The Hinge

            Henry James stays true to his characters more so than many other writers of his day. And this goes in tandem with others call Jamesian realism. How his characters act is set within the realm of what those characters are capable of doing. Basically, the characters only do what they have the possibility of doing; they act true to their own nature. This is how James stays true to his characters.

            The epitome of this character connection is seen through the character of Isabel Archer. She is a free and independent American woman who cherishes her freedom above anything else. This is the major reason why she declines a marriage proposal from Lord Warburton, because she knows that he would restrict her freedom. She is staying true to herself by protecting her freedom, at the same time, this limits the type of relationships that she can develop with other characters in the novel. She is a very fate-driven character, and this prevents her from accepting Lord Warburton's proposal, which no one in her family can understand why she would do such a thing.  If she gets married, then that limits the way she can live her life. This is seen when she decline Caspar Godwood's marriage proposal, even though he claims that he wants to make her more independent than she already is. She tells him to ask her again in two years and informs him that she "shall not be an easy victim."

            Isabel is the hinge for the entire novel, because all of the characters revolve around her and her decisions. Her development as a character is what interests the other characters the most. Henrietta continually frets about Isabel losing her values and becoming too European, while Ralph leads her to inherit half of his father's fortune, so that she may, "spread her wings [and] rise above the ground." This makes her a type of hinge for the novel. Her decisions, and the way she interacts with the other characters, is what drives the story as she represents James' typical American.