Washington Square

Por Henry James

«Una obra maestra donde la placidez cotidiana entierra la tensión soterrada de un duelo de voluntades y el dolor sordo de las heridas que no curan jamás.» Solodelibros

«La única novela en la que un hombre ha invadido con fortuna el territorio femenino y creado una obra comparable a las de Jane Austen.»

Graham Greene

A mediados del siglo XIX, cuando las nuevas clases emergentes ya empezaban a mudarse al norte de Manhattan, un rico y prestigioso médico neoyorquino se construye una casa en Washington Square. Es una «casa bonita, moderna», con terraza y porche de mármol. A ella se traslada a vivir en compañía de su hermana, una viuda romántica y sentimental, amiga de los secretos, y de su única hija Catherine, que a los veinticinco años no ha conseguido ser, según su padre, ni hermosa ni inteligente. A Catherine le corresponde, sin embargo, una herencia considerable, y cuando en su vida aparece un joven guapo y encantador, aunque sin oficio ni beneficio, el doctor no duda de que no puede sentirse atraído por ninguna cualidad de su hija que no sea el dinero.

Henry James trazó en Washington Square (1880) un soberbio retrato de interior alrededor de una mujer que se descubrirá en posesión de algo que, rodeada de tiranía y oscuridad, ni siquiera había intuido que tenía: voluntad.

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: Alba Editorial
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 28 abr 2011
• ISBN: 9788484286288

Henry James

Henry James (1843-1916) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and non-fiction. He spent most of his life in Europe, and much of his work regards the interactions and complexities between American and European characters. Among his works in this vein are The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), and The Ambassadors (1903). Through his influence, James ushered in the era of American realism in literature. In his lifetime he wrote 12 plays, 112 short stories, 20 novels, and many travel and critical works. He was nominated three times for the Noble Prize in Literature.

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Washington Square

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Créditos

Alba Editorial

HENRY JAMES nació en Nueva York en 1843, en el seno de una rica y culta familia de origen irlandés. Recibió una educación ecléctica y cosmopolita, que se desarrolló en gran parte en Europa. En 1875 se estableció en Inglaterra, después de publicar en Estados Unidos sus primeros relatos. El conflicto entre la cultura europea y la norteamericana está en el centro de muchas de sus obras, desde sus primeras novelas, Roderick Hudson (1875) o El americano (1876-1877; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. XXXIII), hasta El Eco (1888; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. LI) o La otra casa (1896; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. LXIV) y la trilogía que culmina su carrera: Las alas de la paloma (1902), Los embajadores (1903) y La copa dorada (1904; ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR núm. II). Maestro de la novela breve y el relato, algunos de sus logros más celebrados se cuentan entre este género: Washington Square (1880), Los papeles de Aspern (1888; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. CVII), Otra vuelta de tuerca (1898), En la jaula (1898; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. III), Los periódicos (1903; ALBA CLÁSICA núm. XVIII) o las narraciones reunidas en Lo más selecto (ALBA CLÁSICA MAIOR núm. XXVII). Fue asimismo un brillante crítico y teórico, como atestiguan los textos reunidos en La imaginación literaria (ALBA PENSAMIENTO/CLÁSICOS núm. 8). Nacionalizado británico, murió en Londres en 1916.

«No había nada que James hiciera como un inglés, ni tampoco como un norteamericano –ha escrito Gore Vidal–. Él mismo era su gran realidad, un nuevo mundo, una terra incognita cuyo mapa tardaría el resto de sus días en trazar para todos nosotros.»

NOTA AL TEXTO

Washington Square se publicó por primera vez por entregas en la revista inglesa Cornhill de junio a noviembre de 1880, y en la norte americana Harper’s New Monthly de julio a diciembre. En Estados Unidos se publicó en forma de libro ese mismo año (Harper and Brother’s, Nueva York) y en el Reino Unido, un año después (Macmillan and Company, Londres). En esta última edición la novela iba acompañada de otros dos relatos «The Pension Beaurepas» y «A Bundle of Letters», y sobre ella se basa la presente traducción.

I

En la primera mitad del presente siglo, y más en concreto en sus últimos años, ejerció y prosperó en la ciudad de Nueva York un médico que acaso gozara de una cuota excepcional de esa consideración con la que, en Estados Unidos, se ha retribuido invariablemente a los miembros distinguidos del gremio. Dicho gremio, en América, se ha tenido siempre por muy honorable, y más que en ningún otro lugar ha reclamado para sí el calificativo de «liberal». En un país en el que para ocupar una posición social debe uno ganarse la vida o cuando menos hacer creer que se la gana, el arte de la curación da la impresión de haber reunido en alto grado dos reconocidas fuentes de mérito. Se inscribe en el terreno de la práctica, cosa muy estimable en Estados Unidos, y está tocado por la luz de la ciencia: un valor muy apreciado por una sociedad en la que el amor al conocimiento no siempre ha ido de la mano del ocio y la oportunidad.

