While this exchange of pleasantries took place between the two
Ralph Touchett wandered away a little, with his usual slouching
gait, his hands in his pockets and his little rowdyish terrier at
his heels. His face was turned toward the house, but his eyes
were bent musingly on the lawn; so that he had been an object of
observation to a person who had just made her appearance in the
ample doorway for some moments before he perceived her. His
attention was called to her by the conduct of his dog, who had
suddenly darted forward with a little volley of shrill barks, in
which the note of welcome, however, was more sensible than that
of defiance. The person in question was a young lady, who seemed
immediately to interpret the greeting of the small beast. He
advanced with great rapidity and stood at her feet, looking up
and barking hard; whereupon, without hesitation, she stooped and
caught him in her hands, holding him face to face while he
continued his quick chatter. His master now had had time to
follow and to see that Bunchie’s new friend was a tall girl in a
black dress, who at first sight looked pretty. She was
bareheaded, as if she were staying in the house–a fact which
conveyed perplexity to the son of its master, conscious of that
immunity from visitors which had for some time been rendered
necessary by the latter’s ill-health. Meantime the two other
gentlemen had also taken note of the new-comer.
“Dear me, who’s that strange woman?” Mr. Touchett had asked.
“Perhaps it’s Mrs. Touchett’s niece–the independent young lady,”
Lord Warburton suggested. “I think she must be, from the way she
handles the dog.”
(I have never read this novel before…it has been a GAP in my reading for years! So am taking opportunity granted by it being James’s birthday month to actually read it for the very first time! And I did notice that Salley Vickers loved it too! )
So…the beginning…I love the leisurely unfolding of this narrative. It seems to unwrap itself naturally; slowly opening up the vista of observation so that we see Isabel Archer for the first time through as though we have been in the garden too and have just looked up and drifted towards the door where she makes her entrance. Only this is no dramatically realised entrance. We have just looked up and there she is playing with a dog. Isabel is thus rendered both fresh and unselfconscious and I don’t think I have enjoyed an opening of James so much before. It feels airy and hopeful somehow. And the attentiveness of the eye which alights on her bareheadedness conveys both puzzlement and erotic curiosity!
The qualification that at first she seemed ‘pretty’ maintains our interest; we are awaiting confirmation and greater detail. This reads as a genuine encounter with a new person. We sense potential and we hope for greater intimacy. The slight tension between her openness with dogs and yet her uncle’s question about her possible strangeness is perfectly done. She literally walks towards us and into the novel; all spontaneity and easeful intelligence.
It feels wonderful to have a new ‘great’ novel to enjoy for the first time!