Washington Square Symbolism and Character

Washington Square

Symbolism and Character in Washington Square

Nineteenth and early0twentieth century American author Henry James is known for the psychological incisiveness of his works, and the way his characters seem at once fully developed into real and complex human beings and yet remain fully accessible and understandable to the reader. Much of this, of course, is accomplished through his direct and explicit rendering of the characters themselves, including the actions they undertake and their motives for doing so. If this were all there was to James' stories, however, he would hardly be considered the literary master he is; James also manages to bring his characters to fully realized and complex life through literary devices that subtly and subconsciously hint at hidden -- and not so hidden -- traits and motives as well. James' deeply psychological renderings of his characters, that is, work their own psychological magic on the mind of the reader.

Washington Square is a prime example of the way James utilizes symbolism as a means of rendering his characters, and of adding an abundance of detail to the meaning and interpretation of his works. This short novel tells the tale of Dr. Sloper and his daughter Catherine, whom the doctor views quite fondly but with a certain contempt for her intellectual capabilities, which he deems to be far inferior to his own. His refusal to allow her to marry a man he deems (correctly, it is eventually found out) to be only after her inherited fortune after his death ultimately creates an unbridgeable gulf between them; his supreme intellectual egotism will not allow him to acknowledge the impulses of her heart as anything other than foolishness, creating an inevitable conflict out of their characters. These characters are quite strongly rendered, largely through the use of symbolism.

One scene in particular stands out as sharply enhanced by the symbolism that is present, and at times explicitly referenced, and its relationship to the characters in the scene. These two characters are none other than Dr. Sloper and Catherine, and the scene is that of Catherine's informing her father that she is engaged to Morris Townsend. This discussion takes place in Dr. Sloper's study, which is already a point of subtle symbolism about his character -- this is a place devoted to academic pursuits, either of an academic or a business nature. It is austere and productive, and in all of these aspects it is like Dr. Sloper. This is the place in which he feels most at home; it is where he comes to relax at the end of the day -- and even this relaxation contains a hint of symbolism, as it involves his reading the evening paper, another intellectual pursuit. All of Dr. Sloper's trappings, from his setting to his props, help to reinforce the type of character he is -- supremely rational and efficient.

Catherine, meanwhile, is drawn to warmth, symbolized by the fire in the room at the time she is telling her father of Mr. Townsend. She (or perhaps the narrator; it is left ambiguous) even notes that the fire is warmer than her father's eyes and fixed smile, and finds the relief, comfort, and perhaps even the familiarity in the fire that she cannot find in her father or in his reaction to her announcement, which is not well received. Catherine is as much a creature of the heart as Dr. Sloper is of the mind, and while his evening paper is the object in the room with which he is shown to have a connection, for Catherine it is the fire. Their different temperaments are also clearly visible in their summations of Mr. Townsend's character; Dr. Sloper sees the calculation of his past as his "chief feature," while Catherine sees his emotional qualities.