Contribuyó a la reputación del doctor Sloper la circunstancia de que su ciencia y su habilidad se hallaran equilibradas a partes iguales. Era lo que podría llamarse un médico erudito, y al mismo tiempo no había en sus remedios ninguna abstracción: siempre ordenaba a sus pacientes algún remedio. Aunque pasaba por ser un hombre muy concienzudo, no se enzarzaba en teorizaciones farragosas y, si a veces se explicaba con más detalle de lo que el enfermo necesitaba, nunca llegaba al extremo (como otros galenos de los que uno ha tenido noticia) de fiarlo todo a su exposición, sino que siempre dejaba una inescrutable receta. Había médicos que recetaban sin molestarse en ofrecer explicaciones, pero él tampoco pertenecía a esta clase, que era a fin de cuentas la más vulgar. Pronto se verá que hablo aquí de un hombre inteligente, y ésa es la verdadera razón por la que el doctor Sloper se había convertido en una celebridad local.

En la época que nos incumbe tenía alrededor de cincuenta años y se hallaba en la cumbre de su popularidad. Era muy ingenioso y en la mejor sociedad de Nueva York se lo tenía por hombre de mundo, pues de cierto lo era cumplidamente. Me apresuro a añadir, en anticipación de posibles equívocos, que no era ni por asomo un charlatán. Era un hombre honrado a carta cabal: honrado hasta un extremo de cuya grandeza quizá no tuviera la ocasión de dar la medida exacta; y, aun considerando el buen talante que distinguía al círculo social en el que practicaba su oficio, donde todos presumían de contar con el médico más «brillante» del país, Sloper justificaba a diario los talentos que el sentir popular le atribuía. Era un observador, y hasta un filósofo, y ser brillante era una cualidad tan natural en él, tan fácil le resultaba (de acuerdo con el sentir popular), que jamás buscaba causar sensación ni recurría a las argucias y las pretensiones de las celebridades de segunda. Bien es verdad que la fortuna le había favorecido, de ahí que pudiera transitar cómodamente por las sendas de la prosperidad. Se había casado a los veintisiete años, por amor, con una muchacha encantadora, la señorita Catherine Harrington, de Nueva York, que aportó al matrimonio, además de sus encantos, una dote sustancial. La señora Sloper era afable, grácil, inteligente y elegante, y en 1820 figuraba entre las jóvenes hermosas de la pequeña aunque prometedora capital que, arracimada en torno a la batería de cañones, dominaba la bahía y se extendía hacia el norte hasta Canal Street, donde la hierba crecía al borde del camino. Ya a la edad de veintisiete años Austin Sloper había dejado huella suficiente para mitigar la anomalía de ser el elegido entre una docena de pretendientes por una joven de la alta sociedad, dueña de una renta de diez mil dólares anuales y de los ojos más bonitos de la isla de Manhattan. Aquellos ojos, sumados a otras cualidades, fueron por espacio de cinco años una fuente de honda satisfacción para el joven médico, que era un marido tan devoto como feliz.

Casarse con una mujer rica no alteró las pautas que se había trazado, y el doctor Sloper cultivó su profesión con un propósito tan firme como si no dispusiera de más recursos que la parte del modesto patrimonio que, a la muerte de su padre, se dividió entre los hermanos. No era su principal afán ganar dinero, sino más bien aprender algo y hacer algo en la vida. Aprender algo interesante y hacer algo útil; tal era, en líneas generales, el plan que había esbozado y cuya validez no juzgó que debiera verse en modo alguno menoscabada por la circunstancia de que su mujer gozase de una renta muy apreciable. Disfrutaba con la práctica y el ejercicio de una habilidad de la que era gratamente consciente, y tan patente resultaba que nada sino médico podía haber sido, que médico se empeñó en ser en las mejores condiciones posibles. Claro es que su holgada situación familiar le ahorró no pocos engorros, y que las relaciones de su mujer con «la mejor sociedad» le procuraron numerosos pacientes cuyos síntomas, sin ser en sí mismos más interesantes que los de las clases bajas, sí se exhibían con mayor rotundidad. Deseaba experiencia, y en un lapso de veinte años la cosechó en abundancia. Debe añadirse que dicha experiencia, al margen de cuál pudiera ser su valor intrínseco, se reveló en ocasiones todo lo contrario de agradable. Su primer hijo, un niñito sumamente prometedor conforme a la sólida opinión del padre, que era poco proclive a entusiasmos gratuitos, murió al cumplir los tres años, a despecho de los incontables recursos que la ternura materna y la ciencia paterna idearon para salvarlo. Dos años después la señora Sloper dio a luz a un segundo retoño; un pobre retoño que, en razón de su sexo, así lo entendía el doctor, no podía sustituir a su llorado primogénito, a quien el padre se había prometido convertir en un hombre admirable. La llegada de la niña supuso una decepción; pero esto no fue lo peor. Una semana después del parto, la joven madre, que hasta el momento parecía recuperarse satisfactoriamente, como reza el dicho, empezó a presentar de buenas a primeras síntomas alarmantes, y antes de que hubiese pasado una semana Austin Sloper había enviudado.

