Washington Square

by Henry James

book data

1,951 ratings, 3.62 average rating, 183 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		18%
4		38%
3		30%
2		9%
1		2%

edit

published

April 6th 2004 (first published 1880) by Signet Classics

binding

Paperback, 240 pages

isbn

0451528719 (isbn13: 9780451528711)

description

With a new afterword by Michael Cunningham

What Catherine Sloper lacks in brains and beauty, she makes up for by being "very good." The han...more

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | Abebooks | compare prices…

new topic
discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

friend reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

Best Books Ever

3917 books | 14286 voters

Best Historical Fiction

836 books | 2527 voters

More lists...

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2,569)

sort: default (?) | date
filters: all | text-only

02/09/08

Emily rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, my-very-very-favorites, novels, re-read-2008

Read in May, 2008

I love this book so much I can't bear it. As someone who adores just about every last word that Henry James (over-) wrote, it has never gotten any more deliciously (un-)satisfying than this -- a slim, tart little novel about plain, socially unpromising Catherine Sloper, whose wealthy father refuses to allow her to marry Morris Townsend, whom he believes to be mercenary. No matter how many times I read this book, the question still nags at me: "Does Morris have any feeling at all for Cathe...more I love this book so much I can't bear it. As someone who adores just about every last word that Henry James (over-) wrote, it has never gotten any more deliciously (un-)satisfying than this -- a slim, tart little novel about plain, socially unpromising Catherine Sloper, whose wealthy father refuses to allow her to marry Morris Townsend, whom he believes to be mercenary. No matter how many times I read this book, the question still nags at me: "Does Morris have any feeling at all for Catherine, or is he really just after her fortune?" But why is this even a question?

It's usually taken for granted that Morris is sketchily-drawn, the standard handsome and callow fortune-hunter of melodrama, and his own remarks to other characters in the novel seem to provide ample evidence. I'm not fully convinced of this, which isn't to say that he's fully-drawn; rather, I wonder if Morris Townsend might be a kind of failed stereotype, a failure *of* the novel to keep him in his appointed place. If he's so successfully sketchy, then wouldn't the novel be redundant, and its central ambiguity unambiguous? If that were so, then "Washington Square" would do little more than encourage the reader's contemptuous pity for its heroine, whose tragedy would be utterly generic: her inability to recognize her beloved's venal motives. That would be straight-up melodrama, or mean-spirited satire. That wouldn't be Henry James.

The tragedy of the novel depends, though, on Catherine's father, Dr. Sloper, one of James's most stunning and indelible creations. The man despises his daughter, yet wants to protect her; he sees through Morris's dandyish charm, yet is most offended by the idea that his awkward, unlovely daughter would win herself such a handsome, charming husband. His opposition to the match may be, on the one hand, patriarchal duty, but it is no less an act of cold-blooded cruelty, and it is through his refusal to allow that the young man may like the money and yet be a fine husband that the real drama of "Washington Square" emerges. In fact, the pressure of this character produces the novel's greatest and least predictable achievement: the transformation of Catherine Sloper from a non-character -- the pathetic, jilted heiress -- into a character, and the reader's tormented resistance to Dr. Sloper not only keeps the door of "Morris Townsend" ajar, but keeps the novel on a wonderfully shaky course, morally and aesthetically.

In later years, James himself commented that he started "Washington Square" with great disdain for Catherine, which metamorphosed into something much more complicated (similar, maybe, to Tolstoy's creation of Anna Karenina). Maybe it's possible, then, to read Morris Townsend (to whose consciousness we only have access in scant, sharp shards of observation) as the most reflexively novelistic in the book, in the sense that his own ambivalent heartlessness may well mirror the novel's own confused motives. James ultimately disavowed "Washington Square" -- he even omitted it from his "Collected Works" -- but it marks the first appearance of the central conflict that governs his later, greatest novels: the predation of love upon money, and vice versa. The moral puzzle of the passionate mercenary haunts his major work, and "Washington Square" may well mark the death of the non-characters (villain and victim) that started it all. A strange, beautiful, perfectly unsatisfying book.(less)

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

6 comments

07/18/07

HRH rated it:

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: Those who don't need resolution

I had read Daisy Miller and enjoyed it so I thought I would like another Henry James novel, Washington Square. Furthermore, one of the remarks on the cover said something about the man writing as good a family story as Jane Austen. What could be better?

