Cinema in English

Novels: Little Women

Louisa May Alcott, (1868) (recommended edition Penguin Classics,

Foreword by Patti Smith, Introduction by Ann Boyd Rioux, (2018)

The Portrait Of A Lady

Henry James, (1881)

The French Lieutenant’s Woman

John Fowles, (1969)

Movies: THE PIANO THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Jane Campion, (1993) and (1996)

LITTLE WOMEN

Gillian Armstrong, (1994)

THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN

Karel Reisz, (1981)

The Piano

The thread uniting the three books and has to do with treat the subject of

marriage, the struggle for freedom and independence, romantic love, women, class

prejudice, self-fulfilment and in general social stratification in relation to sexual politics

and gender.

Closed reading and detailed analysis of three novels exploring in particular: prevailing and

abuse on women, class prejudice, sexual politics, and marriage.

Victorian era: queen Victoria

period of rule (1837-1901)

Particular era of history unique for its solidity and far reaching achievements;

 Establishing a clear close direct connection between the development of society and a

 distinct paradigm in the history of great Britain, a period revolving around queen

Victoria political career;

Victorian age marks the climates of Britain socio-political, economic and cultural

 development;

Victoria becomes in 1876 Empress of India;

 She is the last of the house of Hannover and she gave her name to an era;

 During her reign the British monarchy took on its modern ceremonial character: she

 and her husband prince Albert had 9 children ;

The choice of representing an entire era by means of the name of an individual implies

 the idea of stability and uniformity of character;

Victorian’s values are stability, authority and respectability;

 Importance of the institution of monarchy with the identification with queen Victoria

 who very consciously promotes her image of wife and mother (her husband died

prematurely);

Feminist ideas spread through middle classes only during the last years of the Victorian

 age.

Society was therefore conceived as a large family built on respect and decency. In many

ways, Sarah Woodruff is a proud, independent, poor, unconventional woman who

becomes a social outcasted because she refuses deliberately to conform to the standards

of women of her class. Also, she is the one who initiates the romance with Charles

(unconventional).

Similarly, the heroine Isabel, is an unconventional, independent woman who at the

beginning of the novel becomes an heiress. American girls are different than English girls:

they have more freedom and more independence (Victorian rules affected American

society too, however they tried to free themselves from the ties of Europe and its

traditions).

Is it freedom she desires? How does one explain her choice to marry the cynical and self-

centred man only interested in her money?

HENRY JAMES a true cosmopolite. a citizen of the world

Henry James was He was and moved

 freely in and out of Europe and America. He was perhaps more at home in Europe than

he was in America, but the roots of his life belong to the American continent.

was born in New York in 1843.

Henry James His father, Henry James, Sr., had

 inherited a considerable sum of money, and spent his time in leisured pursuit of

theology and philosophy. The father often wrote essays and treatises on aspects of

religion and philosophy: he was a prominent theologian and follower of Swedenborg

Among the guests in the James' household were

th

(18 century Swedish mystic).

some of the most famous minds of the mid-nineteenth century like Ralph Waldo

Emerson, Bronson Alcott, George Ripley Dante Gabriele Rossetti, Darwin, John

Raskin, Flaubert, and George Elliot. The father was insistent that his children learn to

approach life as widely as possible.

his father took the entire family to Europe where they moved

In his twelfth year,

 freely in pursuit of stimulating conversation and intellectual ideas. The world of

His father's visitors

Europe left an everlasting impression on the young Henry James.

were the most prominent artists of the day, and James was able to follow the latest

literary trends.

In 1869 he made his first extended visit to Europe and by the mid 1260es he already

 During these early years he began his literary

regarded himself as an expatriate.

career writing short stories, reviews, critical essays, etc.

His career as a novelist started shortly after he took up residence in London

 and Ward am 37 years old; I have made my choice…”.

(Watch was his first novel): “I

His life covered a tremendous chain of events in Victorian period, he was the father of

the next generation more than a child of his time.

the first American to develop the theme of the American in

And finally, James was

 Europe. By the time he made his decision to settle in Europe, he had made several

trips there and had lived and attended school in several parts of Europe. Thus, the

American innocence meeting or

subject matter of most of James' works is about

becoming involved with European of experience.

He was cast in the role of the observer, The Portrait of a Lady

a role which in is

 The James’s were the American pioneers in the American

taken on by Ralph.

rediscovery of Europe and the cultivation of the self.

a novelist of manners

Henry James was concerned with the small details of social

 behaviour both for comic purpose and especially for the light these details shared with

individual characters and his fiction was notable since the very start.

meeting between Europeans and Americans.

His particular territory was the Most

 the master of psychological realism

importantly than a novelist, he was which

focuses on interior characterization as well as the motives behind action. In the course

interested in realism and increasingly into

of his career, he became less

psychology and perception.

Over the course of 5 decades, the quintessential bachelor dedicated in “literature with

 growing self-denial lucidity and happiness” writing and dictating to his secretary until

the moment of his death in early 1916.