Tratándose de un hombre cuya profesión consistía en salvar vidas, ni que decir tiene que con su propia familia había fracasado estrepitosamente; y un médico brillante que en el plazo de tres años pierde a su mujer y a su hijo acaso debiera haberse preparado para ver cómo su reputación o su habilidad profesional se ponían en entredicho. Nuestro amigo, sin embargo, se libró de la crítica ajena, aunque no de la propia, que era con mucho la más autorizada y la más severa. Soportó el peso de esta íntima censura para el resto de sus días, y llevó por siempre las cicatrices del castigo que la mano más cruel que hasta la fecha había conocido le infligió la noche siguiente a la muerte de su mujer. El mundo, que, como ya se ha dicho, lo apreciaba, se compadeció demasiado de su desgracia para incurrir en ironías. Su infortunio le volvía más interesante si cabe, y hasta contribuyó a ponerlo de moda. Se señaló que ni siquiera las familias de los médicos se libraban de las enfermedades más insidiosas y, además, el doctor Sloper ya había perdido a otros pacientes antes que a los dos mencionados, lo cual constituía un honroso precedente. Le quedaba su hijita y, aunque la niña no era lo que él deseaba, se propuso hacer cuanto pudiese por ella. Disponía de una reserva de autoridad intacta, de la cual la pequeña pudo beneficiarse en abundancia en sus primeros años de vida. Se la bautizó, naturalmente, con el nombre de su pobre madre, y ni siquiera en su más tierna infancia el doctor la llamó otra cosa que no fuese Catherine. Creció fuerte y saludable, y, al mirarla, su padre se decía que, siendo así, al menos no debía temer por su pérdida. Digo «siendo así» porque, a decir verdad... Pero ésta es una verdad cuya revelación prefiero postergar.

II

Cuando la niña tenía alrededor de diez años, el doctor Sloper invitó a su hermana, la señora Penniman, a pasar una temporada con él. Dos habían sido las señoritas Sloper y ambas se habían casado jóvenes. La menor, la señora Almond, era la esposa de un próspero comerciante y madre de una floreciente familia. Ella misma se encontraba en plena floración y era una mujer guapa, tranquila y razonable, y la favorita de su inteligente hermano que, en punto a mujeres, aun cuando le uniese a ellas un estrecho parentesco, era un hombre de preferencias muy marcadas. Prefería a la señora Almond antes que a su hermana Lavinia, quien se había casado con un pobre presbítero de constitución enfermiza y ampulosa elocuencia que, a los treinta y tres años, había dejado a su mujer viuda, sin hijos y sin fortuna, sin nada más que el recuerdo de su verbo florido, cuyo aroma impregnaba vagamente la conversación de la propia viuda. Sea como fuere, el doctor le ofreció cobijo bajo su techo y Lavinia lo aceptó con la presteza de una mujer que había pasado los diez años de su vida conyugal en la pequeña localidad de Poughkeespsie. Su hermano no le había propuesto que se instalara con él indefinidamente; sólo le había sugerido que hiciera de su casa un asilo mientras encontraba una vivienda sin amueblar. No está claro que la señora Penniman llegase a emprender la búsqueda de tal vivienda: lo que es incuestionable es que nunca la encontró. Se estableció con su hermano y allí se quedó para siempre, y, al cumplir Catherine los veinte años, su tía Lavinia seguía siendo uno de los rasgos más llamativos del entourage inmediato de la muchacha. La versión de la viuda era que se había quedado para hacerse cargo de la educación de su sobrina. Al menos ésa era la razón que daba a todo el mundo, menos a su hermano, que jamás pedía explicaciones si él mismo podía imaginarlas cuando se le antojara. Además, aunque a la señora Penniman no le faltaba en absoluto cierta clase de seguridad artificial, por razones imprecisas se acobardaba ante el doctor Sloper y se abstenía de presentarse ante él como una fuente de instrucción. No tenía demasiado sentido del humor, aunque sí el suficiente para no caer en tal error; el doctor, por su parte, tenía el suficiente para disculparla, a la vista de su situación, por verse obligado a mantenerla buena parte de su vida. Así, aceptó tácitamente la propuesta que la señora Penniman formuló tácitamente, en el sentido de que era importante que la pobre huérfana tuviese cerca a una mujer brillante. La aceptación de Sloper no podía ser sino tácita, pues el lustre intelectual de su hermana jamás le había deslumbrado. Lo cierto es que, salvo cuando se enamoró de Catherine Harrington, jamás se había dejado deslumbrar por ninguna característica femenina, y aunque hasta cierto punto era lo que se conoce como un médico de mujeres, no tenía una opinión exaltada del sexo más complicado. Consideraba sus complicaciones más curiosas que edificantes y tenía un concepto de la belleza de la «razón» que, por lo general, rara vez se veía satisfecho con lo que observaba en sus pacientes. Su esposa había sido una mujer sensata, si bien constituía una indudable excepción; ésta acaso fuera, entre otras certezas suyas, la principal de todas. Tal convicción, como es natural, poco hizo por paliar o abreviar su viudez, y, en el mejor de los casos, puso un límite preciso al reconocimiento tanto de las posibilidades de su hija como de los métodos de su hermana. No obstante, al término de seis meses aceptó la presencia permanente de Lavinia como un hecho consumado y, a medida que Catherine iba creciendo, se percató de que había, en efecto, buenas razones para que la muchacha tuviese una compañera de su propio e imperfecto sexo. El doctor Sloper era de una corrección extrema con la señora Penniman, de una corrección escrupulosa y formal, y ella sólo lo había visto enfadarse una vez en la vida, cuando perdió los nervios al calor de una discusión teológica con su difunto marido. Con ella jamás discutía de teología, ni de nada en realidad. Se contentaba con poner en claro, valiéndose de un lúcido ultimátum, cuáles eran sus deseos para Catherine.

En cierta ocasión, cuando la niña tenía cerca de doce años, el doctor Sloper habló con su hermana.