A lot of things actually.

I even read somewhere that James didn't like the novel so he didn't include it in his anthology. I'm surprised he made it through the first time knowing the ending as he presumably did.
Stage...more I had read Daisy Miller and enjoyed it so I thought I would like another Henry James novel, Washington Square. Furthermore, one of the remarks on the cover said something about the man writing as good a family story as Jane Austen. What could be better?

A lot of things actually.

I even read somewhere that James didn't like the novel so he didn't include it in his anthology. I'm surprised he made it through the first time knowing the ending as he presumably did.
Staged in New York City, Washington Square is the story of Catherine Sloper, the twenty-something daughter of a wealthy physician. When the handsome, clever, and prospectless Morris Townsend courts and proposes to Catherine, her father vehemently refuses his consent which basically adds up to an inheritance a third of what was originally promised. The books tediously accounts the little meetings and conversations, the escapade of Catherine's Aunt Pennyman, Catherine's trip to Europe, and Morris's eventual "jilting" of Catherine. The reader believes that at any moment the real story will begin.

There are no side plots, only a handful of characters, and no other subject addressed that the "will they -won't they" question of Catherine's and Morris' wedding.

The ending was the worst of all. In a chapter or two, James leads us through Catherine's life after her engagement if broken off. For a moment one guesses that it will have an ending similar to Persuasion, where the slightly older version of the meant-to-be couple finally comes together. But then Catherine just keeps getting older. Thirty, Forty, Fifty. There is a reason why the romantic escapades of old people are not usual. It is not romantic to hear how the hero has become fat and bald. Finally, Morris shows up and one thinks, aah finally! But no, Catherine awkwardly refuses him and that is the book. It was the sort of moment where one looks about oneself, sure that something was dropped. If one could only find the last pages then the book would be good and resolved.

Alas, that was the book.
(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

03/28/08

Jason Pettus rated it:

Read in March, 2008

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read a hundred so-called "classic" books for the first time, then file reports on whether or not I think they deserve the label

Book #10: Washington Square, by Henry James (1880)

The story in a nutshell:
Agreed by most to defin...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

02/08/08

Carol rated it:

bookshelves: fiction--literature

Read in February, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

It was rather hard for me to read further after finishing hte first thirty-something pages. Quite a long plot for the story with little twist in between.

The story is a melancholic one. It revolves around a young but rich daughter, Catherine, who has a lifelong devotion to a young man, Morris Townshed, who has no position and his character is morally questionable. Their marriage is strongly opposed by the daughter's father, who is a doctor and possesses a fortune.

Social...more It was rather hard for me to read further after finishing hte first thirty-something pages. Quite a long plot for the story with little twist in between.

The story is a melancholic one. It revolves around a young but rich daughter, Catherine, who has a lifelong devotion to a young man, Morris Townshed, who has no position and his character is morally questionable. Their marriage is strongly opposed by the daughter's father, who is a doctor and possesses a fortune.

Social status is not a barrier to their marriage. The crux is that the young man shows no real affection to the girl and he's idling after years of intentional separation. The innocent daughter enjoys the romantic love and is blind to the situation until late in the story. She turns into a wise, rational and mature female figure, with her confession to her father towards her determination to Morris Townshed - "If I live with you, I ought to obey you... But if I don't obey you, I ought not to live with you - to enjoy your kindness and protection'.