He wrote 22 novels, more than 100 novellas and approximately 300 criticism. His

 novels include the indisputable masterpieces “The portrait of a lady”, “the golden bowl”

Beast In The Jungle” Hours” Hours”,

(1904), “The (short story), “English (1905), “Italian

American Scene”, Art Of The Novel”,

“The “The etc.

After 1904 Henry James became a British subject largely in reaction to US reluctance

 to enter WWI. After one year of his death, he became an English citizen.

the theme of the American versus the

Henry James was the first novelist to write on

European with any degree of greatness. Almost all of his major novels may be

a study of the social theme of the American in Europe James

approached as in which

contrasts the active life of the American with the mannered life of the European

aristocracy. which the moral innocence

Embodied in this contrast is the moral theme in

of the American is contrasted with the knowledge and experience (and evil) of the

European. difference between the

One of the great differences that is emphasized is the

American's utility and the European's insistence upon form and ceremony.

the American is a man of action; he does not mind

Furthermore, has worked and

working The European aristocracy have been bred to view

(he is not afraid of labour).

work as vulgar. people of inaction.

They are

American's sense of spontaneity, sincerity and action leads a person into

The

natural actions. European's emphasis on form, ceremony,

On the other hand, the

ritual, and urbanity seems to suggest the artificial. art as an opposing

It represents

entity to nature.

Ultimately, the ideal person is the one who can retain all of the American's innocence

 and honesty, and yet gain the European's experience and knowledge.

Henry James wrote the biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1879, and this biography

conveniently supplies the motives for having settled in Europe, where he lived with only

occasional returns to the US. Writing about an author required a substantial accumulation

of cultural history, whereas the American society could boost only “a thin and impalpable

deposit”. His inventory of the items “of high civilisation absent from the texture of American

life”, no social classes, no picturesque activities, no depositary of Art, etc., so the inventory

of items absent from American life and society explains his preference for the richer,

warmer, European spectacle.

His most memorable heroines, from the cruelly exploited Isabel Archer to Milly Theale

Wings of the Dove), confrontation between American

(The constitute studies in the

Idealism well-meaning but very naïve and European worldliness, sophistication, in

which duplicity, avarice, and intrigue are the order of the day. Some of the most

distinguished villains in James’s plots, Gilbert Osmond, and Madame Merle, who are the

two unscrupulous schemers are themselves expatriate Americans or deracinated

Americans.

The Portrait Of A Lady (1881)

the climax of James’s early maturity; it was a considerable success in both

It marked

England and America. establish James as a major writer,

It was meant to who could

avail himself of the strength of both European and American tradition while developing the

themes”. th

“international This novel is one of the major works of 19 century.

Isabel Archer

Overview young heiress ends up into an unjust marriage with a hateful

→ Gilbert Osmond,

American expatriate, and so cannot dispose of her remaining

Her husband is a

inheritance anymore (by right and law it now belongs to her husband).

narcissistic hateful gentleman of no particular social standing, desperate for

recognition and admiration of those around him (and for money). He is therefore ready

to sacrifice his only daughter by marrying her to a rich noble man.

Isabel Archer’s Mrs Touchett,

aunt, comes to America after the death of Isabel’s father in

order to take her niece to Europe. Isabel is delighted on the prospect of going to Europe

with her aunt, because she feels that she has few ties to her own mother country America.

Isabel is an energetic girl with a great desire to see the world and to experience it to

the full, she also has a great love of independence and

as her aunt soon discovers,

freedom. Mr Touchett

On her arrival in Gardencourt, England, Isabel meets her uncle, (he is a

Ralph, Lord Warburton,

retired American banker), his disabled son and his neighbour

who are enjoying tea on the loan (opening scene of the novel). Mr Touchett is deeply

attached to England, although many years of residence in this country have not entirely

subdued his American personality. His only son Ralph is an intelligent, loyal, generous

Isabel has never been in England before and she is charmed by

young man.

everything, she stresses her Americanness

yet when Isabel talks to her cousin Ralph

and American values. Ralph is very fascinated by Isabel, just as Lord Warburton, who

immediately falls in love with her and invites her to see his ancestral home. Isabel is

Henrietta

initially charmed by his personality. A short time later, Stackpole, a journalist

friend of Isabel, also arrives in England (she is a “new woman”, an independent young

lady, aggressively patriotic, and very critical of Europeanised American Ralph) and tells

her American suitor Caspar Goodwood has followed Isabel to England.

her that A

few days later Isabel receives a letter from Caspar Goodwood and a proposal of marriage

by Lord Warburton. Although Isabel likes him, she turns him down, because she cannot

bring herself to sacrifice her freedom (she cherishes her freedom and independence).

[Ch. 14] Dialogue between Isabel and Lord Warburton when he proposes to her: Isabel

impossibility to escape her fate.

tells him about her

During a visit to London, Henrietta (concerned about Isabel increasingly becoming

Europeanised) tries unsuccessfully to arrange for Caspar Goodwood to visit Isabel. Isabel

encounters Caspar Goodwood, who tries to convince her that she should marry him.

she must have time to see the world and make a few

Again, Isabel says that

independent judgments. She promises Goodwood that she will discuss the subject again

in two years. He leaves, promising to remain in America for this time.

