In his book, The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James repeatedly uses the technique of foreshadowing to hint at the tragic fate in store for Isabel towards the end of the book. This fate is created by Isabel's unrelenting drive for independence, a key theme of this novel. Using foreshadowing, James shows that too much independence isn't always a positive trait and actually, may lead to numerous problems. Throughout the story, James uses various secondary characters to drop subtle clues pertaining to Isabel's future. After Isabel end up marrying Osmond, these prophesies are fulfilled. Ironically, Isabel's desire for independence actually works against her and ends up limiting her
