"Washington Square"

Paper Summary:

This paper studies the literary images used by Henry James to portray New York in "Washington Square". It shows how James' perception of New York changed over time, the literary techniques James used to depict New York and the effectiveness of the images used by James. The paper shows the important link between James' use of images and the grand themes he was trying to express.

From the Paper:

"When discussing morality as applied to Washington Square, an important distinction between the moral code of ethics with The American Scene needs to be made. Whereas in The American Scene there is much evidence to suggest links with the Christian faith directly (such as an allusion to the Beast of the Apocalypse), Washington Square appears to be based on the Republican political ideology towards religion rather than a direct appreciation of religion itself. There is a triangular structure with the main characters that is inherent in many of James' novels and tends to produce morality-based themes: the heiress, the fortune hunter and the protecting father. Dr Sloper is a man of intelligence, a Rappuccini of sorts, who espouses scientific objectivity and empirical observation however irrelevant to the moral situation that kind of rightness may be."

More papers on "Washington Square":

• Book Review # 122397 : "Washington Square" - An Analysis"
• Book Review # 119734 : "Henry James' "Washington Square"
• Analytical Essay # 27644 : "Washington Square"

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