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Washington Square

by Henry James, Michael Cunningham (Afterword)

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 7,380 ratings · 582 reviews

The plot of Washington Square has the simplicity of old-fashioned melodrama: a plain-looking, good-hearted young woman, the only child of a rich widower, is pursued by a charming but unscrupulous man who seeks the wealth she will presumably inherit. On this premise, Henry James constructed one of his most memorable novels, a story in which love is answered with betrayal an...more

Paperback, 240 pages

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

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Nov 26, 2012 Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels

Henry James is Gangnam style
Gangnam style

Catherine Sloper is warm and humanle during the day
A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee
A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes
A girl with that kind of twist

I’m a guy called Morris Townsend
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, Catherine Sloper, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Y...more

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Dec 13, 2012 Henry Avila rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Time the 1840's, in New York City.Catherine Sloper, a twenty-one year old woman.Daughter of a prominent and wealthy doctor.You'd think all the young men would be trying to marry her.But Catherine is plain of face and very shy.There's a good probability, that she'll remain a spinster, till the end of life. Catherine adores her father, and is intimidated in his presence.A very intelligent man, Dr.Austin Sloper is.The widower, invites his widow sister Lavinia, to stay at the Washington Square mansi...more Time the 1840's, in New York City.Catherine Sloper, a twenty-one year old woman.Daughter of a prominent and wealthy doctor.You'd think all the young men would be trying to marry her.But Catherine is plain of face and very shy.There's a good probability, that she'll remain a spinster, till the end of life. Catherine adores her father, and is intimidated in his presence.A very intelligent man, Dr.Austin Sloper is.The widower, invites his widow sister Lavinia, to stay at the Washington Square mansion,recently built by the physician.A nice quiet neighborhood,by the pretty park.Everything changes, this peaceful situation,when Catherine meets Mr.Morris Townsend,a beautiful man.As she thinks, at her cousin's engagement party. Morris dances with the tongue -tied girl.Catherine falls hard for him.But Townsend is a poor idler,who lives with his widow sister,Mrs.Montgomery and five children(medicine must have been very primitive back then). Morris pays close attention to Miss Sloper, talking to her,she doesn't say a word. The suspicious but busy father has reservations about Morris .What does he want with his daughter? It's apparent to everyone else.Poor boy wants to marry rich girl, for her money!Aunt Lavinia is a romantic,she has read too many of those type of books,and helps the young couple in their courtship.The Aunt imagines that she is the main character, in one of them novels..This silly woman causes much turmoil in the household. Mr.Sloper has to save his daughter from this evil man Townsend or he fears Morris will ruin her.Spending all the money and treating Catherine badly.But does a lonely girl have the right to take a chance on love? No matter how dubious.Is a little happiness worth all the headaches, that will inevitably follow.Or does she live the rest of her days by herself.Comfortable but bored.... Dr. Sloper takes Catherine to Europe, for a six- month Grand Tour,that turns into a year,seeing the glories of the past.But in the future, will his daughter forget her beau?(less)

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May 26, 2008 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-very-very-favorites, novels, 2008, re-read-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 Catherine, o...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)

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Jul 18, 2007 HRH rated it 2 of 5 stars 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.
Staged in New York City, Washington...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)

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Mar 28, 2008 Jason Pettus rated it 3 of 5 stars

(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 definitely be one of his minor works, Washington Square i...more

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Feb 09, 2008 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-literature

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 status is not a barrier...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)

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Dec 16, 2007 Cristina Caminita rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 brilliant by any d...more

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Oct 11, 2007 Elena rated it 4 of 5 stars 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 for any virues they may posses...more

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Jun 04, 2007 Katey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

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 delicate,...more

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Jun 26, 2007 Tracy Rhodes rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

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 spent most of the book des...more

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Sep 12, 2007 Hillary rated it 5 of 5 stars

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

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Apr 20, 2009 Elynor rated it 3 of 5 stars

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.

