Henry James and a Simple Life

Working in publishing exposes you to all sorts of literary tastes. Sci-fi, women's romance, non-fiction, self-help; you've got all your bases covered and then some.

Personally, I am a bit of a lit snob and feel the same way about literature as I do about fashion: you can never go wrong with a classic. Edith Wharton, Oscar Wilde, Hemingway, Steinbeck, just a few of the authors filling up my bookshelf. However, Henry James was one that I had not indulge in until very recently.

Washington Square Park is James to be added to my growing collection, which shamelessly boasts only a few random novels written since the turn of the millennium. It is the story of Catherine Sloper, the plain daughter of a wealthy doctor, who falls in love with Morris, a man whose attractiveness is his only redeeming quality. The relationship between Morris and Catherine is encouraged by Mrs. Penniman, the girl's meddlesome aunt who enjoys living vicariously through the courtship, and enthusiastically discouraged by Catherine's father, who can see that Morris' lack of employment and wealth is more to blame for the match rather than the love for his daughter.

I was forewarned by my colleagues that James' style is one that you either love or hate (something that I think is true of any author worth reading) and I fell for his writing immediately. James' style includes long sentences that inspire a sort of realistic rambling that only authors of that generation can get away with, and a catty narrator that makes his presence known at the most unexpected of time. The narration of the work is particularly enjoyable and allows of a simple tale of a wealthy man's unfaltering disapproval of his daughter's engagement to an unemployed "mercenary" to leave the reader feeling completely fulfilled.

For instance, when the character of Mrs. Penninman becomes nearly unbearable the narrator's intrusion adds some welcomed comic relief: "'She has always performed them faithfully; and now do you think she has no duties to you?' Mrs. Pinniman always, even in conversation, italicized her personal pronouns." James' confidence in creating such a playful narrator enhances this work and is arguably one of the most skilled qualities of the novel.

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SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

Similar to how the interruptions of the narrator add a level complexity to Washington Square, so does its unexpected ending. I was taken aback (in a good way) to find that Catherine ultimately rejects Morris even after years she assumingly spent pining for him. With her father dead and no other obstacles keeping the two apart, Catherine still chooses a life alone than one with her ex-fiance. But why? This unexpected decision on Catherine's part leads the reader to re-evaluate her decision. The whole time, James makes it seem as though her small and lonely life is the result of a broken heart after Morris is unable to follow through with the engagement. But even after years spent waiting for him, or at least that how it appears to the reader, she does not allow for him to court her once again.

Catherine's solitude is more deliberate and less circumstantial than one originally assumes. After she rejects Morris, James explains that her life remains unchanged: "Catherine, meanwhile, in the parlor, picking up her morsel of fancywork, had seated herself with it again- for life, as it were." Catherine is no longer the dejected character that she once was to the reader. Instead, her simpleness (something that is accentuated throughout Washington Square) is reconfirmed- she is a facile girl with a desire for a life that matches her painfully mild temperament.

While I did love this book, Catherine was a character with whom I had absolutely nothing in common. Her even temper, lack of passion and preference, her annoying desire to remain in her father's favor (a goal that the reader knows is futile), and her inability to stand up to her conniving aunt make her detestable. Her lack of depth is further emphasized when her father escorts her on a European tour in order to wean her off of Morris' affection and she returns unchanged.

Despite my issues with Catherine, Henry James managed to create characters that I was able to draw strong opinions of, which definitely no small feat (trust me, I've read too much of the slush pile not to know this). The style of Washington Square Park is one could easily be compared to Oscar Wilde's Victorian charm, but without the flamboyant imagery. It is one that favors narrative technique and developed characters over a complicated story line to create a work that will be remember, even if it is not loved. All in all, I would definitely have to consider this a "must read" for anyone who shares my passion for classic literature.