Open AccessPortrait of an Act: Aesthetics and Ethics in The Portrait of a Lady
Author(s) -
Sigi Jöttkandt
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
the henry james review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.195
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1080-6555
pISSN - 0273-0340
DOI - 10.1353/hjr.2004.0007
Subject(s) - portrait , transcendental number , aesthetics , art , function (biology) , art history , sociology , philosophy , epistemology , evolutionary biology , biology
Taking issue with the dominant critical tendency to view The Portrait of a Lady through the aesthetic lens of a novel of education, the author argues that Isabel's decision to return to Osmond must be recognized for an explicitly ethical act in a Lacanian sense, whose ultimate function is to guarantee the James heroine's transcendental freedom
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