贵妇人的肖像(英文ppt人物)

1、The portrait of a lady,The author,Henry James, O.M. (April 15, 1843 February28, 1916) was a U.S.-born British author . He is one of the key figures of 19th century literary realism.,Life of Henry James,Henry James was born into a wealthy cultured family of New England. For a while ,he attended Harva

2、rd Law School. He toured England, France and Italy. He tried to live and work as an art and drama critic in New York and failed . Finally, he settled down in London ,except some trips visits to America, spent the rest of his life there.,His literary contribution and achievements,Henry James was a vo

3、luminous writer. His whole life was a long career of continual fertile productivity.,He was influenced by some English ,European and American writers . The one American author who exerted a great influence on James is Hawthorne, whose insight into the human psyche impressed the younger writer deeply

4、. Hawthorne,He was deeply interested in the contrast between the old world and the new one. Theres always an “international theme” in his works. He likes to compare the America with the Europe. The typical Americans in James: fresh, enthusiastic, eager to learn, and basically “good” , disregard of t

5、he conventions, stand for morality The Europeans in James : highly cultivated, elegant in manners, but sophisticated. stand for manners,The most important ideas held by James,Aim of novel is to represent life (realism, more details in The Art of Fiction); The aim of the novel is to lift up peoples h

6、eart, and to bring pattern and meaning out of life. In his whole writing career James was concerned with “point of view” which is at the center of his aesthetic of the novel. To correspond to life the author should avoid artificial omniscience as much as possible. James used a particular method of t

7、elling the story, that is, illumination of the situation and characters through one or several minds instead of being omniscient. This method he termed “point of view.” Like Hawthorne, James also attached importance to the inner world. He spent a lot in examining and revealing the inner awareness an

8、d inward movements of his characters in face of outside occurrences rather than merely sketching their environment in any detail. James became probably the first of the modern psychological analysts in the novel and anticipated in his works the modern stream ofconsciousness technique so widely emplo

9、yed in the first decades of the 20th century.,He was one of the three advocates of 19th century American realism. The other two being Howells and Mark Twain.,A brief introduction to The Portrait of a Lady,Heroine：Isabel Archer,from Albany, New York,Lydia Touchett, her maternal aunt,Lydias rich husba

10、nd Daniel near London,her cousin Ralph Touchett, a friendly invalid,the Touchetts robust neighbor, Lord Warburton,Isabel declines Warburtons proposal of marriage,She rejects the hand of Caspar Goodwood, the charismatic son and heir of a wealthy Boston mill owner,leaves much of his estate to Isabel u

11、pon his death,travels the Continent and meets an American expatriate,Gilbert Osmond,in Florence,she accepts Osmonds proposal of marriage,promoted by the accomplished but untrustworthy Madame Merle, another American expatriate,settle in Rome,sours due to Osmonds overwhelming egotism and his lack of g

12、enuine affection for his wife,Pansy, Osmonds presumed daughter, wants to grant her wish to marry Edward Rosier, a young art collector,snobbish Osmond would rather that Pansy accept the proposal of Warburton,Isabel suspects, that Warburton may just be feigning interest in Pansy to get close to Isabel

13、 again,learns that Ralph is dying in England and prepares to go to him for his final hours, but Osmond selfishly opposes this plan,Meanwhile, Isabel learns that Pansy is actually the daughter of Madame Merle, who had an adulterous relationship with Osmond for several years,Isabel pays a final visit

14、to Pansy who desperately begs her to return some day,without telling her spiteful husband, to comfort the dying Ralph in England, where she remains until his death,Goodwood encounters her at Ralphs estate and begs her to leave Osmond and come away with him. He passionately embraces and kisses her, b

15、ut Isabel flees,Goodwood seeks her out the next day, but is told she has set off again for Rome,characteristic analysis,The main characters : Isabel Archer Ralph Osmond Madame Merle,Isabel Archer,1. Contempt secular and moneyshe refuses two mens proposal of marriage, one is Warburton who is a noble,

16、 another is Goodwood who is a merchant prince.,2. Seek freedom and independence she believes that everyone should make choices by themselves, even though their decision is wrong. Isabel like to be independent from others, so she never accept others advice and proposal. On the one hand, this kind of

17、thought reflects her intelligence and good culture. On the other hand, it misleads her and give her an unfortunate life.,3. Erudition(博学) and the pursuit of truth She has a good knowledge of literature and new thoughts. As a result of it, she prefers the spiritual wealth to the money and social stat

18、us. That is the reason why she refuses two rich men and marries Osmond who is an poor artist.,4. Innocent and confident Isabel firmly believes that she can create her life with her own mind and decision. So she takes no notice of others. She doesnt know the scheme of Osmond and Merle until she marri

19、es Osmond.,5. Brave and responsible After her marriage, she finds the scheme of Osmond. Madame Merle is the lover of Osmond, they want to swindle her money. She lives a very miserable life with Osmond, but she never flees. In the end of the novel she returns to her husband.,6.Indulge in fancy Isabel

20、 lacks the sense of realism, she regards herself as a perfect woman. Her thoughts are romantic so that she thinks Osmond is consummate.,7. The contradiction of her character Advocate freedom intelligent love Isabels pursuit of freedom is just a kind of thought, but in real life she is pessimistic an

21、d negative. Even if Osmonds marriage is a lie, she dont want to change or to create a new life. In addition, she likes Platonic love and fears the material love. She is an ignorant lady because she is too intelligent , so she deliberates everything , which give her many wrong judgments.,Ignorant,Pes

22、simistic,fear,Ralph Ralph is the Isabels cousin, who has an incurable disease. He loves Isabel and cares for her all the time. Ralph is an honest, kind, and also has a sense of humorous.,Osmond Osmond is an poor and superficial artist, he uses contemptible way to get Isabel because he want Isabels wealth. In add