Henry James deals with the theme of love pessimistically which is reflected in the portrayal of doctor's daughter. Time proves everything when Catherine re-encounters Morris thirteen years later. The wound was so deep that Catherine thinks 'she felt it for years'. The feeling of hurt and pain, memories of sweetiness and bitterness of devotion are 'everything' to Catherine's life, and they are 'dead and buried'. On one hand, Catherine is a heroine as she stands against his father to fight for herself and she takes the courage to refuse Morris Townshed , who is not a true love. On the other hand, Catherine is a coward who ends up spend the rest of her life in needlework rather than choosing another man and living her life to the fullest.

Another important theme in the story, which is the struggle between 'moral comfort', or in Morris wording, 'intellectual satisfaction', and 'material comfort', is narrated and discussed in depth. For a man of no position and paying no apparent effort in making one is detined to be in subordination. For a woman who has a great deal of fortune and possesses wisdom in words of reasoning is never the one to be despised.(less)

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

12/16/07

Cristina rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in November, 2007

I used to hate Henry James. I really did. I tried to read The Aspern Papers when I was deep into my thesis on Byron and couldn't get through it. I tried to read Portrait of a Lady and found Isabel Archer annoying at best, although I couldn't quite describe why she irritated me so much. I abandoned James for a long time. Last month I decided to start on his shorter novels and see if I could build up a tolerance for him. Lo, I seem to have done it.

I can't say that this book was...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

10/09/07

Elena rated it:

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: People who have sat through the 6-hour BBC version of Pride and Predudice more than once

Engrossed in this book after the first few chapters, I read further with slight irritation because I couldn't pin down why I was so into it. Even the Austinian precision with which James paints his characters should have been overshadowed by a heroine who was "plain, dull" and lacking in intelligence. But it wasn't. I read the introduction after fininshing the book, and I think this is why:

"James commends Balzac for the way he so obviously loves his characters, not ...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

04/22/07

Katey rated it:

bookshelves: fiction

Read in May, 2007

I did not like any character in this book, and found myself actually despising Catherine the most(close runner-up: Dr. Sloper, her father). The only part of the entire novel that was even remotely likable was the last few chapters, and Catherine redeemed herself a bit for me in the end. James' actual writing is quite good of course (hence my 2 star instead of 1 star rating), but I would have to disagree with an assessment from Graham Greene that was on the back sleeve of my copy: "The delic...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

06/26/07

Tracy rated it:

bookshelves: classics

Read in May, 2007

I enjoy the writing style of Henry James, but the story itself... Ugh.

I kept thinking surely there are going to be some major plot twists, some sort of revelations or scandal to spice things up, or even some drastic unexpected course of action taken by someone or another... Instead the story mostly consists of a pack of unlikable people sitting around either scorning or deluding each other, and one spineless, milquetoast "heroine" stuck in the middle of it all, whom I spe...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

09/12/07

Hillary rated it:

Not my edition, but you can't get too picky on here or it won't let you add anything. Mine is a worn but still well-bound gray Modern Library copy from around the 1950s or 1960s, and I'm pretty attached to it. The type and layout seem to go very nicely with the crispness of the book itself. This is the book I ended up writing on at the end of my spring semester 07 class, after presenting on its connections to William James's pragmatism (even though that was written many years later). It's very A...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

04/19/09

Elynor rated it:

Read in April, 2009

Reading this book for my book club. It's a bit like going back to school, challenging my brain with "real literature," but I'm glad I'm reading it. I think I'll appreciate it more after our book club discussion in one week.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

07/21/07

Amanda Hindson rated it:

Read in July, 2007

Hmmm... seeing how this is a "classic," I feel like I shouldn't give it only three stars; however, it was just so SAD. Heavy. I suppose credit should be given to James for eloquently capturing and displaying the world of the narcissitc and delusional. Apparently, many have been inspired by the determined, yet resigned heroine. Part of what makes her so heroic is her complete departure from what was appropriate of a girl at her age in her culture.

