Washington Square raises important human and moral issues. Discuss with reference to the social and historical context of the novella. Support your response with textual evidence.
Washington Square presents important human and moral themes that are relative to the novella’s historical and social context. The novella Washington Square is set in the early 20th century in New York and the social mores of this time are communicated throughout the novella. Social guidelines and unspoken social laws are shown by the interaction of the characters. The conventions of New York society in this era and illustrated in the narrative, highlighting three particular human and moral issues: dishonesty, deception and betrayal.
Lies are often recognised and disguised as the truth, masking reality and leaving the truth unexposed. In Washington Square, Mrs Penniman unintentionally deceives Catherine, as the truth in her mind is, in reality, a lie. Mrs Penniman is a romantic and delights “of all things in a drama, and she flattered herself that a drama would now be enacted.” Mrs Penniman has a predilection for exaggeration, she romanticises everything she comes into contact with, as though she were living the life of a fictional character. Penniman has a tenuous grip on reality, perceiving the world in a way that is naively optimistic, as though she were looking through a pair of ‘rose-coloured glasses.’ This is shown the use of a metaphor in the novella where Mrs Penniman thoughts are compared to a theatrical play as she amplifies reality to the extent that it becomes completely superficial.
The Essay on “Social Construction of Reality”
Reality is not an objective thing that is imposed upon us, but is created by us. Reality does not exist externally but internally, as each individual or group interprets it, and is always changing. Due to these concepts sociologists often speak about the “social construction of reality” which is essential to understand when attempting to explain human social behavior. Since realty is the basis of ...
Individuals are selective in how they present themselves in order to achieve their desired image. By influencing how others perceive them, individuals mask their true motives. Characters in the novel put on a facade in order to hide what’s true about themselves and keep their objectives secret. By changing the way other characters see them, their ulterior motives remain unknown. After Catherine asks Morris not to despise her, and after Morris promises, James writes: “This was an easy promise to make, and Morris made it with fine effect. But for the moment he undertook nothing more onerous.” In the novella, there is much speculation that Morris is after Catherine’s fortune, the previous quote is an indicator that this theory is correct. This shows that Morris finds the promise to not despise Catherine quite a grueling task which is also indicative of his reluctance to marry her. James uses irony to portray Townsend’s ulterior objectives. Morris appears to be sincere in his promise, and Catherine is quick to believe him, but James gives readers insight into Morris’ real thoughts. He appears to love her, and acts as though these romantic feelings will be unremitting. The truth is, however, that Morris intends to leave her after discovering Catherine will be disinherited, but thoughts are masked by this false pretence and Catherine believes he is sincere in his promise. Further into the novella, Morris promises to see Catherine again, but, James writes “And he managed to get away and to close the door behind him.” This shows Morris’ true feelings toward seeing Catherine again. He made an empty promise and fully does not intend on following through with this commitment. James uses irony here again to show Morris’ real objective, and that was to be as far away from Catherine and her fantasies of love as humanly possible.
PERFIDY Characters in the novella Washington Square are often suspected of betrayal by the respondents reading the narrative. Betrayal is a recurring theme in the novella Washington Square and there are many signs of betrayal through the narrative. A specific example is the betrayal of Morris Townsend by Mrs Montgomery after she is visited by Dr. Sloper. Dr. Sloper uses wit and assertion to convince Mrs Montgomery to tell him the truth about her deceptive brother. In the text, Dr. Sloper’s poor assessment of Morris Townsend’s character is confirmed as Mrs Montgomery says “Don’t let her marry him!” These words, spoken by Morris’ own sister verify Sloper’s thoughts and consequently, give him great satisfaction. A technique used here by James is evocative language, the respondent is persuaded to believe Morris lacks integrity and his own kin is quick to speak ill of him. It appeals particularly to women reading the novella, as the primary characters affected by this conversation are both female. Women are made to feel sorry for the vulnerable Catherine, and also for Mrs Montgomery who was virtually entrapped by Dr. Sloper who persuaded her to tell him of all Morris’ bad traits. Mrs Montgomery is betraying her brother Morris, however, if she had resided from telling the truth she would have, in a way, betrayed Catherine.
The Essay on Analysis Of Dubliner By James Joyce
Analysis of Dubliner by James Joyce Abstract This four-page paper examines and discusses James Joyce constant use of the themes of family dynamics, marriage and economic realities in histhe collection of fifteen short stories, Dubliners, published in 1907--- Dubliners. The paper references many of the short stories, which through symbolism conveys Joyces central leitmotif that realistically paints ...
The novella Washington Square, is an accurate depiction of innate human issues, focusing on the struggle between truth and lies, appearance and reality and the issue of betrayal. Each affair is traditionally human, depicting the contest between what is morally right and wrong, but each relating wholly to the context on the novella.
