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Washington Square

214 statements
41 feature instances
10 referencing feature instances

Washington Square	type	TVTItem
Washington Square	label	Washington Square
Washington Square	page	WashingtonSquare
Washington Square	comment	Henry James's Washington Square tells the story of Catherine Sloper, a cripplingly shy woman who lives with her widowed father, Dr. Austin Sloper, and his flighty sister, Lavinia Penniman. Viewed by everyone as lacking personality, it's a big surprise when handsome, charming Morris Townsend takes an interest in her after meeting her at a party. Within weeks, they are saying they love each other and even consider getting engaged. Dr. Sloper thinks there is something not quite right about this match. After all, what kind of man would actually be attracted to such a dull girl?Originally written in 1880, it was brought to the stage by Ruth and Augustus Goetz and retitled The Heiress in 1947. Two years later, it was made into a movie with the play's title starring Olivia de Havilland. It was adapted to film again under the original title in 1997 starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. There was also a brief Broadway revival of the play in 1995 starring Cherry Jones (who won a Tony for the leading role), and another from 2012 to 2013 with Jessica Chastain in the leading role.A strongly character-driven, subversive story that plays with a lot of love and romance tropes of its time and even now, its resolution stands out.
Washington Square	fetched	2023-06-05T15:29:33Z
Washington Square	parsed	2023-06-05T15:29:33Z
Washington Square	processingComment	Dropped link to Foil: Not a Feature - IGNORE
Washington Square	isPartOf	DBTropes
Washington Square / int_1777688d	type	Genre Savvy
Washington Square / int_1777688d	comment	Genre Savvy: Aunt Penniman's meddling in Catherine's life is her deliberately playing the role of The Matchmaker in a lot of romance stories. Deep down, she is perfectly aware of what is really going on, but doesn't let it get in the way of her foolish romantic delusions.
Washington Square / int_1777688d	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_1777688d	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_1777688d
Washington Square / int_1779f10e	type	"Well Done, Son" Guy
Washington Square / int_1779f10e	comment	Well Done Daughter Girl: Catherine begins the story desperate for her father's approval.
Washington Square / int_1779f10e	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_1779f10e	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_1779f10e
Washington Square / int_1c21e3fb	type	The Place
Washington Square / int_1c21e3fb	comment	The Place: Washington Square.
Washington Square / int_1c21e3fb	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_1c21e3fb	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_1c21e3fb
Washington Square / int_2059a430	type	The Hedonist
Washington Square / int_2059a430	comment	The Hedonist: Morris actually inherited a decent amount of money at some point before the beginning of the story; however, he squandered it completely on hedonistic ventures. Even his sister reluctantly admitted during her "interview" with Dr. Sloper that he had used none of his inheritance to help her or her five children.
Washington Square / int_2059a430	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_2059a430	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_2059a430
Washington Square / int_24321e44	type	Only Sane Man
Washington Square / int_24321e44	comment	Only Sane Woman: Mrs. Almond, Dr. Sloper's other sister, who is the most reasonable person in the story by a long shot. She thinks her brother's handling of the Morris situation and treatment of Catherine in general are needlessly cruel while at the same disagreeing with Aunt Penniman's meddling, guessing correctly that Morris is a Gold Digger.
Washington Square / int_24321e44	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_24321e44	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_24321e44
Washington Square / int_2484396e	type	Know-Nothing Know-It-All
Washington Square / int_2484396e	comment	Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Aunt Penniman highly overestimates her social intelligence and matchmaking skills. Dr. Sloper comes off this way, too, but it turns out not to be the case.
Washington Square / int_2484396e	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_2484396e	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_2484396e
Washington Square / int_2804d516	type	Master of None
Washington Square / int_2804d516	comment	Master of None: Catherine was trained in a variety of skills as a child, including singing and the piano, but as an adult she has no particular talent in any of them except embroidery.
Washington Square / int_2804d516	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_2804d516	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_2804d516
Washington Square / int_31da1e24	type	Shipper on Deck
Washington Square / int_31da1e24	comment	Shipper on Deck: Aunt Penniman, arguably a Deconstruction of this type of character as her obsession with getting Catherine and Morris together is treated as unhealthy.