This is one of the five ...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

06/03/09

Alex rated it:

Read in May, 2009

Washington Square reads like an outline, the bare bones of a novel that moves the reader from scene to scene, each of which consists of a conversation between only two characters which moves the plot a little further along. The conversations themselves are straight-forward declarations with both characters take turns verbalizing an action they plan to take or an opinion on another's action. This plot technique gives the impression that you are reading through sketches of a novel James one day pl...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

04/02/09

Susan added it

Read in April, 2009

Life much have moved quite slowly 100 years ago, even in New York City, so characters like those in Washington Square by Henry James really had as much time as he allows them to meet and socialize frequently, more or less without purpose. Catherine Sloper, the daughter of a wealthy doctor, is pursued by Morris Townsend, whom her father believes to be nothing more than a fortune-seeker. The novel is entirely about the relationship—-Morris wants marriage, then doesn’t, Catherine seems never ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

06/05/09

Eric rated it:

(review of isbn 0679602763)

bookshelves: themaster

Read in June, 2009

This life had, however, a secret history as well as a public one.

I'm surprised to learn that James excluded 'Washington Square' from the New York Edition of his works; it strikes me as the best of the novels to precede 'The Portrait of a Lady' (although I haven't yet read 'The American' or 'Daisy Miller'). The characters are more complex, the story more ambitious--ah, that richly characteristic Jamesian brew of duplicity, emotional aggression, half-known secret history!--than anythin...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

04/12/07

Denise rated it:

Victorian New York as only Henry James could show us. There are several movie versions of this beautiful book, but this needs to be read. The complex and bitter relationship between the main character, the plain and gentle Catherine Sloper and her father, the intellectual and cold Dr. Sloper is painful to read, but is worth every word. How do the conventions of her time twist Catherine? Read this book and find out.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

03/26/09

Ann rated it:

bookshelves: fiction

Read in April, 2009

Someone has commented that the world moved more slowly in the time period when Henry James was writing. I think that is true and one of the reasons I enjoy reading his works. We may suspect what will happen but the reader keeps wondering how could this be different. And if it was different would the outcomes be better or worse or would it make no difference at all. The complexities James creates are intricate and difficult.

What we heard about Catherine from the author made her seem r...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

12/17/08

JoAnn rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, fiction, must-read-again

Read in December, 2008

This is heartbreaking coming of age story for our heroine, Catherine. I felt bad that she is alone in many ways. Her father is indifferent in many ways because she is not "interesting," "beautiful" and is decidedly "stupid". Her aunt, the main female in her life, is ridiculous, to say the least, and not one whom I would entrust my dog, let alone my daughter. I find it horrifying her father doesn't consider her to be marriageable, so when a suitor presents attent...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

03/26/09

Anne rated it:

Read in March, 2009

An interesting tale of a father and a daughter. Reading this book reminded me of some of the things I enjoy about mid and late 19th century literature including the use of a narrator who is outside of the story and yet interested in the story. This style of writing where the narrator takes time to speak directly to the reader and acknowledges that the reader is outside of the story and does not know the characters, in many ways helps to draw the reader inside of the story.

This narr...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

01/21/09

Mandy rated it:

Read in February, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Like this review? yes

add a comment

12/29/08

Briynne rated it:

(review of isbn 0141441364)

Read in December, 2008

This has got to be one of the more depressing books I've ever read. I read this book after watching the old movie made from this book called "The Heiress" which had Montgomery Cliff and Olivia de Havilland as Catherine and Morris. The movie was great and the book is too. I kept thinking that things would have to turn a corner for poor Catherine, and to an extent I suppose they did in the end. I loved the sense of dignity she had through the entire story, even in the face of all her ...more

Like this review? yes

add a comment

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 128 129 next »

recent status updates | recommend it | blog it

combine
other editions (80)

More editions...

download ebook

quotes from this book

"Nevertheless, he had offered her a home under his own roof, which Lavinia accepted with the alacrity of a woman who had spent the ten years of her married life in the town of Poughkeepsie." More quotes...