Washington Square is a novel by Henry James.

This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on Washington Square by Henry James. Students and other lovers of great literature will appreciate this inexpensive edition of one of the great American novels. Washington Square Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. Set in New York against the backdrop of 1880s high society, Washington Square is one of the most beloved novels from master Henry James, and its exploration of interfamily strife and power dynamics, as well as its early take on gender issues, continue to resonate with readers today. Washington Square (1881), by Henry James, tells the story of Catherine Sloper, the plain, obedient daughter of the widowed, well-to-do Dr. While this memorable story plays itself out in the vanished world of nineteenth-century New York, its underlying themes and moral concerns are timeless and universal. As the tale unfolds, James explores, with acute psychological penetration and masterly storytelling skill, the moral consequences of the callous exploitation of trust and the ruthless manipulation of a tender heart. Sloper threatens Catherine with disinheritance and forces her into a choice between father and lover. Dismayed by his prospective son-in-law's shallowness and lack of prospects, and strongly suspecting him of fortune-hunting, Dr. Washington Square is one of the more frequently adapted of Henry James’s works, the most popular version being The Heiress, a 1949 film adaptation starring Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper and Montgomery Clift as Morris Townsend. When a flurry of attention from an attractive suitor causes the plain and unremarkable Catherine to fall deeply in love, the stage is set for a struggle of opposing wills between Catherine and her adored father.

Set in New York City in the 1840s, this celebrated novel tells the story of Catherine Sloper, the docile and affectionate daughter of a well-to-do physician, who appears destined for a lifetime of spinsterhood with only the companionship of her sardonic father and fatuous aunt.