The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

Een rijke Amerikaanse jonge vrouw met een sterke drang naar onafhankelijkheid blijft, ondanks alles wat ze in de loop van haar huwelijk over hem te weten komt, haar onbekrompen maar oppervlakkige echtgenoot trouw.

Swan around Europe
fall for a broody scumbag
how conventional.

bumped up to 4 stars because ok yeah this is interesting and a complicated read but IS IT WORTH 600+ PAGES OF MY TIME?

I thought I was savvy Henrietta Stackpole going into this book eyes wide open, but I was actually Pansy, completely innocent and oblivious to the reality right in front of me.

Isabel Archer is such a complex character. She thinks herself free of Society's expectations and wants to see every inch of the world, yet she is somehow still ensnared by those expectations.

The book lags a bit in places but when the last third of the book gets going, it's like a high-speed rail of drama and intrigue toward an ambiguous ending. I almost threw the book aside, but then laughed at the hopeful mystery Henry James left us.

Actively living an engaging life can be tiresome and neverending, but it can also be filled with hope and joy until the final page is turned.