–Procura convertirla en una mujer inteligente, Lavinia –le dijo–. Me gustaría que fuese una mujer inteligente.

La señora Penniman se quedó un momento pensativa tras oír estas palabras.

–Mi querido Austin –preguntó entonces–, ¿crees que es mejor ser inteligente que ser bueno?

–¿Bueno para qué? –replicó el doctor–. Nadie que no sea inteligente es bueno para nada.

La señora Penniman no vio razón para disentir. Es posible que diera en pensar que su gran utilidad en el mundo se debía a su capacidad para aceptar muchas cosas.

–Claro que quiero que Catherine sea buena –dijo el doctor al día siguiente–, pero por no ser tonta no será menos virtuosa. No la creo capaz de ser mala; nunca habrá en su carácter una pizca de maldad. Es un pedazo de pan, como se suele decir, pero no me gustaría tener que compararla dentro de seis años con el alimento básico.

–¿Temes que pueda ser insípida? Mi querido hermano, ya me ocupo yo de poner la mantequilla. No tienes de qué preocuparte –respondió la señora Penniman, que se arrogaba los «logros» de Catherine porque supervisaba sus ejercicios al piano, un instrumento en el que la muchacha demostraba cierto talento, y la acompañaba también a sus clases de baile, donde no tenía más remedio que reconocer que la estampa de su sobrina no pasaba de ser discreta.

La señora Penniman era una mujer alta, delgada, rubia y bastante apagada, de amabilísima disposición, muy notable gentileza, aficionada a la literatura fácil y con un temperamento algo reconcentrado y tortuoso que no venía a cuento. Era romántica, era sentimental, tenía verdadera pasión por los misterios y los secretos sin importancia, una pasión sin duda inocente, pues sus secretos habían sido hasta la fecha tan poco aprovechables como un huevo podrido. No era sincera a ciencia cierta, claro que este defecto no entrañaba grandes consecuencias, pues nunca había tenido nada que ocultar. Le habría gustado tener un amante y cartearse con él bajo un nombre supuesto, dejando sus misivas en algún comercio. He de decir que su fantasía nunca llevó la intimidad más allá de esta correspondencia imaginaria. Nunca tuvo un amante, pero su hermano, que era muy perspicaz, adivinaba estos deseos. «Cuando Catherine cumpla los diecisiete –se decía–, Lavinia tratará de persuadirla de que algún joven con bigote está enamorado de ella. Y será del todo falso: ningún joven, con bigote o sin él, se enamorará jamás de Catherine. Pero Lavinia lo dará por descontado y hablará con ella; y hasta es posible que, si no se impone esa inclinación suya por lo clandestino, me lo diga también a mí. Catherine no se dará cuenta, y tampoco lo creerá, por fortuna para su paz de espíritu. La pobre Catherine no es romántica.»

Catherine era una niña sana y bien criada, sin rastro alguno de la belleza de su madre. No es que fuera fea: tenía un rostro anodino, corriente y delicado sin más. A lo sumo se decía de ella que tenía una cara «agradable» y, a pesar de su condición de heredera, a nadie se le había pasado por la cabeza que fuese una beldad. La opinión que su padre tenía de la pureza moral de la muchacha estaba sobradamente justificada. Era asombrosa e inquebrantablemente buena: cariñosa, dócil, obediente y adepta a la verdad. De pequeña había sido bastante revoltosa y, aunque ésta sea una confesión incómoda sobre una heroína, debo añadir que fue también algo glotona. Nunca, que yo sepa, llegó a robar las uvas pasas de la despensa, pero gastaba su asignación en pastelillos de nata. En este sentido, sin embargo, una actitud crítica

Comentarios para Washington Square

[rdra1962 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I liked this book, but I did not like any of the characters. It holds up well as a snapshot of another time, a different society. Prefer Jane Austim et al.

[msgumby · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I have read this book several times before, and it still reveals new things to me. This is a masterful novel, full of intriguing characters and a great plot. And although it's rather sad, James says so much about human nature. It's one of his more accessible books, and a good place to start for someone interested in getting to know his work.

[savaran_1 · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

This is a love story.The cool man and the very shy women are main characters. They fall in love.But,her father against it. I think this story is very typical,so Iwas not surprised the end.I could imagine the last easily.I couldn't understandher feeling.

[cecrow · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A father and his daughter debate a young man's intentions in a story conveying messages about the admixture of pride and love. As the father of a very young daughter I've received its precaution not to invest too much in a singular vision of the future woman my daughter will grow up to be. The author does an admirable job with the daughter's character arc, very convincingly moving her through the stages. I couldn't decide which way I wanted the ending to go, and still have mixed feelings about how it wound up - as I think I'm supposed to.I was surprised by how present the narrator is in this work, which I thought was antithetical for Mr. James. A quick search confirms this novel was from his early period before he became so entrenched, also explaining the easy reading. This short work is a good place for anyone to start who wants to sample James as an author without getting too bogged down.

[nadinec.keels · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I pitied every principal character for their having to eat the fruit of who they were; I never grew to like them. Strangely, I pitied John Ludlow the most--for his passion being given no chance.

