Isabel Archer and Gertrudis (Tula): Women at the Turn-fo-the-Century Struggling for Freedom

Isabel Archer, the protagonist of Henry James\u27 The Portrait of a Lady, and Gertrudis (Tula), the protagonist of Miguel de Unamuno\u27s La T’a Tula are strong, able-bodied women who must combat the restraints of a corseting society. James and Unamuno write with the same agenda to critique how the turn-of-the-century society affected the lives of women. Although heroic in their determination to live life, both Isabel and Gertrudis fall victim to the society that reveres freedom more than passion. If these women had been allowed to not only express their passions but live their love for Caspar Goodwood and Ramiro, they would have found more happiness than what they experienced in exercising their definitions of freedom