52 pages • 1 hour read
Henry JamesWashington Square
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1880A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 8-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary
Townsend continues to call upon Catherine, but Catherine does not talk about his visits to her father. Dr. Sloper suspects the visits, but he does not ask Catherine about them directly. When he asks Mrs. Penniman to tell him how often Townsend comes to the house, she protests that she cannot betray Townsend’s confidence. Mrs. Penniman claims that Townsend interests her primarily because of his misfortunes. She tells Dr. Sloper she believes Townsend is sincere in his admiration for Catherine.
Mrs. Penniman says that Townsend confessed that he was somewhat wild in his youth and that he is now alone in the world, having left behind his false, deceptive friends. She suggests that Townsend would speak to Dr. Sloper about both his past and his feelings for Catherine if Dr. Sloper would receive him with more kindness. When Mrs. Penniman tells Dr. Sloper that Townsend is still looking hard for a job, Dr. Sloper suggests that Townsend is seeking a position in his front parlor through a connection with his weak-minded daughter and her fortune.
Chapter 9 Summary
The Slopers and Mrs. Penniman spend Sunday evening at Mrs. Almond’s, as is their custom. Townsend, too, comes, and Dr. Sloper sees him sit on a small sofa next to Catherine. She is painfully aware of her father watching them.
Dr. Sloper engages Townsend in conversation. He asks Townsend about his search for a position. The doctor compliments Townsend’s strength and intelligence as characteristics that should assist him in finding a position. He also says he will keep Townsend in mind if he hears of any positions that might suit him. Dr. Sloper asks if Townsend would be willing to take a position outside New York City. Townsend says that he needs to stay in the city because he has responsibilities for his sister, a widow, and for her children, whom Townsend says he tutors. Dr. Sloper decides he will meet Townsend’s sister, Mrs. Montgomery.
Before they part, Townsend asks Catherine if she will meet him the next day, somewhere other than her home, as he has something important to tell her. He claims he cannot again enter Dr. Sloper’s house because Dr. Sloper insulted him concerning his poverty and lack of a position. Catherine is unwilling to meet him somewhere else, so he agrees to come to Washington Square the following day.
Chapter 10 Summary
Townsend comes to see Catherine and tells her he loves her and kisses her. Catherine tells him that they must remain honorable; she will speak to her father and Townsend must do the same. Townsend predicts that Dr. Sloper will tell Catherine that he is after her money. Catherine believes she will be able to convince her father that this is not the situation. Catherine tells Townsend that she could never do without his love now. Townsend asks Catherine to promise that she will remain faithful to him even if her father forbids her from marrying him. He reminds her that she is 22, and her father’s consent is not necessary.
Catherine asks Townsend to go away to allow her to think. She tries to assess what she will do if her father tells her he disapproves of Townsend, but she thinks it strange that anyone could disapprove of him. Her feelings for Townsend, his declaration of love, and his kisses cloud her consciousness.
Chapter 11 Summary
Catherine enters Dr. Sloper’s study to find him enjoying a cigar and the newspaper. Catherine stares into the fire rather than look at her father then announces that she is engaged to be married. Her father asks who the lucky man is, and she says it is Townsend. Catherine tells Dr. Sloper the engagement was entered into earlier in the day in their front parlor. Dr. Sloper says that Townsend should have told him about it earlier, but Catherine indicates Townsend intends to talk to him about it the following day.
Dr. Sloper says that Catherine moved quickly, though he acknowledges that Townsend must think highly of her because she is simple and good. Nevertheless, Dr. Sloper tells her he does not approve of her engagement. Catherine tells her father she has gotten to know Townsend well, but Dr. Sloper insists she only knows the part of Townsend that he chose to show her.
Catherine asks Dr. Sloper to give reasons for his disapproval. Dr. Sloper states that he believes Townsend’s knowledge of her fortune likely entered into his calculations more than a desire for her happiness. Dr. Sloper agrees to meet with Townsend the next day, but he asks Catherine not to mention her engagement to anyone for the time being.
Chapter 12 Summary
Dr. Sloper meets with Townsend at the Washington Square residence. He suggests that Townsend should have talked to him about his intentions toward Catherine before things went so far. Townsend replies that Catherine seems to be quite her own person, but Dr. Sloper says that Catherine, though an adult, is not so morally emancipated as to decide on a husband without consulting him.
Dr. Sloper explains that Townsend’s lack of fortune, means of support, and prospects make him a poor potential husband for Catherine, whom he thinks to be weak-minded. When Townsend objects to this characterization of Catherine, Dr. Sloper says he has known Catherine for 20 years, whereas Townsend has known her for six weeks.
Chapter 13 Summary
Dr. Sloper discusses Townsend with Mrs. Almond. When Mrs. Almond suggests Dr. Sloper may be judging Catherine’s engagement too hastily, Dr. Sloper resolves to meet with Mrs. Montgomery, Townsend’s sister, to find out more about him. Dr. Sloper believes that Catherine accepts his objections to her engagement because she has thus far shown no strong reaction. However, Mrs. Almond sympathizes with Catherine. She says that Catherine’s admiration for her father must make choosing between him and her lover almost impossible.
