![Book Cover of Washington Square](/image/book/washington-square.webp)
Washington Square
by Henry James
'Washington Square' Summary
The novel is told in the first person omniscient point of view, and the narrator often offers comments directly to the reader ("though it is an awkward confession to make about one's heroine, I must add she was something of a glutton", Chapter II).
The novel begins at a distance from the characters, describing the background of the Sloper family. It then recounts in detail the story of Catherine's romance with Morris Townsend. When Morris jilts her, the focus shifts back to a long view. As the narrator puts it: "Our story has hitherto moved with very short steps, but as it approaches its termination it must take a long stride." The final few chapters are taken once more in short steps, ending with the striking vignette of Catherine's rejection of Morris.
The bitterest irony in the story is that Dr. Sloper, a brilliant and successful doctor, is exactly right about Morris Townsend, and yet he is cruel to his defenseless and loving daughter. If the doctor had been incorrect in his appraisal of the worthless Townsend, he would be only a stock villain. As it is, the doctor's head functions perfectly but his heart has grown cold after the death of his beautiful and gifted wife.
Catherine gradually grows throughout the story, ultimately gaining the ability to judge her situation accurately. As James puts it: "From her point of view the great facts of her career were that Morris Townsend had trifled with her affection, and that her father had broken its spring. Nothing could ever alter these facts; they were always there, like her name, her age, her plain face. Nothing could ever undo the wrong or cure the pain that Morris had inflicted on her, and nothing could ever make her feel towards her father as she felt in her younger years." Catherine will never be brilliant, but she learns to be clear-sighted.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1880Author
![Henry James image](/thumbs/image/author/henry-james.webp)
Henry James
America, Britain
Henry James was born in New York City on April 15, 1843, into a wealthy and intellectually stimulating family. His father, Henry James Sr., was a Swedenborgian philosopher and his mother, Mary Roberts...
More on Henry JamesDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
![The Woodlanders Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-woodlanders.webp)
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
The Woodlanders is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was serialised from May 1886 to April 1887 in Macmillan's Magazine and published in three volumes in 18...
![Jennie Gerhardt Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/jennie-gerhardt.webp)
Jennie Gerhardt by Theodore Dreiser
Jennie Gerhardt is a 1911 novel by Theodore Dreiser.
![Marcella Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/marcella.webp)
Marcella by Mary Augusta Ward
Marcella is a novel by Mary Augusta Ward, first published in 1894.
![Old Mortality Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/old-mortality.webp)
Old Mortality by Sir Walter Scott
It is a conflict between the Covenanters, a group of Presbyterians who opposed the rule of Charles II, and the Royalists, who supported the monarchy....
![Consuelo Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/consuelo.webp)
Consuelo by George Sand
It tells the story of Consuelo, a young woman from Venice who is torn between her duty to marry for wealth and status, and her love for a musician nam...
![The Diary of a Nobody Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-diary-of-a-nobody.webp)
The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith
Grossmith’s comic novel unveils the daily chronicles of the pompous and clumsy middle-aged clerk Charles Pooter, who has just moved to the London subu...
![The Outdoor Girls on Pine Island Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-outdoor-girls-on-pine-island.webp)
The Outdoor Girls on Pine Island by Laura Lee Hope
It follows the story of a group of friends - Betty, Mollie, Amy, and Grace - as they embark on a journey to Pine Island, a secluded and mysterious isl...
![The Guermantes Way (Le Côté de Guermantes) Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-guermantes-way-le-cote-de-guermantes.webp)
The Guermantes Way (Le Côté de Guermantes) by Marcel Proust
Marcel is a young man who is fascinated by the Guermantes family, one of the most prestigious families in Parisian high society. He dreams of being ac...
![The Blood of the Vampire Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-blood-of-the-vampire.webp)
The Blood of the Vampire by Florence Marryat
It is a Gothic novel that tells the story of Harriet Brandt, a beautiful but mysterious woman who possesses supernatural powers. Published in 1897, th...
![Good Wives Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/good-wives.webp)
Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott
The story follows the lives of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details their passage from childhood to womanhood. Loosely based on t...
Reviews for Washington Square
No reviews posted or approved, yet...