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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Ever since the earliest scientists, including the likes of Aristotle and Plato, the question of the morality of man's meddling in nature has been a prevalent issue. While science can provide boundless amounts of invaluable contributions to mankind, ultimately some scientific endeavors should never have been pursued. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelly explores the ethics involved in this query through the creation of a wonder of science, and its inevitable consequences.
The topic of justice first comes about through a conversation between Socrates and Cephalus. The two are reflecting upon their old age, evaluating how they have lived their lives, when Cephalus states that his wealth "keeps him from having to leave life in the fear of owing debts to men or sacrifices to the gods." [331b] This comment leads Socrates to question Cephalus on the subject of justice by asking if he really believed that justice is simply telling the truth and returning what you receive. Socrates feels this definition is too simple, asking if it is "sometimes right to behave in these ways, and sometimes wrong?" [331c] Socrates proposes this question: if someone were to borrow weapons from a friend, and afterwards this friend went mad, would it be just to return the weapons to the friend? Although Cephalus' definition would warrant returning the weapons, the two conclude that it would in fact not be the right thing to do. The two feel that this statement does not fit the definition of justice.
A tragic hero is said to be doomed from his beginning. Though courage and loyalty dwell in him, the temptation of superior life can be unsurpassable, and a civil person can display vicious, primitive attitudes and carry out evil deeds. Macbeth was an unfortunate man, who seemed insatiable, pitiless, and power-hungry, but really just attempted to cover up a tiny weakness he obtained through incidences beyond his control.
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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.