[markbstephenson · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

HJ himself didn't much care for this but lots of his readers (including me) emphatically disagree. This was also made into a terrific movie with Olivia DeHavilland as Catherine Sloper and Ralph Richardson and Montgomery Clift as the bad guys. (The Heiress, 1949)

[motherofthree_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

This is the first Henry James book I have read. It's somewhat depressing and painful on the part of the heroine, and ends with an equally depressing but correct ending. The themes are wealth, matrimony, honesty and integrity.

[natumi1s · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Rich people live in Washington Square.This story is about one rich woman and poor man.After I read this story, I felt sad.But,I wonder if Moriss actually loves Catherine.I think that rich people is not always happy.

[gypsysmom_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I decided to listen to this book after listening to The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields which is about Edith Wharton. Edith Wharton and Henry James were good friends and I became curious about this writer. Apparently this book is often compared to Jane Austen's work but I'm not a big fan of Jane Austen and it is therefor no surprise that I didn't particularly like this book.In a nutshell this is the story of a plain but rich girl (Catherine Sloper) who falls in love with a handsome but poor man (Morris Townsend). Catherine's father suspects Townsend's motives and refuses permission for them to marry. He takes Catherine on an extensive tour of Europe hoping that she will give up on Townsend or vice versa. When that doesn't work he makes it plain that Catherine will inherit none of his wealth. Townsend calls off the engagement because he doesn't want to deprive Catherine of her inheritance or so he says. It's pretty clear that Townsend was only interested in Catherine for her money and when he realized that he wouldn't get it he dumps her.Maybe this was a new storyline when it was written but it certainly isn't now. I found it hard to care about Catherine even though I felt I should. She just seemed so insipid. At any rate I was not impressed and I won't be running out to find other books by Henry James.

[lisamaria_c · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This was actually assigned me in high school--but amazingly, unlike what is so often the case, I didn't hold it against it. I find this a heartbreaking book--but oh so well worth reading. It's been compared to Jane Austen in its focus on family dynamics, courtship and social satire, but unlike Austen this is really an anti-romance. Catherine Sloper is not cut out of the cloth of which romantic heroines are made. A "good" girl but plain, socially awkward, and none too bright--and her clever father can't forgive her for it. The heart of this book is the battle between father and daughter over a man wooing Catherine. And the hell of it, is her father is right about Morris Townsend, but so badly misjudges and mistreats his daughter that I couldn't quite root for him to succeed. Catherine does change through the course of the book, and some might read the last paragraphs as triumphant--but I found it a Pyrrhic victory. I haven't (yet) gone on to read more of Henry James--I understand this is one of his more readable books--he's known in his later works for very ... er... complex sentences, but that's not the case here in this short novel that falls early in his output. The book was the basis for two films, The Heiress with Olivia de Haviland and Washington Square with Jenifer Jason Leigh. Both are worthy and faithful adaptations.

[waltser1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

A physician-father (Austin Sloper) marries well and loses, first, a young son, and shortly thereafter, his wife after the birth of a daughter. He realizes early that the daughter is of average intelligence and not beautiful, whereupon he gives up the raising of the child to his live-in widowed sister, for whom he has little respect. But it's convenient and he remains unengaged with the daughter. The daughter, Catherine, grows up shy, uneasy in relationships, and very inexperienced in society. Catherine has an income from her mother, and can expect a large inheritance on her father's death. She is a target for suitors more interested in her money than in her person. Dr. Sloper has high regard for his own ability to evaluate the worth and temperment of acqaintences he meets. When Catherine meets Morris Townsend, she is smitten by the attention he gives her and rapidly develops a love for him. Dr. Sloper recognizes that Morris has a mysterious background, but he doesn't rapidly follow up on investigating the young fellow's life path until he is surprized by the rapid development of a serious relationship between the shy Catherine and the worldly Morris. Upon talking with Morris's sister, with whom Morris lives, all his fears about Morris's character are realized. But it's too late, Catherine has agreed to marry Morris, even though Morris did not ask Dr. Sloper for his daughter's hand in marriage prior to his proposal. Dr. Sloper refuses to give his approval to the marriage and, in addition, announces that Catherine will not inherit any money from him if the marriage occurs. Dr. Sloper proposes that Catherine accompany him on a tour of Europe for six months before she marries, to which Catherine and Morris agree. In some ways, the Dr. Sloper, the physician, acts like a scientist experimenting with a guinea pig in a laboratory. He is detached from a real relationship with his daughter, He just tries various experimental procedures and watches the result and adjusts according to the response.After they return from Europe, Catherine and Morris see each other. Catherine explains to Morris that there is no chance that her father will relent from his plan of disinheritance. Morris realizes that Catherine is not going to inherit her fathers estate and begins, badly, to withdraw from his committment to Catherine, and disappears from the City in a short time. Catherine is devestated, recovers, but is forever wounded by the affair. Long after the engagment is ended, Dr. Sloper still is suspicious that Morris will return. He still will not return the will to its former state of inheritance.

[lakesidemusing · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

After seeing The Heiress on Broadway (starring Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey fame!), I felt compelled to read the novel behind the play. I'm not sure how long the book has been on my shelf, but the measure is in years rather than months.

My love of the show certainly influenced my reaction to the book, and it often felt like I was watching the play again as I read. As far as Henry James novels go, this seems to be among the most readable. He is famous for long, convoluted sentences, especially in later works, but there was very little of that here. Washington Square is relatively straight-forward and easy to follow.

