time, the inherent conflicts of capitalism were emerging in large numbers and the realism literature faded rapidly. Henry James is a member of the innovators of that period. He uses his unique techniques to reveal the complication of the society and crisis of the mind.

Through the life of Henry James, there are 22 novels, 112 tales, 7 plays and 2 autobiographies. The publication of Daisy Miller makes him win the fame overnight. The Portrait of a Lady is one of his representative novels during the period of his early writing. And representative novels of his writing summit are The Wings of Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl.

Henry James is famous for psychological realism. Psychological realism is a genre of writing that adopts direct psychology and indirect psychology to enrich the images of characters and explain the story wholly. He always employs it to show inner activity of the characters in the novel and make the novel real and credible for readers.

The Portrait of a Lady tells that Isabel, an innocent American girl, fond of European culture, goes to Europe with her aunt for liberty and horizon after her father dies and then suffers conflicts of different culture and fraud of marriage for trusting friends’ lies. Finally, she becomes mature and holds on the marriage with Osmond for her responsibility.

2. Literature Review

A lot of writers comment on the novel. The Portrait of a Lady is characterized by its international theme，psychological exploration，and female central characters．One of the striking characteristics of the novel is the international theme which is widely studied by many critics. Sharma researches into the international theme in The International Fiction of Henry James and argues “The international light pervades various settings in the novel．It permeates the contrast presented by Isabel’s three suitors．It suffuses Isabel’s journey in Europe and the little pilgrimage to the East and her friends’ traveling back and forth frequently across the Atlantic.” (Sharma, 1979: 16) For the success of the novel lies in the technique-psychological realism, Porte explores the novel in the perspective of psychology. He argues that “a problematic need for self-sufficiency often arises from maternal insufficiency, and frequently is a foundation of an underlying narcissism.” (Porte, 2007: 131) The novel is also studied in the perspective of feminism. Elizabeth Allen puts her emphasis on the feministic reading of Isabel Archer in A Woman Place and points out that James explores the conflict between women’s function as representative of her society and her own struggle into consciousness.

In China, scholars focus on the researches on the international theme and the culture of the novel. There are Zhou Lihua’s The Portrait of a Lady: The Conflicts and Mergers of the Two Cultures，Zhang Lihong’s The Contrast of the European Society and the American Society in The Portrait of a Lady and Zhang Yan’s Intercultural Ideal’s Pursuit and Reconstruction.

There are so many researches on The Portrait of a Lady. This thesis is intended to analyze the influence of the application of psychological realism in the novel and studies the effects of psychological realism.

3. The Application of Psychological Realism in Shaping the Personality of Characters

Wilhelm Wundt, a German psychologist, is the founder of modern scientific psychology. He thinks that “the object of psychology is to investigate the immediate experience of individuals.” (Wundt, 1999: 1902) The publication of Wundt’s Principles of Physiological Psychology stands for his maturation of psychological realism. Most writers are influenced by him. Later, Henry James applies psychological realism and enriches it in his novels. He writes The Art of Fiction. As for Sigmund Freud, he establishes his own psychological analysis. Psychological realism now is more or less taken for granted by the modern novelist. But at the beginning of its occurrence, it was unnoticed revolution technique.

Psychological realism is the product of realism and modernism and the combination of psychology and realism. It uses conscious activity and indirect consciousness such as images, dialogues and expressions of characters to describe nature and mind of characters. It places more than the usual amount of emphasis on interior characterization, and on the motives, circumstances, and internal action which develops external actions. In the literature of the United States, Henry James, Arthur Miller, and Edith Wharton are considered major contributors to the practice of psychological realism. Psychological realism serves as the prelude to the stream of consciousness.

3.1 Personality of Isabel

Isabel is the main character of the novel and she has complex personality. For her, Zhao Luorui thinks that she is one that has the nature of viperous tragedy, quality of hero and fatal weakness. (Zhao Luorui, 1998: 41) Henry James reflects her personality in different ways. He adopts different characters’ attitudes toward Isabel, such as Ralph and Osmond. Besides, many dialogues and consciousness function as a way to show personality of Isabel. So reader can understand her by her perception of environment and the characters around her. In this way does the author employ psychological realism to manifest not only the conflict between Isabel and the whole society but also the reason of tragedy in the novel. This writing genre for her personality improves the interests of the plot and deepens the intention of the author.

3.1.1 Innocence

Isabel, living in an open atmosphere in America, is fond of reading and curious about the foreign culture. She reads lots of books to know more knowledge. At the beginning of the novel, the author says that “she had a great desire for knowledge, but she really preferred almost any source of information to the printed page.” (James, 1997: 42) When Mrs. Touchett decides to take her to Europe, “her imagination was by habit ridiculously active, when the door was not open it jumped out of the window.” (James, 1997: 40) From these, the image of Isabel that she understands the world from books and imagination not from actual experience is showed to readers. The author shows her consciousness to readers and makes her innocence and imagination clear vividly. This writing genre can combine the minds of Isabel with the intention of the author and let readers understand Isabel better. The better understanding of her innocence can lead to better understanding of her later tragedy. This method is supposed to evoke readers’ interest and curiosity to continue to read for the purpose to find what will happen in the plot.

