The Art of Family Surveillance — Washington Square

Catherine keeps her promise not to mention Morris to Sloper even as the visits become the most important thing in her life. She would accept his permanent absence without complaint, mistaking grateful devotion for love while her father reads her silence as dumb eloquence. Sloper refuses to question servants or Catherine directly, hoping to stay just and leave her liberty until danger proves real. He finally interrogates Lavinia, who deflects with kittens, claims she cannot betray a confidence, and praises Morris's interest in Catherine's lovely nature.

Sloper calls the visits four or five times a week; Lavinia enjoys concealment as persecution theater. He concludes Morris seeks the position of husband to a weak-minded heiress while tutoring nephews he may live upon. Lavinia rises in temper when Sloper calls Catherine weak-minded, though she shares little hard fact. James maps a household of secrets: Catherine hiding joy, Sloper hiding surveillance, Lavinia hiding romance behind vows she will not break.

Catherine's happiness is real yet oddly self-erasing; she would thank fate for crumbs rather than claim rights lovers expect. Sloper's justice keeps him from trapping his daughter even while her mute face enrages him. The chapter ends with Lavinia defending Catherine's mind while refusing facts, proving she is ally to the plot, not necessarily to the girl.