Sunday, October 19, 2008

A little Sunday night Henry James (quote of the day)...

I'm still reading The Portrait of a Lady. Sometimes there is nothing better than a little Victorian feminism. Well, that is if you can call anything Victorian, "feminist". This tidbit was written by a man, of course, but what a delightful, polite little bad ass of a character he created in Isabel Archer:

"Isabel answered with much spirit. . . . 'I try to judge things for myself; to judge wrong, I think, is more honourable than not to judge at all. . . . I wish to choose my fate and know something of human affairs beyond what other people think it compatible with propriety to tell me...'
'One would think you were going to commit some atrocity!' said Caspar Goodwood.
'I wish to be free even to do that if the fancy takes me...'
'You'll get very sick of your independence.'
'Perhaps I shall; it's even very probable. When that day comes I shall be very glad to see you.'

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