The Portrait of a Lady

In Florence, the narrator describes a scene with Gilbert Osmond; his 15-year-old daughter, Pansy; and two nuns. Pansy has been in the care of the nuns since she was small but is now returning to her father, and they are discussing her education and growth. The nuns say goodbye to Pansy fondly and prepare to leave for Rome, then Madame Merle arrives. She tells Gilbert she wants him to meet and marry Isabel, and about Isabel’s recently inherited fortune.

Isabel is staying with Mrs. Touchett at her Florence home, enjoying the city and its art. Madame Merle introduces Isabel to Gilbert. Isabel feels annoyed at the expectation to make a good impression—a “perverse unwillingness to glitter by arrangement” (251)—but he invites her to visit his garden and meet his daughter. Isabel asks Ralph for his impressions of Gilbert. He tells her he doesn’t know much about him. She presses him for why he dislikes Madame Merle, and he describes her as being too perfect, with overstrained merits.

Isabel visits Gilbert’s home with Madame Merle. She meets Pansy as well as his sister, Countess Gemini. Isabel has some difficulty discerning Gilbert’s character or categorizing him. She feels self-conscious as well, fearing that she won’t appear as intelligent as she knows Madame Merle has described her to be.