The Portrait of a Lady is the story of Isabel Archer, an independent American who inherits a large fortune from her English relatives and becomes trapped in a toxic marriage to the abusive Gilbert Osmond. Archer stays with Osmond out of loyalty to his daughter, but Osmond's control over her life chafes at her and she longs to be free of his meddling. Returning to England, she vacillates about her life. Her final decisions as to whether or not to leave Osmond is left ambiguous.
James's first idea for The Portrait of a Lady was simple: a young American woman affronting her destiny, whatever it might be. Only then did he begin to form a plot to bring out the character of his central figure. This was the uncompromising story of the free-spirited Isabel losing her freedom—despite (or because of) suddenly coming into a great deal of money—and getting "ground in the very mill of the conventional". It is a rather existentialist novel , as Isabel is very committed to living with the consequences of her choice with integrity but also a sort of stubbornness.
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