“Washington Square” by Lily Mars

“Washington Square” written by Henry James in 1880, is in many ways a typical melodramatic story, however, when analyzing each character, it becomes apparent that the story is unconventional in many ways as well. James tells the story of a wealthy man, Dr. Sloper, and his daughter and heroine of the story, Catherine. The plot is set in New York City, in the middle of the 19th century; a time when it could be considered dangerous to be a young woman like Catherine, as she is on the threshold of being an old maid. Catherine is very sweet, plain, and dull, in part due to the neglect she receives from her father who is forever bitter because of the death of his wife. It becomes apparent that there are a few ways in which family tragedy are demonstrated in this story, yet another classic melodramatic theme. It appears that each family member feels betrayed by the other in one way or another, creating a complex mix of emotions. There is no doubt that this story should be categorized as a melodrama, as it aims to induce multiple emotions at once, making it memorable and highly regarded, still today.

When Catherine falls in love with a man for the first time, her father is suspicious that his intentions are to only marry for her money, not because he loves her. Catherine refuses to believe that Morris would do such a thing and betrays her father by pursuing him anyway. I enjoyed this aspect of the book because typically, stories are told about a woman playing with a man’s affections for their money, but here it is apparently the other way around— the man is the gold digger. I like the unconventionality in the story, but overall I did not love the story because the protagonist's character is vey different from what appeals to me. It is not unusual for girls to be shy or passive in the 19th century, especially considering the lack of love she received from her father, but in my opinion, I appreciate female characters who fight for what they want and who go against the current that life is leading them down if it is not the direction they want to go in. I did enjoy Catherine’s character development, as she does learn a lot throughout the book, and demonstrates maturity as the story goes on.

Henry James makes judgements of Balzac’s views, but also demonstrates an acceptance of them. In Peter Brooks account, he discusses the Jamesian definition of romance and highlights many of the ways in which his work can be found basic to melodrama: the confronted power of evil and goodness, the sense of hazard and clash, the intensification and heightening of experience corresponding to dream and desire “(James, 155). He goes further to insist that “Balzac’s imagination alone did the business.” I find James’ concern for the definition of “the romantic,” to be quite intriguing. He expresses that romance cannot truly be defined, rather it’s something that can be interpreted differently by each individual as it is unique to our own “circuit of thought and desire.” Considering that “Washington Square” explores the moral dualisms of romance vs. family, money vs. love, individual vs. society, etc., it can be said that James succeeded in creating a melodramatic effect.