The Portrait of a Lady

Isabel refrains from answering Osmond’s rude request for her to influence Lord Warburton into marrying Pansy. After he leaves the room, she sits back into her her chair and closes her eyes, “given up to her meditation.”

A servant enters the room to stoke up the fire, with Isabel asking him to also bring candles. She then sits alone into the deep of the night, reflecting on her situation and the many choices that have led her here. She questions whether Lord Warburton still desires her and admires her beyond all other women; if so, is it possible that he would marry Pansy to please Isabel? Isabel admits to herself that she is sickened by the idea of Pansy marrying Warburton. She resolves to wait on action by seeing whether Warburton is truly invested in Pansy. She reasons that he cannot realistically be in love with two women at one time.

Still seated before the fire, Isabel’s thoughts turn to Osmond and Madame Merle’s strange familiarity earlier that day. She had never known that the two kept in touch, for Madame Merle rarely visited the Osmonds. Isabel considers the way that her husband spoils everything around him; she was blind to his vices during their courtship, and tried to ignore his weaknesses during their first year of marriage, but now she sees “the whole man.”

Isabel comes to realize that Mr. Touchett’s gift of a significant fortune has been a burden that has ruined her life. Her naïve idealism led her to marry Osmond so that she could fund the apparently noble pursuits of “the man with the best taste in the world.” However, Osmond’s apparent taste and moral values were a mask. Isabel wishes she had realized her folly in marrying Osmond when he chastised her during their courtship as having too many foolish ideas.

Isabel thinks that living with Osmond is like living in “a house of darkness [and] […] suffocation.” His selfishness and arrogance crush her independence. He dislikes most of society, but relies on society to build up his self image. He is also petty of spirit; for example, he hasn’t spoken to his wife for a week, likely because he is angry that Isabel has been visiting Ralph regularly.

Isabel remembers fondly her recent visit to Ralph. Her cousin has become a pillar for her again, as she relies on his friendship greatly, feeling as though he is like a brother to her. However, she never reveals her deep unhappiness in her marriage to him.

Isabel’s intense internal reflections have reached a climactic frenzy; she stews quietly in front of the fire until four in the morning, when she finally retires to bed. Her last thoughts are of the strange interactions between Osmond and Madame Merle earlier that day.