. Of Maggie Smith, he said, "[she] indulges in blatant scene-stealing as Catherine's fussbudget Aunt Lavinia, but the merriment with which she commits her crimes makes it easy to forgive her." Doctor Sloper is convinced he is the one to help Catherine see that Morris Townsend is a bounder, as illustrated in a conversation between him and his sister, Mrs. Almond: “‘Very possibly you are right. By Henry James. I mean not to give your daughter up’ (James 67). ‘Exactly as you choose,’ he repeated, standing there with his hand on the door. “To her mind there was nothing of the infinite about Mrs. Penniman; Catherine saw her all at once . The Doctor’s investigation of Morris’s background is discreet and thorough and responsible. This question was not reassuring; it seemed to Catherine, on the contrary, to suggest possibilities which made her feel sick. . It is Aunt Elizabeth that attempts to hinder Doctor Sloper’s efforts to “help” Catherine see Morris for the scoundrel he is: . His first child, a little boy of extraordinary promise, as the Doctor, who was not addicted to easy enthusiasm firmly believed, died at three years of age . you will want me to hear your reasons.’  The Doctor smiled a little. After Doctor Sloper passes on, Morris comes back to court Catherine. . . A small but real triumph has been hers: she has survived and become a person without recourse to the selfishness of her tormentors. She [Catherine] was extremely fond of her father, and very much afraid of him; she thought him the cleverest and handsomest and most celebrated of men. With quiet dignity, she replies that while she seldom thinks of Townsend, she can't make such a promise. (xiv), Catherine’s instinctive responses to her father’s authority changes the more she matures, until finally: Catherine, who was extremely modest had no desire to shine, and on most social occasions, as they are called, you would have found her lurking in the background. She only had the idea that if she should be very good, the situation would in some mysterious manner improve. Catherine and Morris desire a future together that requires Doctor Sloper’s blessing. . . . ‘You will have gathered from my letter that I wish to ask you a few questions, and you may not find it very comfortable to answer them.’  ‘Yes; I have thought what I should say. ‘We must be prepared for the worst, and that is what I wish to speak to you about.’  ‘What do you call the worst?’  ‘Well,’ said Mrs. Penniman, ‘my brother’s hard, intellectual nature. Catherine is inexperienced with flirtation. That Catherine presents her engagement to Morris as a fait accompli to her father, creates conflict between them: .I think it is quite possible that it is all a blind.’  ‘A blind?’  ‘An arrangement between them . . . What he discovers is a man without a moral center, yet Morris is still able to effectively describe his past to Catherine and Lavinia in a way that takes hold of their romantic imagination and gains their sympathy. During his final days, he asks her to promise never to marry Morris Townsend. It has made me very unhappy . Catherine’s innate response to her father’s observation of the relationship between her and Morris is fear: “. It was to celebrate this latter event that Mrs. Almond gave the little party I have mentioned. Doctor Sloper endeavors to dissuade Morris Townsend from courting Catherine; and undertakes all manners of activity to disrupt his daughter’s affection for the fortune hunter. The following analysis reveals a comprehensive look at the Storyform for Washington Square. In his introduction to “Washington Square,” Mark Le Fanu discusses Doctor Sloper’s throughline: Mrs. Penniman had never had a lover, but her brother, who was very shrewd, understood her turn of mind. At the time conflict in “Washington Square” begins, Catherine Sloper and her aunt, Mrs. Penniman, are to attend a party given by Mrs. Almond, sister to Doctor Sloper and Mrs. Penniman: .I must give her up!’” (James 149). the Doctor said something to his daughter that made her start—it seemed to come from so far out of the past. ‘I thought a lovelorn maiden was always scenic.’  ‘A ridiculous widow is more so. . ‘You have no sympathy . Morris deserts Catherine once he is certain Doctor Sloper will deny Catherine an inheritance if they marry. . She is not, at the end, merely an old maid enveloped in the pathos of her unhappy memories. she had an idea that love was an eager and exacting passion, and her own heart was filled in these day with the impulse of self-effacement and sacrifice” (James 41). going home with her father, and feeling him near, the poor girl, in spite of her sudden declaration of courage, began to tremble again” (James 52). But Lavinia will take it up, and talk to her about it; perhaps, even, if her taste for clandestine operations doesn’t prevail with her, she’ll talk to me about it. (James 56). Arthur, it appears is of the reigning line but poor . (James 15-16). . At any stage of the proceedings, therefore, an ‘outside observer’, hearing only the bare facts of the case, could find it easy to believe that the Doctor was prompted by the love and best interests of his daughter. . As an example of a way Catherine’s attention is occupied with dealing with the effects of her problem, she focuses on Aunt Lavinia’s manipulation of her affair with Morris: Catherine and Morris’ decision to marry is made after a brief courtship and against her father’s wishes. The present circumstances of Morris Townsend’s courtship of Catherine is what prompts Doctor Sloper