The Clash of Cultures în The Portrait of a Lady

The international theme was not the major theme or preoccupation in ‘The Portrait of a lady’, but all the same the topic was not left out in this very memorable story. The story was introduced with the description of the afternoon tea, which is an integral part of the English culture, but we were not told in the book, how the afternoon was spent in America. Nonetheless, we see in the brief summary of Daniel Touchett’s life one of the major issues addressed in the whole story: the leaving of one’s country and culture, in search of success or ‘real life’. That was also going to be Isabel’s major drive. We see Daniel Touchett moving from the American culture into the English culture, and adapting himself into the English way of life. Isabel had to leave Albany for the Gardencourt in London, leaving American culture, which is quite a contrast to the European one, which she was now going to encounter in London, Florence , Rome and other places she visited in Europe. The contrast of the two cultures is to be seen in the first two houses which appear in the book: The house and most importantly the room in which aunt Lydia found Isabel reading, fondly called ‘the office’, represents America with her ‘officiousness’ and ‘business or materialistic’ consciousness; her bureaucratic and democratic nature. To America belong lecture halls and podiums and in her, lacks the great palaces, country houses, cathedrals and ancestral houses. And the environment in which the only remarkable figure is ‘the Dutch House with it’s rickety wooden paling occupying school children ‘, cannot produce a challenge to Isabel’s pursuit of the high ideals of culture that pleases James’s imagination. One cannot compare such a surrounding with the Gardencourt : The great house with ‘ a name and a history: it had been built under Edward the Sixth, and had offered a nights hospitality to the great Elizabeth’. Moreover, Gardencourt satisfied the taste of Isabel and was the exact picture of her dream:

‘Her uncle’s house seemed a picture made real; no refinement of the agreement was lost upon Isabel; the rich perfection of Gardencourt at once revealed a world of gratified a need. The large, low rooms, with brown ceilings and dusky corners, the deep embrasures and the deep greenness outside that seemed always peeping in, the sense of well-ordered privacy in the centre of a“ property” these things were to the taste of our young lady, whose taste played considerable parts in her emotions’. (Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady, New York, 1936, Pg. 53)

Gardencourt stands for Europe and the initiation of Isabel into the culture and society of Europe and more or less into the achievement of her goal- the pursuit of excellency and knowledge, which is the road to the attainment of ideal culture as civilisation. Her stepping into Europe was the beginning of revelation to her, and England was this revelation that ‘she found herself as diverted as a child at pantomime.’ The richness of it’s refined artistic beauty represents the rich culture of Europe which Isabel was to explore, in contrast to the old plain house of Albany.

Such a contrast made between these two houses suggests that European culture is rich in aesthetic imaginations, while that of America lacks it or is very poor in it.

We also see the contrast between America and Europe in the figures of Lord Warburton and Ralph or his father; even though they are Europeanised Americans, nevertheless their physiognomies were still that of America. James even made it clear in his text:

‘The old gentleman at the tea-table, who had come from America had brought with him, at the top of his baggage, his American physiognomy; and had not only brought it with him, but has kept it in best order ’ (Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady, New York, 1936; Pg. 5)

In his description of Lord Warburton he made the contrast clear with that of Daniel Touchett and his son:

‘One of the remarkably well-made man of five and-thirty,with a face as English as that of the old gentleman I have just sketched was something else; a noticeably handsome face, fresh-coloured, fair and frank, with firm, straight features, a lively grey eye and rich chestnut beard. This person had a certain fortunate, brilliant exceptional look – a would have made any observer of him to envy him with a venture ’ (The Portrait, Pg. 6 )

Of Ralph he said:

‘His companion, was quite a person of different pattern, who, although he might have excited grave curiosity, would not, like the other, have provoked him to wish yourself, almost blindly, in his place. Tall, lean, loosely and feebly put together, he had an ugly, sickly, charming face furnished, but by no means decorated, with a straggling moustache and whisker. He looked clever and ill- He carried his hands in the pockets, and there was something in the way he did it that showed the habit was inveterate. His gait has a shambling wandering quality; he was not very firm on his legs ’. ( idem)

In this short introduction of these three characters, one can say that Daniel Touchett and Ralph represented America, while Lord Warburton stood for England or Europe in general. Going back to the described features of three men, America in form of

Daniel Touchett, was successful, had several achievements even outside America, but it cannot be compared with Europe with handsome, healthy and refined features, high civilisation having done a good job on it. The young America was sick, shambled, incoherent in its steps of progress and even though charming and witty, it was furnished but not decorated and its state was such that one would not wish oneself to be in its place. It is no surprise if James was actually putting up such description of America at that time, then that was the period that the Americans had a poor image of their culture and felt quite inferior to Europe in their developments in arts and culture; most writers have to make a name first in Europe in order to be accepted in their country. Like James put it in his description of Warburton “ - which would have made almost any observer envy him with a venture”. The American observer of Europe at that time really looked at Europe enviously with a venture of emulation.