A description of Catherine:
"She was a healthy, well-grown child, without a trace of her mother's beauty. She was not ugly; she had simply a plain, dull, gentle countenance. The most that had ever been said for her was that she had a "nice" face; and, though she was an heiress, no one had ever thought of regarding her as a belle. Her father's opinion of her moral purity was abundantly justified; she was excellently, imperturbably good; affectionate, docile, obedient, and much addicted to speaking the truth. In her younger years she was a good deal of a romp, and though it is an awkward confession to make about one's heroine, I must add that she was something of a glutton. She never, that I know of, stole raisins out of the pantry, but she devoted her pocket money to the purchase of creme cakes..." p. 12

and on her character awakening:
"Catherine meanwhile had made a discovery of a very different sort; it had become vivid to her that there was a great excitement in trying to be a good daughter. She had an entirely new feeling, which may be described as a state of expectant suspense about her own actions. She watched herself as she would have watched another person, and wondered what she would do. It was as if this other person who was both herself and not herself, had suddenly sprung into being, inspiring her with a natural curiosity as to the performance of untested functions." p. 104

My rating:
3.5/5 stars

Bottom line:
Overall, a very readable and enjoyable Henry James novel, but The Portrait of a Lady is still my favorite. The play is highly recommended!

[john257hopper · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Well, a Henry James story that I actually found readable - a first after quickly giving up on Turn of the Screw and In the Cage. This was a reasonable story about a shy daughter of an overbearing father who is taken advantage of by an avaricious young man after the fortune she is due to inherit from her mother and, in the future, from her father. Felt very Jane Austen-like, but without the charm and James is a less good writer. I felt sorry for Catherine trapped between two men trying to manipulate her emotions, though there is a suggestion at the end that, years later after the father's death, her former lover may have turned over a new leaf. 3/5

[mrsdanaalbasha · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I preferred the movie by Jennifer J.L. it is amazing, and the soundtrack makes the tears in my eyes fall.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

The great tragedy of this novel is that no one really understood Catherine, and she had so much to give and such value to offer in a relationship. Her father judged rightly of Morris and Aunt Penniman - but never saw the prize in his daughter. I felt such empathy for Catherine in the end, and sorrow that these two men in her life used her so poorly. Mr. James' prose is a joy to read - his descriptions are so interesting and so apt.

[clara53_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Henry James has a talent of getting to the essence of not only typical personages, but quite surprising and unexpected characters. Page by page he slowly unfolds their true nature. His narrative runs with such fluidity and is worded so exquisitely that upon reading it you get this quiet kind of satisfaction, of gaining something very beautiful and worth knowing. That's what I felt. At first the plot might not seem anything out of the ordinary - an idle dashing young man calculating a marriage to a wealthy, yet not apparently popular young woman. But it's much more than that, as we discover...

[mattmcg_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Utterly claustrophobic. In this tiny world every scene relates to the courtship of the heroine (Catherine) by a transparently mercenary suitor, Townsend. Some things worth noting: 1) nobody at any point beats Townsend like a wild baboon. Such is justice in this world. 2) Henry James apparently found this narrative so compelling that he can speak of nothing else for a few hundred pages. I call that obsession, and more charitable people would call it... focus? 3) Seriously, I'm not asking for a vulgar diversion like a talking parrot sidekick or a sudden alien invasion. But please, two hundred and eighty pages of endless pondering... should she marry the twit? What happens if she doesn't? Maybe she should? Oh no, Muffy, she daren't! ......zzzzzzz please please Henry you don't have to sprawl like Dickens across your imaginary world, but give us just a smidge of variety!

