The Immortal Villain of Washington Square
In Washington Square, Henry James confronts us with an exceptionally hopeless kind of tragedy. The oppressive circumstances of protagonists usually arise from failures of individual or social enlightenment. Such stories are optimistic to the extent that they suggest that progress might eventually lift mankind beyond the scope of the type of situations depicted. In Washington Square, however, truth itself is the oppressor -- a universal truth of human nature which, a century after publication, we are still loath to recognize. Catherine's tragedy is our universal susceptibility to the superficial: the chasm between the qualities that our reflective sensibilities recognize as good and admirable, and those that possess us with passionate longing for another. As Catherine resignedly observes (in connection with her father's frigidity): "we can't govern our affections" (p. 141). Thus, evil can seduce us, and virtue leave us cold.
When this is the driving element in a tragic tale, a reader's search for the enlightened perspective is vain. There is no improving lesson; there will be no progress; and reiterations of the tragic pattern will never cease. The malign force behind the hero's sufferings is intrinsic to human nature.
In most works of fiction, by contrast, truth, or enlightenment, is an ally. In Billy Budd, Billy's goodness exculpates him (although the military code, impervious to natural justice, prevails). The Red Badge of Courage, as a rejection of the glorification of war, implicitly invites the hope that wars may end. In The Awakening, it is social prejudice that chafes at the heroine. In Sister Carrie, although material want is the initial challenge...
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...d, reflecting the reader's discomfort with Dr. Sloper's ruthless incisiveness, asks: "Doesn't geometry treat of surfaces?" (P. 112.) The answer from Dr. Sloper, the man viewed by society and by the narrator as "never [having] been wrong in his life" (p. 184), professor of the bunk doctrine of physiognomy, expresses our immortal delusion: "Yes; but it treats of them profoundly." (P. 112.)
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Random House, Inc., 2000.
Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. London: Penguin Group, 1994.
Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie. New York: Random House, Inc., 1999.
James, Henry. Washington Square. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Melville, Herman. Billy Budd and Other Tales. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1998.
Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1993.
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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a nineteenth century literary work that delves into the world of science and the plausible outcomes of morally insensitive technological research. Although the novel brings to the forefront several issues about knowledge and sublime nature, the novel mostly explores the psychological and physical journey of two complex characters. While each character exhibits several interesting traits that range from passive and contemplative to rash and impulsive, their most attractive quality is their monstrosity. Their monstrosities, however, differ in the way each of the character’s act and respond to their environment. Throughout Frankenstein, one assumes that Frankenstein’s creation is the true monster. While the creation’s actions are indeed monstrous, one must also realize that his creator, Victor Frankenstein is also a villain. His inconsiderate and selfish acts as well as his passion for science result in the death of his friend and family members and ultimately in his own demise.
There are many heroes in this world, whether it’s a fireman or a doctor. A hero is defined based on their courage, nobility and strength. In contrast, there are tragic heroes. According to philosopher, Aristotle, the definition of a tragic hero is one that is of greatness and dignity but, despite their greatness, makes an error, otherwise known as the hero’s “tragic flaw” or “hamartia” which leads to his downfall. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, the main protagonist and round character, Macbeth starts as a man of greatness and dignity. His assumed loyalty to the country and king earns him respect from a variety of men and the title “Thane of Cawdor.” But, unfortunately because of his tragic flaw he is corrupted by his overwhelming ambition and destroys himself and the natural order of man. Macbeth transitions from the savior of his country, “Bellona’s bridegroom”, a “brave” and unbeatable man to a man of endless brutality. Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero.
Bette Howland, in her criticism of Henry James's Washington Square, focuses on two different aspects of the story's development. She begins by impressing on the reader how Henry James himself viewed his creation and then plunges into the history behind the plot. In doing this, she describes how Henry James has used irony to make this story his own creation. Half way through the article she changes directions and shows how Washington Square is the forerunner of his other novels. She describes how they all have the same basic plot.
Tragic figures are characters that aim for a goal but never reach it. They suffer throughout their story and are most likely to die before the play ends. The tragic hero is the most commonly known of these figures, but tragic villains also exist. An example of the tragic hero is Franz Woyzeck, of Georg Büchner’s working-class tragedy ‘Woyzeck’. Compared and contrasted to Woyzeck is the tragic villain, Ferdinand, of John Webster’s tragedy ‘The Duchess of Malfi’. Both characters fail to gain what they desire because they suffer of a mental illness.
In Washington Square', Henry James used a refined technique of narration, language, symbolism and irony as he explored the psychological dimensions of his characters' actions, motivations and interpersonal relationships. He did so as he confronted the tragedy of the immorality of human beings, personified in the characters of Dr. Sloper and Morris Townsend, in dominating the spirit of Sloper's daughter, Catherine, for their own ends.
One might think of a tragedy being a terrible and destructible event in one’s life that causes great pain and may contain great loss. One particular play written by William Shakespeare – one of the most well known poets in history, happens to be a tragedy-filled story. Othello, the Moor of Venice, set during the captivating renaissance era portrays a character named Othello who reveals characteristics of a tragic hero. The brilliant philosopher Aristotle from the fourth century B.C. developed his own definition and idea of what a tragic hero is. Eric Engle, author of “Aristotle, Law and Justice: The Tragic Hero,” said, Due to Aristotle’s influence, his tragic flaw has distorted western thought ever since its conception” (Engle). “The enquiry of whether Othello is a true tragic hero is debatable. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero was a protagonist who is socially superior to others, but then has a downfall due to a “tragic flaw,” typically caused by the character’s solitary weakness. Due to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, Othello possesses the qualities from his definition that fulfill the role of being a tragic hero.
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