Transcultural Encounter and Identity in Henry James’s Novel The Portrait of a Lady 1881 and Jane Campion’s Movie The Portrait of a Lady 1996.
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Date
2015
Authors
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Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi-Ouzou
Abstract
This modest research paper deals with cultural differences and immigrant encounter as it is
propounded in Henry James’s novel The Portrait of a Lady (1881) and within Jane
Campion’s movie The Portrait of a Lady 1996. As a theoretical framework, it relies on Homi
Bhabha postmodern theory as it is developed in The Location of Culture (2004). Cultural
difference is the first theoretical concept which is deployed in order to demonstrate the
cultural obstacles James’s American characters encounter in the European context. The
foreignness of the languages is the second concept used in order to explain how the foreign
language elicits the immigrants (James’s characters) racist fantasies. Benedict Anderson’s
theory Imagined Communities (1991) is also referred to since it represents an authentic
theoretical background that clarifies my perspective. His concept which is named cultural
roots is reliable to explain how James’s American characters meet the so called classical
European languages. This dissertation also exposes Campion’s attitudes through her
adaptation of The Portrait of a Lady 1996. The latter deals with the revelation of past worlds
atrocities via the female character. It also consists of a psychoanalytic examination of the
behaviors of the characters as it is interpreted by Freud and as it is reconsidered by
Feminists attitudes. The two perspectives are approached under the umbrella of the
theoretical framework of Josephine Donovan The Feminist Theory (1992). Leaning on
Cultural Feminism and Freudianism, those sections have revealed the traditional
conservative kinship system that has kept women under subjugation. It is also a starting point
for interpreting and exposing Campion’s Reflecsive Nostalgia. Relying on Donovan’s The
New Feminist Moral Vision, this work has critically exposed her moral visions that tend to
elicit the elite as well as the ordinary spectator’s mind to sympathize with past worlds in
order to construct a harmonious modern world.
Description
71p.:ill;30cm.(+cd)
Keywords
Citation
Cultural and Media Studies in English speaking countries