[jasonpettus · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

(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 labelBook #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 is in reality not much more than a novella, written between major novels in the late Victorian Age as James often did throughout his career. And there's not much of a plot either, to tell you the truth; it's primarily the story of Catherine Sloper, a pleasant but rather dim-witted and plain-looking young woman living in the ritzy old-money New York neighborhood of Washington Square, along with her father who she shares a large house with, Austin Sloper, a typical middle-aged business-focused white guy who sorta laughingly condescends to all the people around him who aren't middle-aged business-focused white guys. In fact, this is the crux of the problem between the two of them, the conflict that fuels almost the entire storyline; it seems that Catherine has met a good-looking charmer named Morris Townsend who wishes to marry her, but her father deems him a simple-minded dreamer who's most likely after her money, and Catherine herself as just too much of a blockhead to be able to make a realization like this on her own, which is why he forbids the two to wed for her own good.The father and daughter then whisk off to Europe for a year, as upper-class Americans so often did at the time; but instead of Morris heroically coming to the rescue and bringing his true love back, it turns out that her father was right all along, with Morris turning out to be a kinda skeevy loser who actually was kinda after her money, and who sorta slinks off in this weasely way once she gets back into the country and declares that her allowance will be cut off if they wed. Instead of this making her grateful to her father for seeing the light, though, Catherine just ends up pissed at both of them, eventually growing into a matronly middle-aged old maid who becomes the buddy of the younger crowd in the neighborhood, but who never experiences love for herself even once.The argument for it being a classic:The argument for Washington Square being a classic is not a strong one, truthfully, and seems to most concern what the small novel is not -- it's not one of James' ponderous epics, not one of his later experimental works, but rather a simple and entertaining little story in the spirit of Jane Austen, told in about the most straight-ahead fashion possible. This is why people become fans of James in the first place, after all; he's considered by many to be the godfather of the modern realistic novel, the kinds of no-nonsense, clearly-written stories that comprise most Pulitzer winners and other academically-revered books. Certainly there are a lot of other novels in James' ouevre that are better-written, better-known, more historically important and a much better argument for being a classic, even this book's fans would say; it's just that Washington Square is one of his most accessible novels, a great way to ease yourself into his larger and denser pieces, and thus should be included in "The Canon" as well.The argument against:As mentioned, the argument against Washington Square being a classic is clearly the stronger one, and consists mostly of what we've been talking about; that it is simply too slim and obscure to be considered a classic, certainly a good beginning for people new to James' work but definitely not something to be held up against early-career trans-Atlantic sagas as The Portrait of a Lady and The Bostonians, nor the proto-Modernist experimental stylings of such late-career novels as The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl. It may be a good introduction to James, critics argue, but that comes with a price; it is also a frothily light novel, its plot so wispy as to almost not exist, and not something that will give you a good idea of why James fans are so nuts for his work in the first place.My verdict:So I have to confess, this was the very first book of James that I've ever tackled, and I picked it deliberately because I was a little intimidated by his larger and more well-known ones; James has a certain reputation, after all, especially among academic intellectuals who enjoy thick and challenging books, and I've also heard that his larger novels can sometimes get extremely bogged down in their middles. Ah, but like everyone else, I've discovered the problem to starting with a classic author's lighter and less-important work, which is the same thing mentioned in the criticisms above; that you just really can't get a sense from work like that about why people love that author so much to begin with, of why their work got so famous and respected in the first place. Washington Square comes and goes with the reader barely noticing; just when you think the story's about to get ratcheted up and interesting, suddenly it's over, and you realize that the entire point was to provide not much more than a trifling and amusing afternoon of diversion*. It was decent enough for what it was, and I'm definitely looking forward to checking out the 1997 movie adaptation with Jennifer Jason Leigh, but I certainly can't say that I "know" James' work in any kind of significant way because of reading it, nor can I in good conscience declare Washington Square a classic.Is it a classic? No*And by the way, some final proof of just how lightweight this novel is -- James himself, when doing a retrospective of his ouevre late in life and putting together the revised 24-volume "New York Edition" of his work, actually left Washington Square out on purpose, reportedly because he couldn't even read through it again as an older man, disgusted as he was with the frivolity of the story. When the author himself is disgusted with one of his own books, it's usually not a great sign that it'll be making the canon list anytime soon.

[y2ash · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I cannot believe how much I loved Washington Square! It was great! It actually borders on fantastic! Washington Square is about Dr. Austin Sloper, a very prominent doctor, his daugther Catherine Sloper, a very unassuming girl, and Lavinia Penniman, Dr. Sloper's meddlesome sister and Catherine's aunt. Now, Dr. Sloper is a very smart but calculating and clinical man. It seems he grew colder when his first child died and then his wife during childbirth with Catherine.

Dr. Sloper doesn't care for Catherine. He might love her but he doesn't think well of her appearance or her limited intelligence. When, at a big party, Catherine meets and is smitten with Morris Townsend, Dr. Sloper immediately thinks he's after her money since Catherine already has her 10,000 inheritance from her mother and will get 35,000 after Sloper's death and Townsend blew all of his money coasting through Europe.

It doesn't help matters when Lavinia gets involved acting as a conduit for Catherine and Morris. Things sort of snowball from getting very intricate but simply constructed. I believe in a less gifted author than James (I'm looking at you Nicholas Sparks!) this could have been ridiculous, corny, complicated, and plain stupid.

However, James knows how to write straightforward prose. Events were always quick and just the facts would suffice. A 12-month vacation abroad was about a chapter or so. It was fantastic. Not to say it was scanty. Quite the contrary, it was incredibly verbose. The last few chapters were great. It could have ended happily and been one big cliche instead it ended like it would have in real life.

[laytonwoman3rd · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

After muttering, grumbling and hating on Henry James for upwards of 40 years (ever since I struggled and failed to read The Ambassadors for an American Lit course in college), I have finally read and enjoyed one of his novels. In truth, I enjoyed it quite a lot. This is the story of unattractive, un-brilliant, motherless Catherine Sloper, who has no prospects of marriage until she somehow attracts the attention of young Mr. Morris Townsend, of the "other" Townsends. His prospects are no better than hers, for although he is delightful to look at, and a charming dinner companion, he has no money, no career and no family connections of the better kind. Catherine's father, a prominent New York physician, will have no part of Catherine's determination to marry Mr. Townsend; she has her own income from her dead mother and Father cannot change that, but he can and emphatically will remove her from his Will and the assured thirty thousand a year she might expect after his death, unless she gives up Mr. Townsend. The exploration of human emotions, motivations, and relationships in this novel are subtle but superb. The movie, "The Heiress" with Olivia deHaviland and Montgomery Clift was based on this novel. The outcome is fundamentally the same, but rather more dramatic in the movie.Review written in September 2011

[donna828 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Is it better to be clever or good is the question that lies at the heart of this short novel. The question is raised about the dull but dutiful daughter, Catherine, by her father, Dr. Austin Sloper. Dr. Sloper has had two major losses in his life with the deaths of a son and his beloved wife which may have contributed to his barely disguised disdain for his infant daughter. Catherine?s physical needs are met by her father with the help of meddlesome Aunt Lavinia, but Catherine is a very sheltered young lady with little self-esteem when the charming and handsome Morris Townsend joins the cast of characters and the struggle to dominate Catherine begins.Washington Square is a short book and one of the most accessible written by Henry James. It is worth the few hours of time it takes to eavesdrop on society in New York City before the time of the Civil War. Life was slower back then and women largely depended on men to live a fulfilled life. It is gratifying to see how Catherine, despite being thought common by her father, used her common sense and growing independence to control her own destiny.