Washington Square / int_31da1e24	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_31da1e24	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_31da1e24
Washington Square / int_35e077	type	Fourth-Date Marriage
Washington Square / int_35e077	comment	Fourth-Date Marriage: Morris proposes to Catherine after only a couple of days.
Washington Square / int_35e077	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_35e077	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_35e077
Washington Square / int_4623b3bb	type	Why Couldn't You Be Different?
Washington Square / int_4623b3bb	comment	Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Dr. Sloper not-so-secretly despises his daughter—she's not even a shadow of her beautiful clever mother in his eyes. Not only that, but she is The Unfavorite compared to her brother who died before she was even born! In his heart he probably feels she should have died instead.
Washington Square / int_4623b3bb	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_4623b3bb	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_4623b3bb
Washington Square / int_4b316d47	type	Break the Cutie
Washington Square / int_4b316d47	comment	Break the Cutie: A double-whammy for Catherine. The first one comes from her father during their stay in Europe; when she tells him she still plans to marry Morris, he gives a speech lathed with sarcasm, comparing her to a mindless animal whose "value is twice as great" after her experiences abroad, ending it with "We have fattened the sheep before he kills it!" Then Morris—after finding out that Catherine will not be as rich as expected— turns his inner Jerkass up to eleven hoping it will turn her off him, and when that fails, he cruelly dumps her and runs off to California.
Washington Square / int_4b316d47	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_4b316d47	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_4b316d47
Washington Square / int_5c24cfa1	type	Love Will Lead You Back
Washington Square / int_5c24cfa1	comment	Love Will Lead You Back: Subverted. Catherine starts off feeling this way about Morris, but soon comes to terms with the fact that she had been exploited, and when he does return twenty years later, she has no longer has any interest in him.
Washington Square / int_5c24cfa1	featureApplicability	-0.3
Washington Square / int_5c24cfa1	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_5c24cfa1
Washington Square / int_66dfe36a	type	Missing Mom
Washington Square / int_66dfe36a	comment	Missing Mom: Catherine's mother died shortly after she was born.
Washington Square / int_66dfe36a	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_66dfe36a	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_66dfe36a
Washington Square / int_6977c45e	type	Purple Prose
Washington Square / int_6977c45e	comment	Purple Prose/ Wall of Text: Being a work of Henry James, practically the modern Trope Codifier, the language can be purplish and hard to grasp at times. Incidentally, contemporaries praised the book for being more straightforward in comparison to his other books.
Washington Square / int_6977c45e	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_6977c45e	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_6977c45e
Washington Square / int_6da1d9ae	type	Parental Marriage Veto
Washington Square / int_6da1d9ae	comment	Parental Marriage Veto: Dr. Sloper tries to pull this on Catherine during the entirety of their relationship, even threatening to disinherit her. (Though he likely considers her an Inadequate Inheritor anyway.)
Washington Square / int_6da1d9ae	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_6da1d9ae	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_6da1d9ae
Washington Square / int_6f78d9be	type	Resentful Guardian
Washington Square / int_6f78d9be	comment	Resentful Guardian: Dr. Sloper, while never crossing over into being a fully Abusive Parent, clearly resents having someone like Catherine in his care.
Washington Square / int_6f78d9be	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_6f78d9be	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_6f78d9be
Washington Square / int_77bc8a56	type	Unable to Support a Wife
Washington Square / int_77bc8a56	comment	Unable to Support a Wife: Another of the good doctor's reasons for dissaproving of Morris being with his daughter: he has no job or any real motivation to get one, and the way he wasted the little money he had makes him wonder what he would do with Catherine's fortune.
Washington Square / int_77bc8a56	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_77bc8a56	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_77bc8a56
Washington Square / int_7e676cdf	type	Engagement Challenge
Washington Square / int_7e676cdf	comment	Engagement Challenge: Not so challenging as other examples, but Dr. Sloper takes Catherine away with him to Europe for six months to test their relationship, reasoning that if Morris really loved Catherine and not her money, he would be willing to wait for her. He was willing to wait, but he didn't love her.
