Henry James. Washington Square. 1881, Edited by David Price et al, Project Gutenberg, 13 Jan. 2015.

When I introduce the concept of realism to my American Literature students, I tell them that Henry James is the anti-Jane Austen. Washington Square illustrates that. The novel is set among the upper classes of New York City in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Young Catherine Sloper, daughter of a highly esteemed medical doctor, lives in a nice house with her father and widowed aunt. In the story, her father and aunt are working at cross purposes.

The handsome but perhaps careless Morris Townsend has expressed an interest in Catherine. He is really her first suitor. She tends to be quiet and does not have the quality of charm that young men find appealing. The aunt, Mrs. Penniman, really likes Mr. Townsend. She sees herself as a kind of go-between or duenna—not unlike the nurse in Romeo and Juliet.

Dr. Sloper, on the other hand, mistrusts Townsend. He does some informal background checking and is persuaded that Morris Townsend is only interested in Catherine’s money. The courtship lasts for a few years: Neither Catherine nor Morris give up and Dr. Sloper does not give in. Is this going to be a romantic comedy?

If Jane Austen were writing it, Catherine would either discover some sordid truth about Morris and find a more suitable young man. Or, if Morris is sincere, then Dr. Sloper would eventually see the error of his ways.

Is Aunt Penniman a petty meddler or sincerely working on behalf of her niece? Or is she simply a superannuated romantic in an age of realism?

If Jane Austen were writing this, the aunt might be humorously mistaken as Emma was, a klutz when it comes to matchmaking but still aware enough to either change her mind or convert her brother the doctor.

None of these things happen. Henry James, not Jane Austen, wrote Washington Square. But this short novel is no tragedy, either. James has a comic streak, but it is rooted in irony. The reader sees this right from the beginning.

The first chapter is dedicated to a background sketch of Dr. Sloper. He sounds like a very competent physician. We have to admit, though, that such doctors sometimes think their scientific knowledge means that they are superior to others.

While he is portrayed as a caring doctor, popular with his patients, there is no question that he identifies with the upper classes. This introduction tells us that he finds himself in a situation like the doctor in the Tom Lehrer sketch who specializes in the diseases of the rich.

Subtle, perhaps sardonic. Not laugh-out-loud funny, but ironic. I would truly tell my students that Washington Square is very, very realistic—both in the literary sense and in the literal sense. One could say that it is like the lives of most people, not comic, not tragic, not heroic. It just is—because that is the way life is.

P.S. As I have done many times in the past, I read Washington Square because an excerpt from this short novel appeared for one of the questions in this year’s English Literature Advanced Placement exam. I bit. It was worth it.