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Abstract

Henry James’ The Portrait of Lady charts the journey of its protagonist Isabel Archer from a self-assured individual ready to take on the world on her own terms to gradually becoming a willing participant in the patriarchal mission by staying in a marriage that has lost all meaning and despite opportunities to alter her fate chooses to abide by a system of values at odds with her values. This paper explores the discourses that govern Isabel’s choices through the explication of Victorian gender ideology. It uses Foucauldian Discourse Analysis and examines how those systems of values alter, affect and influence Isabel’s life trajectories and what makes her give in her freedom for the social appearances. The study posits that gender ideology is affected by the discourse episteme as undercut by the analysis of the constitutive elements of discursive practices. The findings identify the influence of gender discourses in forming the subjectivity of the protagonist as revealed through an engagement with the novel, its historical context.