Washington Square (Henry James)

Washington consecutiveis a short allegory byHenry pack. Originally published in 1880 as a serial in Cornhill MagazineandHarpers New Monthly Magazine, it is a structurally simpletragicomedythat recounts the involvement between a dull except sweet daughter and her brilliant, domineering father. The plot of the novel is base upon a true story told to jam by his close friend, British actressFanny Kemble. 1The book is frequently compared toJane Austens work for the clarity and grace of itsprose and its intense focus on family relationships. crowd was hardly a great acquaintance of Jane Austen, so he might non have regarded the comparison as flattering. In fact, James was not a great fan of Washington Squareitself. He tried to read it over for inclusion in theNew York Editionof his fiction (19071909) but found that he couldnt, and the novel was not included. new(prenominal) readers, though, have sufficiently enjoyed the book to make it one of the more popular works of the Jame sian canon. - Structure The novel is told from athird-person omniscientpoint of view, although we dont know anything about the narrator.The narrator often offers his comments directly to the reader. The novella begins at a distance from the events, describing the impaleground of the Sloper family. It then recounts in detail the story of Catherines romance with Morris Townsend. When Morris jilts her, the focus shifts back to a long view. As James puts it Our story has hitherto moved with very short steps, but as it approaches its termination it must take a long stride. The final few chapters are interpreted once more in short steps, ending with the striking vignette of Catherines refusal of Morris. Major themes The bitterest irony in the story is that Dr Sloper, a brilliant and successful physician, is exactly right about Morris Townsend, and yet he shows scratchiness to his defenseless and loving daughter. If the doctor had been incorrect in his appraisal of the worthless Towns end, he would only be a stock villain. As it is, the doctors head works perfectly but his heart has grown frigidness after the death of his beautiful and gifted wife. Catherine gradually grows throughout the story into right judgment of her situation.As James puts it From her point of view the great facts of her career were that Morris Townsend had trifled with her affection, and that her father had broken its spring. Nothing could ever alter these facts they were ever so there, like her name, her age, her plain face. Nothing could ever undo the wrong or cure the pain that Morris had inflicted on her, and nothing could ever make her feel towards her father as she felt in her younger years. Catherine go forrad never be brilliant, but she learns to be clear-sighted. -Literary significance criticism Everybody likesWashington Square, even the denigrators of Henry James, wrotecriticDonald Hall, and most other commentators have echoed the sentiment. Although James himself regarded t he novel with near contempt, readers have enjoyed its linear fibtechnique, its straightforward prose (far removed from the convoluted language of Jamess later career), and the sharply etched portraits of the four main characters. withal the rusty plot revolving around the will has charmed many critics with its old-fashioned simplicity.Catherines slow but perspicuous development into independence and wisdom is a notable success for James and has been much appreciated by critics and readers in general. Henry James,OM(15 April 1843 28 February 1916) was an the Statesn-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-centuryliterary realism. James alternated between America and Europe for the first off 20 years of his life, after which he settled in England, becoming aBritish subjectin 1915, one year before his death.He is primarily known for the series of novels in which he portrays the encounter of Americans with Europe and Europeans. His method of writing from the point of view of a character in spite of appearance a tale allows him to explore issues related toconsciousnessandperception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionistic painting. James contributed significantly toliterary criticism, particularly in his insistence that writers be allowed the greatest possible emancipation in presenting their view of the world.James was born in New York City into a wealthy family. His father, Henry James Sr. , was one of the best-known intellectuals in mid-19th-century America. In his youth James travelled back and forth between Europe and America. He studied with tutors in Geneva, London, Paris, Bologna, and Bonn. At the age of 19 he soon attendedHarvard Law School, but preferred reading literature to studying law. James published his first short story,A Tragedy of Error, at age 21, and devoted himself to literature.James is one of the major figures oftrans-Atlanticliterature. His works frequently juxtapose characters from theOld Wor ld(Europe), embodying a feudal civilization that is beautiful, often corrupt, and alluring, and from theNew World(United States), where race are often brash, open, andassertiveand embody the virtuesfreedom and a more highly evolved moral characterof the new American society. James explores this clash of personalities and cultures, in stories of personal relationships in which power is exercised well or badly.His protagonists were often young American women facing oppression or abuse. Novels * Watch and Ward(1871) * Roderick Hudson(1875) * The American(1877) * The Europeans(1878) * self-reliance(1879) * Washington Square(1880) * The Portrait of a Lady(1881) * The Bostonians(1886) * The Princess Casamassima(1886) * The Reverberator(1888) * The Tragic Muse(1890) * The Other House(1896) * The Spoils of Poynton(1897) * What Maisie Knew(1897) * The Awkward progress(1899) * The Sacred Fount(1901)Short stories and novellas * A Tragedy of Error(1864) My Friend Bingham * Poor Richard A me an solar day of Days * The Story of a Masterpiece The Story of a Year * A Most tremendous Case A Landscape Painter