[mreed61 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

While I did not find it exactly amazing, I did really like Washington Square. Henry James has a way with words that is all his own. One can almost tell immediately when they're reading one of his works. Washington Square actually took me to a place I had been once a couple of decades ago, and I just couldn't help but appreciate the social anthropology found within its pages. In a great many ways, one becomes involved with the lives there. More to come in the blog.

[advakramer-1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

The happening is quite an ordinary one, nothing too grand, or incredible. The female protagonist, Catherine, is one of the dullest creatures I've ever encountered in literature (and real life, for that matter). The book is not riddled with melodramatic expressions, or epic gestures.
Despite all that (or because, I've yet to decide), it is one of the more compelling books I have ever read.

I adore Henry James' irony, that is most apparent in this book. I love his hopelessly flawed characters. I love his writing style.

I also find it interesting that while compiling his work, Henry James excluded the book because he didn't like it. I have an affinity to the works the artists themselves despised.

As of the time of writing this review, I've yet to read any other of Henry James' works, so I cannot draw any kind of comparison or general opinion non him as an author (other than adoring what he did with Washington Square). I have also yet to read the afterward by Michael Cunningham, will do so after I've read the book a second time.

[kplatypus_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I used to think I hated Henry James, based on my reading of The Wings of the Dove, in which I found the plot potentially riveting and yet ruined by James' prose style. Kind of like Women in Love, which I read during the same era. Then I picked up Portrait of a Lady while living in Thailand (which led to me being desperate for books in English other than the newest Dan Brown/John Grisham/you get the idea crap "novel") and rather enjoyed it. A recent read of Altar of the Dead convinced me that I ought to give good old James another try, so I picked up Washington Square, a perennial favorite in the world of SAT essay examples here in NYC. Since my students talk about it all the time, I already knew the storyline and figured it would be nice if I could discuss it with them.The story of Catherine Sloper's ill-fated romance with Morris Townsend is sad, but in that bittersweet, 'it didn't have to be this way' kind of way. There isn't any one person to blame for the sequence of events, but I did find myself wanting to reach into the book to smack some sense into almost all of them at one point or another. I did get the feeling that James was implying that he found the father to be the most to blame, which I can't entirely agree with. The action of the novel takes place almost entirely in the drawing room of Catherine's home on Washington Square, in a corporeal sense, and internally in a more accurate sense. This book is more of a character study than a novel, and looks at the ways in which one person's attitudes and actions can affect the lives of others, a point which is particularly appropriate when discussing a culture not known for its open communication. The writing itself was a lot less rambling than I remember The Wings of the Dove's writing to have been, and not as archaic as some of the other books from this era. However, I don't always notice older language, so I might not be the best judge of that. I did find this to be a very quick and easy read though, and reasonably interesting.

[sandra.k.heinzman · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

After learning that one of my favorite movies, "The Heiress" was based on this book by Henry James, I knew I had to read it someday. I ended up listening to it on Audible and loved it! I just love the formal language, the setting (time and place), and the story. I didn't like the characters, though, as they were either cruel, manipulative, annoying, or stupid. I don't understand why Catherine never married anyone else and why she couldn't see Morris for who he really was. And why did her father insist on being so cruel to his daughter and change his will, years after Morris left? In retrospect, the storyline was pretty well drawn out and kind of weird - dwelling on the Catherine/Morris ill-fated romance for over 20 years. But I still loved the book and the narration was spot on. Now I want to see the movie again, as well as a later version of the movie that I have not seen before.

[tomoyoh_3 · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

Morris and Catherine love with each other . But Catherine's father does not like Morris .I think sometimes parents should not say " No. " for their children's love .Of course , maybe parents love their children . So they are worried about their children.But everyone has each personality .So I hope love of Morris and Catherine is congraturated by everyone .

[robinamelia · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I listened to the Librivox recording of this. The reader's mispronunciation of numerous words was distracting, but otherwise I enjoyed the story, probably one of the few by James simple enough to manage in an audio version.

[charon07 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

What can you say about Henry James? I found this to be the most accessible of his novels that I've read. But like Portrait of a Lady, I came to despise many of the characters and to wish that others would catch the clue bus. The sense of slow, inexorable, relentlessly impending doom was both compelling and frustrating, as it was in Portrait of a Lady. You want to shake James's protagonists or slap them silly or yell at them "Don't fall for that S.O.B.!" the same way that you want to yell "Don't go in the basement!" to the clueless victim in a horror film.

[technodiabla · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Very dense slow read for me. I thought the character development was genius. But the plot just didn't warrant the density. It could be summarized in 3-5 sentences.

[zasmine_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

 A psychologically acute construction of three interesting characters. Very short chapters with a lot of dialogue exchange, vocal as well as internal. Hardly any prose or description, the characters unfolded and grew as I turned the pages. Very nice.