@article{oai:soar-ir.repo.nii.ac.jp:00017471, author = {市川, 嘉章}, journal = {信州大学教養部紀要.}, month = {Mar}, note = {Henry James put Isabel Archer, heroine of The Portrait of a Lady, in the position of a ”corner stone” in the architectural concept of his novel. Her wrong choice in the matter of her marriage and her awakening in consequence of it is the central theme of the story. A young and charming American girl crosses the Atlantic in pursuit of her dream of living in Europe as abundantly and beautifully as she wished. Her dream, however, ends in disenchantment. Because of a large inheritance from her uncle, she is made the victim of a conspiracy by a pair of expatriate Americans, who have been corrupted morally in the Old World. In the story, three suitors appear before her and she refuses the first two, but accepts the last, Gilbert Osmond, who turns out to be one of the conspirators for her legacy. Though intelligent, she is trapped into agreeing finally to Osmond's courtship. First in this article, why and how this intelligent girl came to lose her prudence toward Osmond is explicated. Secondly, an inquiry is made into how she was to find out the right way for her to live after her awakening came. Her cousin Ralph Touchett tried to dissuade Isabel from marrying Osmond, a narrow-minded and barren dilettante. But she made her own decision, because she came to believe that union with Osmond would give her “freedom of mind,” which she valued most highly. We can see that deep in her heart was a strong quest for freedom of mind. This quest made her refuse the other two suitors, and led her to accept Osmond. Ironically this choice was betrayed by her husband’s neglect of her quest, for their basic characters were quite different and opposed., Article, 信州大学教養部紀要. 24: 31-41(1990)}, pages = {31--41}, title = {Isabelの間違った選択とその覚醒 : 精神の自由を求めて}, volume = {24}, year = {1990} }