Pursuer of Freedom, or Prisoner of Mind -- A New Study of the 
Theme “Freedom” in The Portrait of a Lady

Dan WANG; Lin LI

doi:10.18686/modern-management-forum.v8i2.12333

Pursuer of Freedom, or Prisoner of Mind -- A New Study of the Theme “Freedom” in The Portrait of a Lady

Dan WANG, Lin LI

Abstract

As one of the important themes in Henry James’s The Portrait of a Lady (1881), “freedom” has drawn the attention of many
scholars; however, few critics have ever explored the theme of “freedom” from the dimension of Isabel’s mind. From the perspective of the
protagonist’s divided self, this paper aims to illustrate the colonization of Isabel’s mind by literary imagination and patriarchal ideology, thus
drawing the conclusion that Isabel is in eff ect the prisoner of her own mind even though she tries to pursue the abstract freedom unlimited by
any exterior conditions.

Keywords

The Portrait of a Lady; freedom; literary imagination; patriarchal ideology; discipline

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References

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18686/modern-management-forum.v8i2.12333

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