60 pages 2 hours read

Henry James

The Portrait of a Lady

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1881

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 1-7

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

Three men have afternoon tea outside a picturesque English country house. Mr. Touchett, the old, wealthy American who owns the house, his sickly son, Ralph, and an Englishman, Lord Warburton, converse casually. They discuss the upcoming arrival of the old man’s niece, who will be escorted to England by his estranged wife.

Chapter 2 Summary

The niece, Isabel Archer, arrives. She enters informally and immediately picks up Ralph’s small dog, speaking to it affectionately. Her chaperone, Mrs. Touchett, has already retired to her room without greeting her husband. Via Isabel, Mrs. Touchett tells Ralph to come see her at a designated time. Isabel charms each of the men present with her conversation and confident manner.

Chapter 3 Summary

The narrator characterizes Mrs. Touchett as an odd and independent woman, who is in effect separated from her husband and lives primarily in Florence. Her feud with Isabel’s father had begun when she criticized his parenting after her sister’s death. Mrs. Touchett remembers traveling to Albany to see her nieces after their father’s death. Isabel has great affection for the house, which belonged to her late grandmother, and enjoys reading and solitude there. Arriving at the house when Isabel is home alone reading, Mrs.

Related Titles

By Henry James

Study Guide

logo

Daisy Miller

Henry James

Daisy Miller

Henry James

Plot Summary

logo

Roderick Hudson

Henry James

Roderick Hudson

Henry James

Plot Summary

logo

The Ambassadors

Henry James

The Ambassadors

Henry James

Study Guide

logo

The Aspern Papers

Henry James

The Aspern Papers

Henry James

Study Guide

logo

The Beast in the Jungle

Henry James

The Beast in the Jungle

Henry James

Study Guide

logo

The Bostonians

Henry James

The Bostonians

Henry James

Study Guide

logo

The Golden Bowl

Henry James

The Golden Bowl

Henry James

Study Guide

logo

The Jolly Corner

Henry James

The Jolly Corner

Henry James

Study Guide

logo

The Real Thing

Henry James

The Real Thing

Henry James

Plot Summary

logo

The Wings of the Dove

Henry James

The Wings of the Dove

Henry James

Study Guide

logo

Washington Square

Henry James

Washington Square

Henry James

Plot Summary

logo

What Maisie Knew

Henry James

What Maisie Knew

Henry James