You won't catch too many males making this assertion is my guess, but Isabel Archer in Portrait of a Lady may be the most interesting character that I've come across in literature. James is phenomenal. I actually made a pilgrimmage of sorts to Lamb House in Rye, England, to see his house. On one hand, I was very enthusiastic to see children going from door to door and caroling. It fit the cobbled streets perfectly (and Rye is a beautiful little town). Sad thing is that none of them knew who Henry James was. To be fair, the oldest was only about 12 or so, but I'm willing to bet James is the most famous person to have lived in that town.
This was back in the early 90s, so the popular sentiment during those heady days of tolerance and enlightenment was essentially, "how dare this fat old white guy dare write female protagonists? of all the nerve!"
Now... my assertion back then was that they were both intelligent, independant women (Daisy was just too young and inexperienced to survive) battling for independance in a social setting that was even more constricting than any of my feminist classmates even dreamed. I dared suggest that he was revolutionary for such sensitivity and insight (and, dare I say it--feminist thought!) but of course, I encountered a lot of angry indignation from the silly broads.
I need to dig some of my old books up for a re-read. He was phenomenal.
I'm envious of your James pilgrimage. All I ever did was wander up to Asheville to see the Angel in the cemetary and tour Wolfe's house (which was one heck of a house!)