to investigate his past. . Apart from her sweet nature, Catherine possesses only one obvious attraction: money. . These betrayals are sometimes real, and at other times, they are merely perceived. She looked around her, and her heart grew cold; for a moment her fear was great. . Catherine, fully conscious of the irrevocable damage her father has caused the affair, closes her heart to him. (James 59)  Had Doctor Sloper tempered his severe approach in handling Catherine’s romance, he may not only have had averted her certain heartache where Morris was concerned, but the heartache he himself engendered as well. “Heaven would invent some way of reconciling all things—the dignity of her father’s errors and the sweetness of her own confidence, the strict performance of her filial duties, and the enjoyment of Morris Townsend’s affection” (James 82). . As an example of an unessential restriction imposed on the goal, Morris Townsend first makes inquiries about Catherine, then endeavors to insinuate himself into Mrs. Penniman’s good graces, before courting the young lady. In addition to the Storyform, you'll also find any additional analysis or media related to the story in question. Inciting Event: At a party, Catherine meets the charming and “beautiful,” but poor and wasteful, Morris. . Mrs. Penniman told Catherine that evening—that she had had an interview with Morris Townsend; and on receiving this news the girl started with a sense of pain. ‘Oh, don’t tell him!’ Catherine murmured, imploringly. Doctor Sloper makes every effort to compel Catherine to give up Morris, including an extended trip to Europe. The tragedy is Catherine understands all too well what her lover took from her, and what her father refused to give. . It means that I am after your money.’ . . She felt in every way at present more free and more resolute; there was a force that urged her. 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. ‘It is a great thing to be separated like that from your father, when you have worshipped him before. Catherine becomes a plain young woman who is painfully shy and inept in the social graces expected of someone of her class, despite her aunt's best efforts to instill them. There are only so many suitors for Catherine’s hand that are acceptable to her father, and the one man (Morris Townsend) that Catherine is willing to marry is not among them. . She starts out by rejecting the conflict in the sense that she immediately rejects the idea that Morris could possibly be interested in someone as plain and dull as herself. Catherine recognized this duty to the utmost; she had a great disapproval of brooding and moping. in which to play a social part, you must either earn your income or make believe that you earn it” (James 1). Catherine and Doctor Sloper come into conflict over her desire to marry Morris Townsend. You had a bad conscience.’  ‘No, I have not a bad conscience, father!’  the girl cried out, with considerable energy. . Built by Varick Design. For a time, it amuses Doctor Sloper that his daughter finally is displaying some backbone, but when she remains strong willed in her choice of husband, he cruelly tries to use her loyalty for him against her lover. Sloper, however, suspects Townsend of being a fortune hunter, with no intention of pursuing a career. (James 102). From her birth, Catherine has been a disappointment to her father, although he is careful not to let on. Catherine is most sensitive thematically to her responsibilities: But I’m glad we shall be rich,’ she added. But if she doesn’t get the money, and he finds himself tied to her, Heaven have mercy on her! There was to be a good deal of dancing, and before it had gone very far Marian Almond came up to Catherine, in company with a tall young man. Her father pushed very far. She wished the plot to thicken, and the advice that she gave her niece tended, in her own imagination, to produce this result. . . Intent on pleasing the ones she loves, Catherine neglects to do what is best for herself. . ‘It will be easy to be prepared for that,’ Catherine said. ‘No, it’s a misfortune,’ he said at last. (180)  After her father dies, Morris once again presents himself as a suitor for her hand. There was a long silence; she wished he would release her. Morris eventually betrays Catherine, and instead of the young woman being grateful to her father for his prescience, she feels “from her own point of view the great facts of her career were that Morris Townsend had trifled with her affections, and that her father had broken its spring” (James 180). By the time the film closed, it had grossed $1,851,761 in the domestic box office. . But she could think of nothing to say, save to murmur, gently, ‘I am sorry.’  ‘You try my patience,’ her father went on, ‘and you ought to know what I am. Yet that is the subtlety of the book. ‘I don’t know how I have been living; every hour seemed like years. Catherine chooses to live out her life as a spinster, thus not achieving the story goal. Washington Square opened on October 10, 1997 and earned $14,352 in its opening weekend. . . He believes himself to have given due consideration to the character of Morris Townsend, and is satisfied he has pegged him for a scoundrel unworthy for his daughter. The outside observer would be wrong. .look at it differently.’ (James 106-07)  Later, Doctor Sloper announces to Mrs. Almond: ‘I will take her to Europe!’  ‘She won’t forget him in Europe.’  ‘He will forget her, then.’ (James 113).

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