While in London, Isabel hears of the sickness of her uncle. While Henrietta decides to tour

Mr Bantling

around Europe accompanied by (Ralph’s friend), Isabel returns to

Madame

Gardencourt, where she finds Mr Touchett dying. She also finds another guest,

Merle, an American widow living in Europe. According to Ralph “she's too good, too kind,

Madame Merle

too clever, too learned, too accomplished, too everything, too complete”.

is superbly accomplished, both socially and intellectually, and Isabel addresses to

her, her affection and admiration. During the long days when the house is involved with

sickness, Isabel and Madame Merle become good friends.

[Ch 18] Isabel enters in the drawing room to find a lady playing the piano with a great deal

of talent and passion. She has already heard a lot about Isabel, and introduces herself as

Madame Merle, an old friend of Mrs Touchett. A collector of fine porcelain, and also

strands, a worshipper of appearances, Madame Merle is also a connoisseur of beautiful

she appropriates the arts of living in order to make of

things, however mysteriously,

herself an accomplished work of art. she

She is so accomplished and experienced that

manages to live off the Touchettes for several years without showing any irritation,

“a miracle of living” [Ch.44].

Madame Merle first appeals to Isabel’s admirations for the kind of feeling to which the term

feeling for the

“aesthetic” has been adopted in common modern usage. That is to say,

arts, and by extension, for the conventions of manners as arts of living. When

Madame Merle is not engaged in writing letters, which obviously she writes beautifully,

Isabel sees her painting, playing the piano, or employed in beautiful tasks of rich

embroidery. promoting herself as “fine art”.

Madame Merle’s aspirations are The reader must

always keep in mind that Madame Merle is one of the most accomplished women in the

It would, of course, take a woman as clever and as perfect as Madame Merle

world.

to deceive Isabel. Even here though, we are given a few insights into Madame Merle's

She is not a natural person; the woman of acquired graces. She is

true nature. she is

the American who has developed forms, rituals, and ceremonies to their highest

degree of perfection. We do not learn the real truth about her until the end of the book.

She uses her cultivated pose to cover up an essentially base nature.

Ralph Touchett knows that his father plans to leave him a huge fortune, but he also

knows that he is slowly dying himself and does not need much money. He therefore

convinces his father to leave some of his fortune to Isabel. It becomes quite evident

Ralph finds Isabel amusing and thinks that she will use her new wealth to

that

develop her capacity to the fullest. Ralph interest in Isabel in not totally selfless, in fact

he is very curious to see what the girl will do with such a large sum of money at her

disposition. Madame Merle’s

[Ch.20] Recognition scene that shows how quickly and acutely

exploit the situation:

perception and intuition is, to understand how she can possibly she

learns about the fact that Isabel is becoming the Touchett heiress. Madame Merle admits

has great ambitions she will need

that she still (to marry Pansy well). To do this,

Isabel's money at her disposal. begins cleverly to interest Isabel

Madame Merle also

in the character of Gilbert Osmond. She is too intelligent to push Isabel toward Gilbert;

instead, she begins to plant some subtle hints about Osmond's talents this early in their

relationship. Isabel becomes a great heiress.

After Mr. Touchett's death, She starts to travel with her

aunt, and they first visit Paris, where Isabel meets Henrietta (again) and her childhood

Edward Rosier,

friend together with other American expatriates (who she finds rather

Henrietta worries that wealth will have bad effects on Isabel

indolent). (puritan attitude

towards money and wealth: puritans believed in hard work, and we can see that the

puritan’s ethic is embodied by Caspar Goodwood).

After that, Isabel and her aunt will stay at Mrs. Touchett's home in Florence, Italy. Isabel

rejoices in her freedom through Florence and Rome and realizes that LW and CG belong

Gilbert Osmond welcomes his daughter Pansy

to the distant past. In the meantime,

back from the convent (she is 15); she has been taught to obey her father and all people

of authority without question. In his view, she has the perfect education. He has a very

small income but possesses exquisite taste; rather than working, Osmond paints and

collects art objects. Pansy's dislike for Madame

One element that will be emphasized throughout the novel is

Merle. Realization of this will later make Isabel feel pity for Madame Merle in spite of all

the treachery on her part. Madame

Before introducing this important character, we have a description of his house.

Merle starts plotting behind Isabel’s back and tells Gilbert Osmond that she wants

him to make the acquaintance of Isabel Archer. the type of person that

We see that

Osmond likes is a person who performs all the

someone like his daughter Pansy:

correct rituals and ceremonies with perfection and who obeys him with complete

subservience. This will be what he expects of Isabel as a wife.

[Ch.22] In Florence Madame Merle introduces Isabel to her old friend Gilbert Osmond.

Madame Merle has already instructed Osmond to be nice to Isabel because she

thinks that Gilbert should marry her.

Madame Merle