Life-journey: A feminist reading of Henry James's the portrait of a lady and Olha Kobylianska's the princess

The present thesis is a feminist analysis of two classic novels, Henry James?s The Portrait of a Lady and Olha Kobylianska?s The Princess. The novels? protagonists are female characters who challenge the ideology of the societies they live in.The thesis demonstrates that in their works James and Kobylianska developed analogous understandings of the construction of gender; thus, the essence of `feminine? is representative for a whole range of potential options for women which are seen as natural but in fact socially shaped. Moreover, I claim that The Portrait of a Lady and The Princess explore things feminine and things feminist at the turn of the nineteenth century, and in doing so, the novels become a cause and a symbol of modernity in their treatment of women?s issues.My analysis argues for the placement of the novels within the theoretical boundaries of liberal feminism as the resolutions of conflicts, the protagonists? decisions and actions point on liberal redefinitions of the heroines? selves in protest against patriarchal culture.I concentrate my discussion on the political and social issues of the day regarding women?s situation in society, on the questions of women?s space, education, friendship and affective life, on some aspects of social life such as wealth, boredom and male gaze, in order to demonstrate how James and Kobylianska?s writings persistently and defiantly at times suggest of the highest possibilities for a woman by the end of the nineteenth century.