Why does Isabel Archer in Portrait of a Lady go back to Gilbert Omsmond in the end?
accessteacher Teacher High School – 10th Grade eNotes Editor You have asked a question that has been debated for many years with no definite answer! We can tell only so much from the book and from there on in we have to surmise and infer Isabel’s reasons for returning to her marriage with Gilbert Osmond. What we do know for sure is that her embrace with Caspar Goodwood was the trigger that propelled her back to Rome: there is “a very straight path” for her. The main ideas therefore are as follows: 1) Some critics argue that Isabel Archel is not a tragic character, although she is in a bad situation. She resolves at the end of the novel to bring her full character and resources to bear on her marriage and her duty to her husband and step daughter. She therefore is rejecting the ways of the corrupt European circle that Gilbert Osmond and Madame Merle are part of and takes a more principled stand. 2) Some critics argue that Isabel returns to fulfil her duty because she does not want to en