When Isabel knows she is given huge property, here is her consciousness: “At bottom her money had been a burden; had been on her mind…and there was no charitable institution in which she had been as much interested as in Gilbert Osmond.”(James, 997: 365) In this paragraph, the author applies psychological realism to reflect her innocence and kindness in order to analyze the root reason of her tragedy. Besides, it makes Isabel’s minds clear and let readers perceive the character reality of her. Readers are moved by her and sympathetic to her following tragedy. Furthermore, readers can analyze the essential cause by themselves. The author exhibits the reality in Isabel’s life though reflector’s consciousness. This can improve the interaction between readers and author. Psychological realism shortens the distance between characters and readers and makes readers form a portrayal of Isabel. It gives readers the space to imagine and dream.

3.1.2 Freedom

When Isabel comes to England for the first time, the author uses the dialogue between Isabel and her cousin-Ralph.

“I see,” said Ralph. “She has adopted you.”

“Adopted me? On, no; she has not adopted me. I’m not a candidate for adoption.” (James, 1997: 30)

The author makes use of dialogue of this writing genre to reflect Isabel’s desire of identical freedom. Dialogue can make readers understand the novel from the sense of hearing. It attracts readers and embodies the freedom of personality deeply. “Adopt” is a word to express others’ help for Isabel’s survival. Only this one word sharpens character’s image. This is the power of psychological realism.

The author depicts her freedom not only in her identity but also minds and choice. Mrs. Merle and Isabel have a fierce discuss about the mind freedom by psychological realism.

“I don’t agree with you. I think just the other way. I don’t know whether I succeed in expressing myself, but I know that nothing else expresses me.” (James, 1997: 179) Dialogue is a way of psychological realism. And this dialogue reflects her pursuit of mind freedom directly. Readers can be touched by her word and appreciate her insightful minds. The employment of psychological realism portrays her personality vividly and builds a close relationship between Isabel and readers. Dialogues can show the relationship between people and the debates of them. For this, readers can guess their fate and be attracted by the conflicts in dialogues.

When Isabel refuses the proposal of Lord Warburton, she thinks that “What she felt was that a territorial, a political, a social magnate…lived and moved.” (James, 1997: 98) The application of psychological realism in this can reflect Isabel wants to have her own free life without any restriction and burden. It may interest readers and make them curious about her final choice of marriage. Isabel’s pursuit of freedom is exhibited directly.

3.2 Personality of Osmond

Gilbert Osmond, born in America, is influenced deeply by European culture. He is Isabel’s husband and pretends to be an artist and kind father. He is “natural force, nurtured by and serving nothing but what James elsewhere calls the world of grab.” (Berland, 1995: 128) The author makes use of this writing genre to emphasize the hypocrisy and absolutism of Osmond. By comparing Osmond’s personality with Isabel’s personality, the author makes their conflicts clear and attracts readers’ interest to analyze the meaning of real life.

3.2.1 Hypocrisy

Osmond is first introduced to Isabel and readers by Mrs. Merle who is Osmond’s lover and has a baby for him. Mrs. Merle uses “brilliant”, “artistic” to attract Isabel for her huge property. Besides, this kind of description arouses readers’ interest. For further understanding, readers continue to read.

“Not to worry—not to strive nor struggle. To resign myself. To be content with little” (James, 1997: 231).

“If I do succeed before I die I shall thoroughly have earned it.”…might be confined to that exercise.(James, 1997: 265)

From above, the former one is happened when Osmond attracts Isabel deliberately in order to get her love and property. The latter one is occurred when Osmond finds his conspiracy may succeed and he is excited. Both employments of psychological realism exhibit his hypocrisy strongly. Also, its application gives readers clues of the tragedy of Isabel. Readers’ minds grow with the description of the author, so the sequence is that the author makes use of psychological realism to guide readers and makes them explore the relation between the novel and real life.

“It is in our living decently together, in spite of such drawbacks.”…his ingenious endeavor to draw her out.” (James, 1997: 454) This dialogue is occurred when Isabel wants to return to England to see Ralph who is dying. The mind of Osmond is revealed wholly. The author shows the direct conflict between Isabel and Osmond. This can embody the hypocrisy of Osmond. The character gives the inner feeling and thought to readers in this way to communicate with them. Readers can realize the feature of character and have almost the same feeling with the author. It can make readers think about the people who are like Osmond in life.

3.2.2 Absolutism

Osmond loves to put his own thought into others. His daughter Pansy and Isabel are hurt deeply.