Washington Square / int_7e676cdf	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_7e676cdf	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_7e676cdf
Washington Square / int_958f1f57	type	Maiden Aunt
Washington Square / int_958f1f57	comment	Maiden Aunt: Aunt Penniman is a widow, but she never sought out another man after the death of Rev. Penniman, and is content living her romantic fantasies through her niece and Morris.
Washington Square / int_958f1f57	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_958f1f57	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_958f1f57
Washington Square / int_a7016efe	type	Lonely Rich Kid
Washington Square / int_a7016efe	comment	Lonely Rich Kid: Catherine.
Washington Square / int_a7016efe	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_a7016efe	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_a7016efe
Washington Square / int_a8adc5a0	type	Like a Son to Me
Washington Square / int_a8adc5a0	comment	Like a Son to Me: Aunt Penniman never tells him this directly, but she does think to herself that if she and her late husband had been able to have children, they would have had a son not unlike Morris. This could be a factor in her Shipper on Deck tendencies, as it was not uncommon for cousins—especially in a wealthy family— to marry in the 19th century.
Washington Square / int_a8adc5a0	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_a8adc5a0	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_a8adc5a0
Washington Square / int_a8dcb1d7	type	Love at First Sight
Washington Square / int_a8dcb1d7	comment	Love at First Sight: Seems to be this for Catherine and Morris at first.
Washington Square / int_a8dcb1d7	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_a8dcb1d7	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_a8dcb1d7
Washington Square / int_ae3d6438	type	Deadpan Snarker
Washington Square / int_ae3d6438	comment	Deadpan Snarker: Dr. Sloper—most of his dialog with Catherine is nothing but snark.
Washington Square / int_ae3d6438	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_ae3d6438	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_ae3d6438
Washington Square / int_b3096202	type	Oedipus Complex
Washington Square / int_b3096202	comment	Oedipus Complex: Inverted—Morris actually can't stand Aunt Penniman, but she is both attracted to him and he reminds her of the son she wishes she'd had.
Washington Square / int_b3096202	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_b3096202	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_b3096202
Washington Square / int_c132c0c5	type	I Have No Son!
Washington Square / int_c132c0c5	comment	I Have No Daughter: Feeling that there is nothing more he can do to keep Morris and Catherine apart, he completely disinherits his daughter, leaving his $30,000 estate to various organizations. Catherine still gets $10,000 a year from her mother... but that's not enough for Morris.
Washington Square / int_c132c0c5	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_c132c0c5	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_c132c0c5
Washington Square / int_c5330897	type	NaÃ¯ve Everygirl
Washington Square / int_c5330897	comment	Naïve Everygirl: A major part of the story is Catherine maturing out of this trope.
Washington Square / int_c5330897	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_c5330897	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_c5330897
Washington Square / int_c5caf1e5	type	Silly Rabbit, Romance Is for Kids!
Washington Square / int_c5caf1e5	comment	Silly Rabbit, Romance Is for Kids!: By the end of the story, Catherine seems to have this view, at least for herself. She had turned down several dates and marriage proposals in the years after her father died, and when Morris asks her why she never married (assuming she was waiting for him to come back), she explicity states that there was no reason for her to.
Washington Square / int_c5caf1e5	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_c5caf1e5	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_c5caf1e5
Washington Square / int_ce6487aa	type	Misery Builds Character
Washington Square / int_ce6487aa	comment	Misery Builds Character: Implicit in the story—the heartbreak Catherine suffers due to the people around her forces her to stand on her own two feet and not depend on the love and approval of others to be happy. Otherwise, it's likely she may very well have remained an awkward, "dull" wallflower forever.
Washington Square / int_ce6487aa	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_ce6487aa	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_ce6487aa
Washington Square / int_d08595d3	type	Broken Bird
Washington Square / int_d08595d3	comment	Broken Bird: Catherine turns into this after being betrayed by Morris and disapproved of by her father.
Washington Square / int_d08595d3	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_d08595d3	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_d08595d3
Washington Square / int_daf81d3	type	Plain Jane
Washington Square / int_daf81d3	comment	Plain Jane: Catherine, and while she never has a Beautiful All Along moment, the narrator and other characters describe that she has the kind of looks that would be better suited to a 40 year old than a 20 year old, making this perhaps a delayed version of She's All Grown Up.