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Aug 03, 2012 julieta rated it 3 of 5 stars

Call me idealistic, but to me the point of calling someone a heroine, is reserved for someone at the least having qualities that surprise you, or that maybe make you sympathize for that person, through whatever happens to them in the story, or their thoughts.
What goes on in Catherine's mind? Who will ever know? I only felt uncomfortable while reading this book. Not an enjoyable read for me. I suppose you could say it is always a better description of any book, to do at least that, make you cring...more

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Joselo Este era el libro que te iba a recomendar hoy que nos escribimos. Que bien que ya lo leíste! no solamente "que pasa en la cabeza de Catherine?" mas bi...more
Aug 04, 2012 11:17pm

julieta jeje, pues si, me hubiera gustado sentirme un poco mas identificada con ella, pero solo me causó rechazo, porque no parecía actuar por si misma, en es...more
Aug 05, 2012 04:11pm

Federico Trejos Hola! Q tal?! Si pues yo tengo como que un rollo con James primer y único libro q me he leído es el Golden Bowl y lo sentí re aburrido; se supone que...more
Aug 08, 2012 10:58am

Aug 08, 2007 Amanda Hindson rated it 3 of 5 stars

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 classics that I plan to re...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Farnoosh Brock rated it 5 of 5 stars

Strangely addictive and impossible to put down, this novel grows on you like persistent ivy, takes you down the path of a deliciously and slowly narrated story, and in the end leaves you completely dissatisfied, puzzled, and aggravated that the anticipated sweet spot never comes.

I had no idea about the plot beforehand. The novel is written from the perspective of a third-person observer who years later recounts the story that happened at Washington Square in NY. I liked the setting and the stor...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Dolors rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

My second book by James and I still remain unimpressed when comparing him to Lawrence, Hardy or the Brontë sisters. Even to Austen.
I know he writes about different times, different places and with different aims, but even though I appreciate his correct and composed style, I miss the passionate accounts of other classic authors.
In "Washington Square" the setting takes place in the late XIXth New York where we are introduced to the Sloper family, consisting basically of the well respected and int...more My second book by James and I still remain unimpressed when comparing him to Lawrence, Hardy or the Brontë sisters. Even to Austen.
I know he writes about different times, different places and with different aims, but even though I appreciate his correct and composed style, I miss the passionate accounts of other classic authors.
In "Washington Square" the setting takes place in the late XIXth New York where we are introduced to the Sloper family, consisting basically of the well respected and intelligent Doctor Sloper, her humble daughter Catherine and a couple of her manipulative aunts. Our heroine is a dull girl, who lives under her father's wing, whose will is completely subjected by the Doctor's poor opinion of her. Dr. Sloper is always kind to her but at the same time he treats her as an inferior creature, not relying on her judgements or her opinions. He is domineering and strict. The biggest praise we hear about her is that she is "a modest and a quiet girl", meaning that she is gullible, submitted and patient. Not exactly as Hardy's Tess or Charlotte's Jane Eyre or Lawrence's Lady Chatterley.
The plot is settled when a new character is introduced, a young suitor, Mr Townsend, who wins the girl affection on the spot, seeing an opportunity to get a large sum of money if he marries her.
In the end, this book talks about a family conflict, as all the characters have their own interests and only the girl is earnest and innocent in her desires. She is trifled by everybody, by her own father and aunt and also by her lover. I was sorry to witness her endurance, passive self control when her future and happiness were being decided by everybody but herself.
All in all, I would say that I enjoyed this story much more in retrospection than while reading it. The whole composition makes sense in the end, and I find it highly realistic, but my guts can't help but shouting out loud to condemn the way women are mistreated in this novel.
I'll have to read more books by James to see if that's a "general" in all his works. I hope it's not.(less)

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Jan 15, 2013 Busyknitter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 52in13

I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to. I have not succeeded very well with Henry James in the past and chose this as a last ditch attempt to like his work. It’s one of his earlier works, published in 1880, so less impressionistic than the later stuff. It really helped that it had a plot. (I confess to liking stories where something actually happens). But it’s not exactly a cheery read. It also suffers from the general problem that I have with James, which is to be saturated with world...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars

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

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Dec 17, 2012 Dr. Tim added it

This is a book I read a few years ago but recently saw a stage production of it, renamed, The Heiress. Put simply, this book is all about the complicated, stifled and often oppressive relationship between a daughter and her widowed father and his dislike of her new suitor. Throw in an eccentric, hopelessly romantic aunt and the already testing dynamic of the home is further tested.