“The real offence, as she ultimately perceived, was her having a mind of her own at all. Her mind was to be his-attached…a pretty piece of property for a proprietor already far-reaching.” (James, 1997: 369) This is the consciousness of Isabel when Osmond persuades her into advising Lora Warburton to marry Pansy. The author manifests the absolutism of Osmond by describing the psychology of Isabel. The conflict between them reveals the strong absolutism of Osmond. The ugly absolutism of Osmond is revealed and wakes Isabel up. Also, the author applies metaphors to reflect the personality of Osmond and the oppression of Isabel in a concrete way. The consciousness of the character guides the emotion of readers.

“Pansy would have no will, on power to resist, no sense of her own importance…when and where to cling.”(James, 1997: 273) This is the conscious activity of Isabel after communicating with Pansy. When knowing Pansy and Roiser fall in love, Osmond minds that Roiser doesn’t have enough property and orders Pansy to return monastery. The author is in the view of Isabel to show that the absolutism of Osmond is so fierce to make Pansy accustomed to obeying her father. The consciousness of Isabel can explore the personality of Osmond and make readers think that the feature of Osmond is true. The author combines psychological realism with novel and this makes the novel credible and readers fascinated.

4. The Application of Psychological Realism in Creating the Atmosphere of Reality

To create the sense of reality, James devotes himself to the exploration of new and useful methods to narrate his story. To make the sense of reality, the best way is to let the reader see what is happening personally, that is, to present the story through psychological realism in The Portrait of a Lady.

4.1 Reality of Perspective Model

In The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James uses different perspectives to explain the story and elaborate the theme like drama. It gives readers more characters’ feeling to know and analyze the hidden sense deeply. Besides, readers have large space to analyze the novel and imagine the plot and the characters. “Each character is a spectator and a spectacle in relation to the other…It is mostly on Isabel that the other characters gaze and the readers focus.”(Porte, 2007: 42) The author can change perspectives and this is ought to make readers read not only for the result of the novel but also enjoyment in the process of reading.

4.1.1 Central Perspective

Isabel Archer, full of imagination, has various attitudes toward characters in the novel. Hence, Henry James chooses her as central perspective. She comes from America and lives in Europe and this makes her mind different from others. She is a good representative for conflict and combination of America and Europe. Owing to this feature, her attitudes towards others and activities of mind are curiosity and enjoyment for readers to read sequentially. From her choice of marriage, she is a special girl. Her surprising choice attracts not only characters in the novel but also readers to see what will happen. She functions as a guide for readers to travel different countries and experience different adventures. In the novel, the author employs psychological realism to reveal the personality of other characters by different attitudes and judgments of Isabel. When meeting Mrs. Merle first, her consciousness is written “she was in a world a woman of strong impulses kept in admirable order.” (James, 1997: 158) This gives readers a sense of experience and reality. When knowing the conspiracy of Mrs. Merle and Osmond, “Isabel had been thinking all day of her falsity, her audacity, her ability, her probable suffering.”(James, 1997: 466) The author applies psychological and central perspective to realize the nature of characters and plot of the novel. Readers are interested in Mrs. Merle for her emotion and can see the change of Isabel’s attitude and maturation. This change makes the images of characters vivid and living. Readers can be fascinated with the characters and plot. Her views and thoughts can enrich the imagination of readers and enhance the feeling of reality between real life and novel.

4.1.2 Subordinate Perspective

Though Isabel is regard as central perspective, the author adopts many other characters as subordinate perspective to complement his intention and make the novel credible. The change of perspective makes the changes of the characters’ feeling. By using psychological realism, the different characters’ attitudes are reflected to readers and the complexity of attitudes makes readers have a sense of reality to the largest extent.

As central perspective has disadvantages, her judgments and attitudes can’t make the novel objective. Subordinate perspective such as Mrs. Merle, Ralph and Osmond can give readers other views by psychological realism. For Isabel, Mrs. Merle says “that’s crude of you.” (James, 1997: 179) From her point, Isabel has some weaknesses. This can give readers all-round understanding and thus form a sense of reality. Ralph has insightful judgment and he is the only one that knows Isabel. When Isabel insists on her marriage with Osmond, Ralph as a narrator thinks that “she loved him not for what he really possessed, but for his very poverties, but for his very poverties dressed out as honours.” (James, 1997: 299) His psychological thoughts helps readers know more about the feature of character and indicate a misfortune. The change of psychological description of subordinated perspective is to convey the intention of the author. This method can let readers play the important role in the novel reading.

Henry James substitutes many perspectives for his own perspective. Li Gencan thinks that the choice of the perspective is important because it not only is involved with the content of the novel but also is a method of art.(Li Gencan, 2008: 41) The novel is vivid by this way and the perspective can make up to the detailed comprehension for readers. James applies this method to combine with psychological reality in order to manage the atmosphere of reality.

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