When the Past Returns — Washington Square

Catherine prefers Washington Square to any other home and stays late into the summer heat while others flee to the seaside. After Dr. Sloper's death Mrs. Penniman feels a pleasant freedom, remembering the season years ago when she entertained Morris while Catherine was abroad. On a humid July evening the two women sit by the open window, Catherine rocking quietly with a palmetto fan while her aunt hums. Mrs. Penniman then announces a surprise: she has seen Morris Townsend.

Catherine controls her reaction, asks whether he was well, and says quickly that she would rather not see him. Her aunt, thrilled to speak his name again after more than twenty years, reports their meeting at Marian's house and in the street. Morris looks older and sadder, unsuccessful despite travel, briefly married in Europe to a woman who died young, and eager for news of Catherine. Mrs. Penniman repeats his claim that Catherine was the real romance of his life, pausing for effect after each detail.

Catherine listens with her eyes on the ground until the phrase lands like a reopened grave. She asks her aunt to please say no more and not follow the subject, then moves to another window hidden by curtains and cries silently where Mrs. Penniman cannot see. The chapter shows how a meddler can disturb peace without malice, and how a body can betray composure long after the mind insists a feeling is dead.