The Architectural Principle in Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady

The title of Henry James’s novelThe Portrait of a Ladyalready stresses the visual aspect of the book. Central narrative functions are constituted by sights and insights. In order to convey his characters’ motivations, James puts their mental processes into terms of perception. In this visualising technique, architecture plays a predominant role both on a literal and a figurative level. Since architecture occurs on different levels of the text and fulfils different functions, it will not be treated as a one-dimensional motif, but rather as a complex image system. Instead of trying to simplify James’s complicated imagery networks, the effort will be made to discuss the different levels on which architecture functions without applying a hierarchy to them. It will be tried to pay as much attention as possible to the narrative function of the architectural images. But the essay will not only give an illustration of the different applications of the architecture complex. It will be asked whether the use of architecture in the novel follows a certain system. Looking at the preface to the novel, one could assume that the significance of architecture is not merely ornamental. Is there such thing as an architectural principle inThe Portrait of a Lady?