Washington Square / int_daf81d3	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_daf81d3	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_daf81d3
Washington Square / int_e2d457	type	The Ditz
Washington Square / int_e2d457	comment	The Ditz: Aunt Penniman, no doubt!
Washington Square / int_e2d457	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_e2d457	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_e2d457
Washington Square / int_e4bb68b8	type	The Charmer
Washington Square / int_e4bb68b8	comment	The Charmer: Even Dr. Sloper admits that Morris is very charming, though he sees it as an act.
Washington Square / int_e4bb68b8	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_e4bb68b8	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_e4bb68b8
Washington Square / int_eb002293	type	Shrinking Violet
Washington Square / int_eb002293	comment	Shrinking Violet: Catherine, to the point where every time she asserts herself seems like a Moment of Awesome.
Washington Square / int_eb002293	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_eb002293	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_eb002293
Washington Square / int_eb8ec7c8	type	Jerkass
Washington Square / int_eb8ec7c8	comment	Jerkass: Dr. Sloper, Aunt Penniman, Morris—basically everyone but Catherine has their moments.
Washington Square / int_eb8ec7c8	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_eb8ec7c8	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_eb8ec7c8
Washington Square / int_ed874c14	type	Self-Made Man
Washington Square / int_ed874c14	comment	Self-Made Man: Dr. Sloper may have married the wealthy Catherine Harrington, but he worked his way up to where he is at the beginning of the story, eventually tripling his late wife's estate.
Washington Square / int_ed874c14	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_ed874c14	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_ed874c14
Washington Square / int_f12d9d83	type	Promotion to Parent
Washington Square / int_f12d9d83	comment	Promotion to Parent: Mrs. Montgomery, Morris's older sister who more or less raised him after the death of their parents.
Washington Square / int_f12d9d83	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_f12d9d83	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_f12d9d83
Washington Square / int_f19ff224	type	TheUNFavourite
Washington Square / int_f19ff224	comment	The Un-Favourite: Catherine is this to her father, in comparison to her older brother... who died several years before she was born and doesn't appear to have lived long enough to be named.
Washington Square / int_f19ff224	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_f19ff224	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_f19ff224
Washington Square / int_f6b2bfb7	type	Gold Digger
Washington Square / int_f6b2bfb7	comment	Gold Digger: Dr. Sloper assumes correctly that Morris is just after Catherine's money. Dr. Sloper himself could be accused of being one, but he was always adamant that he married his late wife for love and that he earned everything he had.
Washington Square / int_f6b2bfb7	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_f6b2bfb7	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_f6b2bfb7
Washington Square / int_fdc1e848	type	Will They or Won't They?
Washington Square / int_fdc1e848	comment	Will They or Won't They?: They don't—Morris comes to see her when they are both approaching middle-age after failing to hit it big in the west. Catherine says that she does not hate him, but has no interest in having any kind of relationship, with him or anyone.
Washington Square / int_fdc1e848	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_fdc1e848	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_fdc1e848
Washington Square / int_ff2ceef1	type	Old Maid
Washington Square / int_ff2ceef1	comment	Old Maid: A bit of subtext in the story is the other characters' belief that due to Catherine's shyness and "dullness", she will never find a man and will end up a spinster. When the story skips ahead 20 years, it concludes with Catherine at age 40, unmarried, and childless. However, Catherine willingly chose never to marry, and is perfectly content with her life and comfortable in her own skin in a way that she never was as a younger woman when she had to worry about pleasing her father or fulfilling social obligations of courtship and marriage.
Washington Square / int_ff2ceef1	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_ff2ceef1	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_ff2ceef1
Washington Square / int_name	type	ItemName
Washington Square / int_name	comment
Washington Square / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Washington Square / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Washington Square	hasFeature	Washington Square / int_name
Washington Square / int_name	itemName	Washington Square

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Washington Square	hasFeature	American Literature (T to Z) / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	Love Will Lead You Back / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	Old Maid / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	Parental Marriage Veto / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	Plain Jane / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	Relationship Sabotage / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	The Place / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	Why Couldn't You Be Different? / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	You Should Have Died Instead / int_f5a75ada
Washington Square	hasFeature	The Matchmaker / int_f5a75ada

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