Washington Square Ch. 10: The Promise and the

Henry James

The Promise and the Warning

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Summary

Catherine receives Morris in the formal drawing room he crossed despite calling her father a derisive scoffer in private. He declares they must settle something and take a line; kisses and vows have already made intimacy considerable. Morris remembers fortune favours the brave while Lavinia waits in the wings for a drama in which she will speak the epilogue. Catherine, dazed by kisses, agrees they must do their duty and speak to Sloper: she tonight, Morris tomorrow.

He coaches her that Sloper will call him mercenary and frames wealth as misfortune that makes their difficulty. She promises gentleness, accepts his praise that she is irresistible, and gives hand and gaze when he asks her to cleave to him even if forbidden. Morris leaves his defence to her while she rehearses denial of mercenary motive and gladness that they will be rich. James shows romance hardening into strategy as Catherine prepares to confront her father armed with Morris's script, not her own doubt.

She asks once if Morris truly loves her, then accepts reassurance instead of proof. His request that she cleave to him if forbidden binds her before Sloper speaks, turning duty into a loyalty test Morris designed. Lavinia's hunger for drama hovers offstage while Catherine believes tact means taking the harder first step for a man who already knows what she will say.

In this chapter:Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Spotting Preemptive Pledges

Demands for loyalty before a fair hearing often serve the asker, not you. Morris secures Catherine's promise to cleave to him while she prepares to face Sloper alone.

Delay big pledges until you have heard the protector's case in their own words.

This chapter

Inside the Mind: Catherine Sloper

She asks once if he truly loves her, then accepts the kiss instead of proof. Cleaving to him if forbidden binds her before her father speaks. The pledge is Morris's design, not her doubt. She will walk into the study carrying his script, and call that duty.

Continue this thoughtThe Sofa Before the Income

Coming Up in Chapter 11

That evening Catherine waits half an hour after her father goes to his study. She knocks, sits by the fire, and tells him she is engaged to Morris Townsend. He smiles and asks when the arrangement was made.

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Original text

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Chapter 10

The Promise and the Warning

CATHERINE received the young man the next day on the ground she had chosen—amid the chaste upholstery of a New York drawing-room furnished in the fashion of fifty years ago. Morris had swallowed his pride and made the effort necessary to cross the threshold of her too derisive parent—an act of magnanimity which could not fail to render him doubly interesting. “We must settle something—we must take a line,” he declared, passing his hand through his hair and giving a glance at the long narrow mirror which adorned the space between the two windows, and which had at its base…

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The Promise and the Warning

Summary

Why This Matters