The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

Synopses:
The heroine of this powerful novel, often considered James's greatest work, is the spirited young American Isabel Archer. Blessed by nature and fortune, she journeys to Europe to seek the full realization of her potential--or, in modern terms, to "find herself"-- but what awaits her there may prove to be her undoing. During her journey, wooers vie for her attentions, including an English aristocrat, a perfect American gentleman, and a sensitive expatriate. But it is only after the ingenue falls pray to the schemes of an infinitely sophisticated older woman that her life takes on its true form. With its brilliant interplay of tensions and characters, The Portrait of a Lady is a timeless and essential American novel.

My Rating: 4/10

My Thoughts:
I started this book about a year ago, and it took me this long to finish it simply because reading it was painful. I bought this book expecting an Elizabeth Bennet type strong willed character who falls pray to an evil type gentleman. However, that was not the case. Though described as being strong willed and intelligent, Isabel seemed simply naive and immature. Plus the "evil gentleman" turned out to be no such thing. Yes, he had ulterior motives in marrying her, but marrying for money is not an "evil" reason, and Isabel willingly entered into the marriage. The two simply discovered they did not like each other after they were married for a while.

James is a fan of very long and descriptive paragraphs, and this book is not for the faint hearted. It's long and even though I love classic literature, took me a looooong time to finish. I would not recommend this book to people in the future.