The Representation of Women's Roles in Henry James and Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady

Abstract

Both Henry James and Jane Campion’s The Portrait of a Lady can be understood as a work of art which nicely describes the differences between the English Victorian belief that women’s innocence had to be preserved and they had to be restricted to the private sphere in which they served their husbands with complete obedience, and the more liberal American values of being experienced.James' version is more conservative since he suggets that there is no way out of the role society defined for women. However, Campion elaborates on that Victorian double standard will disappear because it cannot reflect the volitions and desires of women.