Ultimately, however, her independence leads her into an unhappy marriage with Gilbert Osmond.  
One character in this novel writes a letter to her employer describing the execution of Lady Jane Grey in the Tower of London.  That character is courted by a man who offers her a part in a play put on by his sister Pensil, Mr. Bantling.  The protagonist's stepdaughter is courted by Ned Rosier, but their love leads to Pansy being shut away in a convent.  She had married her husband at the suggestion of Madame Merle after repeatedly rejecting Caspar Goodwood and Lord Warburton.  While her uncle lies on his deathbed, her cousin, Ralph Touchett, asks his father to give her half of his fortune "to put a little wind in her sails." Ultimately, however, her independence leads her into an unhappy marriage with Gilbert Osmond.  FTP name this novel about Isabel Archer by Henry James.
One character in this novel writes a letter to her employer describing the execution of Lady Jane Grey in the Tower of London.  
Portrait of a Lady