I've read that Washington Square is Henry James's most American novel. I've also read that it is his most accessible novel. I'm a little intimidated by his later work, but I found Washington Square very easy going, yet an interesting and complex story that I'm still mulling over. I read The Turn of the Screw a couple of years ago, and it had a similar effect on me--slightly unsettling in that case--but left me with lots to think about. Although James had been living in London for some time, he wrote this novel while he was visiting Paris.
The novel has a very simple premise really. A young heiress is courted by a man her father believes to be a fortune hunter. But she'll have him anyway and is egged on by her widowed aunt in what will likely end in tragedy. The premise may be simple, but the characterization makes for a rich story. The cast of characters is small and the story is told within fairly narrow confines in terms of setting, much of the action occurring in drawing rooms in New York city of the 1840s.
Twenty-year old Catherine Sloper lives with her widowed father in a large and becoming home in Washington Square. She's a rather plain young woman, dull and docile, though she has a fondness for fancy clothes. I found her to be very opaque and kept wishing I could get inside her head to know what she really thought. Her father is a distinguished doctor with a fashionable practice. He generously provides for his daughter, but he's also disappointed in her. Mrs. Penniman, Dr. Sloper's sister, came to live with them after the death of her husband. It was meant to be a temporary arrangement, but she never left. Instead she managed Catherine's education, and later she acts as a go-between Catherine and her suitor. Catherine meets Morris Townsend, a handsome,charming and rather indolent (and yes, poor) young man at a party. It's hard to say whether the instant attraction of Morris towards Catherine is for her or her money. It's obvious what her father thinks.
The story begins as a sort of melodrama. Morris convinces Catherine of his love for her and she apparently falls in love with him. She's never met anyone like him, so good looking and well spoken and quite attentive to her. Somehow her words always felt a little empty to me, however. I was never sure how she really felt or if she meant them, as she was so restrained. Her father convinces Catherine to at least go abroad for six months. Catherine believes she might be able to change her father's mind about Morris. Mrs. Penniman encourages the romance. She takes a lot upon herself and becomes quite meddlesome in the situation. What starts as a six month sojourn turns into a year long voyage. Left at home in Washington Square Mrs. Penniman continues to receive Morris in the Sloper residence as an occasional guest. I questioned her motivations as well. Was she manipulative or was it just a little harmless mischief?
Dr. Sloper believes from the start that Morris Townsend wants only one thing--Catherine's fortune. While she expects to inherit money upon the death of her father, her mother also left her a fair amount of money. He absolutely forbids her marriage and has an unapologetic dislike for Morris. If she marries him, she'll get none of his money. It's an interesting battle of wills between Catherine and her father--if you can call it that. Catherine is so passive and accepting of her father's wishes, or so it seems. At first you think his actions are simply those of a devoted father to a beloved daughter who he fears is making a mistake in her affections, but there's a cruelty in his words and demeanor. By the end of the story you're left wondering who's been the most injurious to Catherine--her father who seems to want her to fail and seeks revenge on her actions or Morris who's so suave and slick that you're never quite sure of his real intentions. Actually I think by the end of the story I knew what his intentions were.
I really, really like Henry James. I love an author who can take a simple story and make it so rich in meaning. And it's not even really clear cut. At least it wasn't to me, as I keep thinking about everything. There's an unknown narrator, so you never really get inside the character's heads, just see their actions and hear their words. This was all so artfully done and in nice, clear prose. Surely he must have other books like this? I've grabbed what I own by him, The Bostonians and Portrait of a Lady. I'm not sure which I'll read next, but I know I want to read more. I've heard his later work is much more difficult, but I'm willing to give it a try eventually. Highly recommended!