Washington Square · Chapter
III explained
This chapter provides a detailed description of Catherine Sloper's appearance, character, and upbringing.
What happens
This chapter provides a detailed description of Catherine Sloper's appearance, character, and upbringing. It describes her as a plain, healthy, and quiet young woman with a taste for fine clothes, which she uses to express herself. The chapter also offers a topographical account of the Sloper family's move to Washington Square and contrasts it with Mrs. Almond's more rustic home uptown. Catherine's relationship with her numerous cousins, especially the Almond children, is explored, and her coming-of-age is marked by her wearing a red satin gown to Mrs. Almond's party, an event that sets the stage for something important.
Themes in this chapter
Wealth and Class
The chapter details the Sloper family's financial status, Dr. Sloper's income, and the social implications of moving to Washington Square, contrasting with Mrs. Almond's more rustic home.
Appearance vs. Reality
Catherine's plain appearance and her desire to express herself through fine clothes, along with the Doctor's concern about vulgarity, highlight the tension between inner character and outward presentation.
Gender Roles and Power
Catherine's limited agency in her dress and the Doctor's paternal control over her appearance and education reflect the gender expectations of the era.
Characters to notice
- Catherine Sloper
Described as a plain, healthy, and quiet young woman with a taste for dress; she is twenty years old and attends Mrs. Almond's party in a red satin gown.
- Dr. Austin Sloper
Catherine's father, a successful physician who moves the family to Washington Square; he disapproves of overdressing and holds old-fashioned views on education.
- Lavinia Penniman
Catherine's aunt, known for her strange manners and mourning attire; she is an object of admiration and fear among the Almond children.
- Mrs. Almond
Catherine's aunt, who lives uptown and gives a party to celebrate her daughter's engagement; she has nine children.
- Marian Almond
Mrs. Almond's daughter, who becomes engaged to a young stockbroker, an event celebrated by the party.
Key passages
“A dull, plain girl she was called by rigorous critics—a quiet, ladylike girl by those of the more imaginative sort; but by neither class was she very elaborately discussed.”
Critics described her as dull and plain, while more sympathetic observers called her quiet and ladylike, but she was not a subject of much discussion.
This passage establishes Catherine's unremarkable appearance and the lack of attention she receives from others.
“Her great indulgence of it was really the desire of a rather inarticulate nature to manifest itself; she sought to be eloquent in her garments, and to make up for her diffidence of speech by a fine frankness of costume.”
Her love of fine clothes was an attempt by her quiet nature to express herself, using her attire to communicate what she could not say in words.
This explains Catherine's motivation for her taste in dress as a form of self-expression.
“It made him fairly grimace, in private, to think that a child of his should be both ugly and overdressed.”
Dr. Sloper was privately displeased that his daughter was both unattractive and wore too many clothes.
This reveals Dr. Sloper's critical view of Catherine's appearance and his concern with propriety.