Washington Square by Henry Jam

First appearing as a serial in Cornhill Magazine in 1880, Washington Square focuses on the strained relationship between father and daughter, which is instigated as a result of opposing personalities, viewpoints, and lack of affection. At the same time, James presents an insidious father, who would rather sacrifice his daughter’s happiness and condemn her to a lifetime of misery, simply to prove the accuracy of his prediction. Essentially a tragicomedy, the novel focuses on themes including family, deception, cruelty, manipulation, and opposed principles.

Told in a third-person omniscient point of view, the tale begins with the introduction of Dr. Austin Sloper and his family background, which proves to be quite depressing from the start, as he has lost both his wife and son. Nevertheless, Sloper is an eminent and wealthy physician who lives in Washington Square, New York, together with his daughter Catherine and widowed sister, Lavinia Penniman. Disappointed by the fact that Catherin