Chapter 14 Summary
Dr. Sloper writes to Mrs. Montgomery, who agrees to discuss her brother. Mrs. Montgomery receives Dr. Sloper in her parlor, and the residence is described as small but neat and clean. Dr. Sloper assesses Mrs. Montgomery as someone less comfortable in the social than the practical realm. He says he wants to find out what sort of man her brother is. She says it is difficult to talk about one’s brother, especially given the stakes for Catherine’s happiness.
Dr. Sloper explains that he fears Catherine could be an easy victim for a husband with impure motives, and someone like that could make her miserable. Mrs. Montgomery says that she is aware of the engagement and of Dr. Sloper’s disapproval. Dr. Sloper explains Catherine’s considerable fortune to Mrs. Montgomery, though he suggests that if Catherine marries against his wishes, her fortune will be limited to what her mother left her, and he will leave his money to his nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Montgomery asks what makes Dr. Sloper dislike Townsend so much. He says that he thinks Townsend is charming, but he dislikes him as a potential son-in-law. Dr. Sloper explains that Catherine needs someone to take care of her and protect her because she is not prepared to take care of herself. He has only his impressions to go on, but he believes that Townsend is selfish and shallow.
Mrs. Montgomery expresses surprise that Dr. Sloper believes her brother is selfish Dr. Sloper says he believes Townsend has resolved to live life purely for pleasure and to achieve his pleasures mostly through the manipulation of women. He suggests that Mrs. Montgomery has already suffered for the sake of her brother. She acknowledges that she has and admits she has given Townsend money though she and her children are poor. Mrs. Montgomery says that Townsend teaches her five children Spanish, and Dr. Sloper laughs, saying it cannot ease the burden of bringing up her children.
Dr. Sloper offers money to Mrs. Montgomery to support Townsend, but she finds this offer offensive. She defends her brother’s talents and moral character; however, at the end of the interview, she tells Dr. Sloper that he should not let his daughter marry Townsend.
Chapters 8-14 Analysis
Filial Duty Versus Romantic Entanglement gains importance as the novel progresses. While Catherine does not need her father’s permission to marry, Dr. Sloper still depends on Catherine’s feelings of duty toward him to guide her actions. For her part, she feels a strong and consistent duty to recognize and respect his authority, as well as a desire to please him. She does not wish to defy her father, and she gets “nothing but discomfort” from “seeming to challenge him” (47). Yet, her love for Townsend compels her to push against the limitations raised by her father’s objections.
The doctor also indicates he expects Mrs. Penniman to recognize and maintain a familial duty toward him, not least because he allows her to live in his home. He expects that she should be frank with him about everything going on between Catherine and Townsend. Dr. Sloper accuses Mrs. Penniman of having formed a “secret alliance” with Townsend, and he believes their relationship is designed to undercut his position as both head of the household and Catherine’s greatest influence, thus revealing one of his fears, the lack of control.
Townsend’s lack of familial duty toward his sister turns Dr. Sloper further against him. Though Townsend professes devotion to his sister and her children, he exaggerates his positive impact on their lives. Whereas Townsend speaks as though he is responsible for the children’s education, Mrs. Montgomery reveals that he only tutors them in Spanish. Though Townsend implies that his sister depends on him to support her household, Mrs. Montgomery has, in fact, been giving Townsend money. This dissembling is central to Townsend’s character.
Townsend’s dishonesty is not limited to his description of his place in Mrs. Montgomery’s household. The reader is privy to the conversation between Townsend and Dr. Sloper after Catherine tells her father about their engagement. Townsend later describes that conversation, exaggerating both his sense of sullied honor and the doctor’s questioning of his integrity. Though Dr. Sloper is blunt, he is not as insulting as Townsend indicates. Following the conversation, Townsend tells Catherine, “I can’t enter your doors again” (50). Townsend’s dramatic phrasing shows he is playing a role for Catherine. The exaggeration he previously noted in great actors is part of his personality.
Dr. Sloper, for his part, becomes increasingly deceptive in trying to control Catherine and her relationship with Townsend. This is most prominent in his refusal to talk to Catherine directly about her feelings for Townsend or their relationship. Dr. Sloper seeks other sources of information without Catherine’s knowledge. He feels no compunction about going behind her back as he believes it is his privilege as her father.
Further, Dr. Sloper continues to attempt to remove Townsend from the picture. He offers Mrs. Montgomery money to support Townsend rather than allowing Townsend to make his fortune through a union with Catherine, emphasizing The Influence of Affluence. The bribe recalls an earlier scene in which Dr. Sloper asks Townsend if he would be willing to accept a position out of the city. The implication has become clearer. Dr. Sloper would assist Townsend in getting a position if it would get him out of his daughter’s vicinity.
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