Wealth, grief, familial disappointment, romance, greed, charm and rebellion are all to be found within the pages of...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Ryandake rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

have we got the correct edition here? read by Jennifer Ehle, which will be important later in the review.

as for the book itself! i can't quite understand why James so disliked this book, unless it was inadequately ornate for him. i found it a rather harrowing depiction of ways people can be cruel to those they are supposed to love best.

the logline: when a feckless fortune-hunter zeroes in on the rather dense young heroine, her father suddenly turns out to be her worst enemy, followed closely by...more have we got the correct edition here? read by Jennifer Ehle, which will be important later in the review.

as for the book itself! i can't quite understand why James so disliked this book, unless it was inadequately ornate for him. i found it a rather harrowing depiction of ways people can be cruel to those they are supposed to love best.

the logline: when a feckless fortune-hunter zeroes in on the rather dense young heroine, her father suddenly turns out to be her worst enemy, followed closely by her drama queen aunt.

it's the minutiae in description of emotion and relationships that shines so well in this book. James was surely one of the great observers of people--how they speak under great emotion, how they dissemble, how they lie. the book's a master class at telling all the truth, slant: James rarely mentions outright what a pure jerk Dad can be, nor how Aunt Lavinia is an emotional vampire, nor how Morris Townsend is a creepy jerk. he lets them speak for themselves.

however! the reader of this audiobook... oy.

she read with the weirdest enunciations, pauses, stops. i felt like i was listening to a little brook--ever pay attention to one? the water isn't constant, it stutters and rushes, chortles and crashes. a very charming habit in a brook, not so charming a habit in an audiobook. sort of like this line:

She was not absolutely veracious; but this defect was of no great consequence, for she never had anything to conceal.

being read like this:

She... was NOT absolutely veracious; but. this DEfect was--of--no great CONsequence, forSheNever had anything. to. conceal.

something like that. it's weird. in a couple of places it seems perfectly apt for the emotion being read, but usually it's just kind of fascinating in an uncomfortable way, like rubbernecking at a car wreck.

and she reads the heroine's lines so flat, robotic, almost throughout the book. ya, i get that the heroine is supposed to be a rather dull sort, but there was no need to make her positively bovine.

so! read the book. just, read it on paper, not the audiobook.(less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Katsumi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, romance-erotic-affairs

Washinton Square is an engaging story in the fact that it fixes your attention. I was very interested to find out what would become of Catherine Sloper. She is an innocent heroine pursued by a selfish man(Morris Townsend)for her fortune she stands to inherit. Her father is right in his assumption that Morris is a fortunehunter and does all in his power to stop a marriage from taking place. However, his motives are not purely to keep his daughter from unhappiness. They are mainly focused on vanqu...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Piperitapitta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autori-usa, letteratura-usa, my-e-book, romanzo

Catherine (h)a tre facce.

Catherine è di proprietà del Dottor Sloper.
Catherine è il gingillo preferito di Lavinia Penniman.
Catherine è l'oggetto del desiderio di Morris.

Ma Catherine è anche Catherine, una ragazza dolce (scialba), remissiva (insignificante) e rispettosa (ordinaria), che è inaspettatamente tenace e caparbia, capace di tener testa a tutti e tre: l'autoritario Dottor Austin Sloper, il padre, l'arrampicatore Morris Townsend, il fidanzato, e la pettegola Mrs. Penniman, la zia.
Catherine...more Catherine (h)a tre facce.

Catherine è di proprietà del Dottor Sloper.
Catherine è il gingillo preferito di Lavinia Penniman.
Catherine è l'oggetto del desiderio di Morris.

Ma Catherine è anche Catherine, una ragazza dolce (scialba), remissiva (insignificante) e rispettosa (ordinaria), che è inaspettatamente tenace e caparbia, capace di tener testa a tutti e tre: l'autoritario Dottor Austin Sloper, il padre, l'arrampicatore Morris Townsend, il fidanzato, e la pettegola Mrs. Penniman, la zia.
Catherine è una ricca ereditiera che trascorrerà la propria vita, dal fiore della giovinezza alla maturità, nel difficile tentativo di restare in equilibrio - tra il fidanzato che vuole sposare, il padre che la ostacola minacciando di diseredarla e la zia intrigante che per manipola per combinare le nozze - e non perdere il rispetto di sé.
Mi ricorda per contrapposizione L'Eredità di Eszter di Sandor Marai: un'altra eredità, un'altra donna, un'altra storia d'amore.
Catherine ed Eszter.
Di Eszter sin dall'inizio, già dalle prime battute, sappiamo che uscirà sconfitta, che cederà ancora una volta alle lusinghe di quel mascalzone di Lajos; Catherine invece ci sorprenderà pagina dopo pagina, anno dopo anno, fino all'ultima scena.
Le mani di Eszter, alla fine, dopo aver tanto amato, resteranno vuote. E quelle di Catherine, dopo che avrà dimostrato a se stessa di avere un suo volto, la quarta faccia, come saranno alla fine le mani di Catherine?

