Feminism and Women's Journey in Jane Campion: Adapting Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady

Abstract

In the last years, women filmmakers have approached a new vision about women and their new role in the society. In this context, Jane Campion is considered a pioneer in the female cinema. In her features she deals with gender issues and with the tensions of women who live in a patriarchal society, and feel a sense of alienation and displacement.

The final thesis is split into four chapters and it focuses on the notion of feminism and sexuality in Jane Campion's features and on her adaptation of Henry James's novel "The Portrait of a Lady". Moreover, since her antipodean heritage and her career as an expatriate, she shows an interest in women's displacement and their journey towards self-achievement and freedom.

The work explores Campion's adaptation of "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996). In the feature the journey of the American young girl Isabel Archer who lives in Europe is intertwined with the dangerous marriage with the selfish and manipulative Gilbert Osmond. Women's consciousness and desire of freedom are explored by the filmmaker in a mysterious and dark atmosphere.