Ho trovato molto interessante questo commento online, al quale mi sono permessa di "rubare" i tre aggettivi che lo stesso James ha usato per descrivere la percezione che gli altri hanno di Catherine, sia per l'origine della storia di Washington Square, che sarebbe il calco perfetto di una vicenda realmente accaduta e narrata dalla sorella del cacciatore di dote allo stesso James, che per l'interpretazione del titolo. Anziché muoversi sui tre lati del triangolo Catherine – Morris – dottor Sloper, James aggiunge il personaggio di Lavinia, la zia di Catherine, ottenendo di fatto un quadrato (in inglese, square). In effetti anche a me, leggendolo è apparso come una sorta di gioco dei quattro cantoni; un gioco in cui i quattro personaggi si alternano sulla scena seguendo un meccanismo talmente perfetto da ricordare quello degli orologi a carillon esposti nelle facciate di alcune chiese, come in un balletto in cui, alla fine, ciascuno ruota solo su se stesso.

http://www.diunlibro.it/washington-sq...(less)

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Jul 16, 2012 Ayrinne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

La prima notazione che voglio fare è che per me Henry James soffriva di personalità multipla perchè non è possibile che sia lo stesso autore di Ritratto di signora, non si inzuccano in nulla i due romanzi, come stile e come personaggi e come modo di portare avanti una storia.

Inizialmente ho pensato che rispetto ad altre cose che avevo letto di James fosse troppo semplice stilisticamente, troppo "fuori stile" appunto (vabbè che non ho letto un suo romanzo che sia uguale a un altro) poi invece mi...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Book Concierge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Catherine Sloper is a not-so-young woman who really hasn’t much to recommend her or to attract a husband. She is somewhat plain, not terribly intelligent, not accomplished in music, dance, conversation or art. However, she does have a significant income (from her mother’s estate) and expectations of inheriting far more from her father, a brilliant physician in mid-19th-century New York City. At her cousin’s engagement party she meets a handsome gentleman, who, encouraged by her widowed Aunt Lavi...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Sunshine rated it 2 of 5 stars

I had to hand it to Mr. James for making sure both Catherine's father and the slick Morris Townsend did not get what they most desired in the end. Even though she was manipulated by both, it is she who holds the lynchpin for their personal revenge. And revenge is an act she will not allow. So, to credit the wit of Mr. James, all three characters are left to unrequited desire. So tragic . . .

If you enjoy formal language and incisive descriptions of characters, then Henry James might be suitable...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Jill rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

I'd picked this book up on one of my library runs, thinking it would be like reading Jane Austen, except that it wouldn’t be the landed gentry in 18th century England being dissected, but 19th century New York society instead. But Catherine Sloper, the heroine of Washington Square, is no match for any of Austen’s heroines. Her father thinks her plain, dull, uninspired and insipid. And he’s absolutely right! Whereas Austen’s heroines are full of spunk, if not vivacious and attractive, Catherine i...more

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May 01, 2011 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Washington Square marks the first of what will probably be several books visited because of my recent reading of Reading Lolita in Tehran. I'm pretty sure the only James I had read prior to this book was Daisy Miller, which I read for literature classes in both high school and college. I remember distinctly disliking it in high school (because "nothing happens and it just ends") although I think I did like it more the second time around.

Washington Square is the story of Miss Catherine Sloper, a...more Washington Square marks the first of what will probably be several books visited because of my recent reading of Reading Lolita in Tehran. I'm pretty sure the only James I had read prior to this book was Daisy Miller, which I read for literature classes in both high school and college. I remember distinctly disliking it in high school (because "nothing happens and it just ends") although I think I did like it more the second time around.

Washington Square is the story of Miss Catherine Sloper, a young lady of New York who is endowed with practically nothing to make her interesting or memorable. She is unattractive, but not grotesquely so; of average intelligence; extremely quiet; largely passionless; and in general a very agreeable and easily forgettable character. She lives with her father (to whom James bestows intelligence, irony, social status, and wealth) and her aunt (who receives the gifts of meddling and gossip), each of whom believe they have Catherine completely figured out and who try to impose their plans for her onto her reality.

Catherine's life changes markedly when an attractive, witty young man named Morris Townsend arrives on the scene and is instantly infatuated with her. Dr Sloper is opposed to their relationship from the start, while Catherine's aunt's romantic nature seeks to have the two married off against all odds. The doctor believes Morris's interest in Catherine centers around the wealth she will inherit when her father dies, and James insinuates that he is not entirely incorrect in this assessment. However, neither the doctor nor the aunt estimate Catherine highly enough, and before the end of the book the quiet, passionless girl has confronted and overcome every major character in the book.

Washington Square is definitely not an "action" book. What action does occur is subtle and understated, and it's easy for me to see why I disliked James so much in high school. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I hadn't read Reading Lolita in Tehran first, but armed with Dr. Nafisi's assessment of the novel, I could see a lot of myself in Catherine and was impressed by her quiet victories. She doesn't really "win" in any traditional sense of the word, ending up alone and poor, but it's nice to see the character that even the narrator condescends about (calling her "poor little Catherine") discover her own reserves of strength.(less)

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Mar 11, 2011 Merry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

I love it when I get completely blown away by my own prejudices :) A prejudice I had no idea I had was that all books in ‘Penguin Classic Yellow edged cover with dark picture’ books are…. boring.

I wonder where I got that from. Actually I know. I was given Hard Times to read as part of S Level preparation; I didn’t like the first chapter (actually, I didn’t like the TV adaptation either) and a assigned all books with that style of cover to the *Boring Book Archive*

Sometimes I wonder when exactly...more I love it when I get completely blown away by my own prejudices :) A prejudice I had no idea I had was that all books in ‘Penguin Classic Yellow edged cover with dark picture’ books are…. boring.

I wonder where I got that from. Actually I know. I was given Hard Times to read as part of S Level preparation; I didn’t like the first chapter (actually, I didn’t like the TV adaptation either) and a assigned all books with that style of cover to the *Boring Book Archive*

Sometimes I wonder when exactly I am going to get over my school created, small minded Merry, issues. :roll: I shall link to a copy with a different cover, so I don’t pass my prejudices on ;) Washington Square (Wordsworth Classics)

This book was the local library reading club book for the month; I ended up not being able to go but I’m so glad I got to read the book and feeling I really had to give it a good try was a great motivation for that. What seemed at first to be a story that tripped dangerously close to the life in a different continent of Fanny from Mansfield Park, turned into something quite different. The book focuses on the ill-advised love affair of a young American woman and a cad; honestly, my head drew a picture of “The Rake” in old fashioned Happy Family packs and that was exactly what he was like. The aunt, a meddlesome woman who really needed a war to fold bandages for, was a perfect mixture of far too many relatives I can think of from my own and other peoples families (I wanted to reach through the pages and shake her) while the Father was, I think, just exactly how parents can too easily be and a cautionary tale for it.

Catherine, the main character, is quietly revealed. She’s not what you think, nor is she quite what she thinks and most importantly, she is not the person her aunt and father think. It is an odd story, because how it turns out is both sad and positive, an illustration of women who chose their path in the days that were one step behind emancipation. All of them are a joy to be in the company of and the elegance of the description of life in New York when Fifth Avenue was just a fairly nice road, is stunning.

Now I’ve got Henry James and James Joyce sorted out, and discovered that boring covers do not equal boring reads on all occasions, I’m going to push at my boundaries and find a few more quiet classics. It was most definitely time with a book well spent and I’m still blushing at having wrinkled my nose when I first thought about reading it.(less)

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Jan 09, 2011 Carmen Micsa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I promised my friend Julie a few reviews, so I'll crank them out to start the New year on the right literary foot-Ha!Ha!, and, of course to keep my promise, as she's always sending me the best audio books, for which I'm very grateful.

I enjoyed the plot and the characters of this book, but most of all I've enjoyed the subplots and the subtexts. I also like the suspense created by the omniscient narrator who gives out scrapes of information for us to assemble the larger puzzle of love, as well as...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Ria Lize rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: eh, I dunno. Those who love classics, I guess.

Recommended to Ria Lize by: This book was actually my sister's. But I picked it up.

Washington Square is a touching story about how a woman whose purpose had once been to please her father, changed into a complete person, a stronger person who has found her sense of self.

Catherine was never accepted by her father since the death of his son from an illness and because of his wife's death over giving birth to Catherine. She is described as plain and shy, and is scared of her father.

What I love about the story is that it actually shows you the whole experience. She trusted and l...more

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About Henry James

Henry James, OM, son of theologian Henry James Sr., brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James, was an American-born author, one of the founders and leaders of a school of realism in fiction. He spent much of his life in England and became a British subject shortly before his death. He is primarily known for a series of major novels in which he portrayed the...more

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Books by Henry James

The Wings of the Dove (The Modern Library Classics)

Daisy Miller and Washington Square (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

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Quotes from Washington Square

“Don’t underestimate the value of irony—it is extremely valuable.” — 49 people liked it

“do you think it is
better to be clever than to be good?”
“Good for what?” asked the Doctor. “You are good for
nothing unless you are clever.” — 9 people liked it

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