Washington Square

Dr. Sloper’s concern that Catherine makes a marriage securing her financial position reflects his recognition of the limited options available to women. Unlike men, women have almost no earning options. Women’s opportunities to affect their financial and societal positions came down to their choice of a husband.

Mrs. Penniman and Mrs. Montgomery are left not only widowed but poor because the men they married did not earn or possess fortunes. Mrs. Almond, by contrast, lives in comfort and security, having made a match with a prosperous merchant. Thus, Dr. Sloper’s wish that Catherine should marry a rich man or a man with an occupation designed to garner a fortune is based on the gender roles of the era.

Mrs. Penniman lives in comfort only by accepting her brother’s generosity. Her husband, a clergyman with a gift for flowery speech, left her without means. Dr. Sloper sees Townsend’s flowery speech as similarly lacking in practical value. Mrs. Penniman’s lack of control over her position is something her brother brings to the forefront when it suits his interests. He repeatedly threatens—sometimes vaguely and sometimes specifically—to turn her out if she does not show him the deference he believes he deserves.

Mrs. Montgomery’s position is more precarious as a poor widow with five children. Though the reader knows little about Mrs. Montgomery’s former husband, he was not a man of sufficient fortune for her or her children to feel comfortable. She must be thrifty, and because her small house and parlor lack luxury or social accouterments, she substitutes practicality and cleanliness instead. Townsend’s acceptance of money from her is egregious because her circumstances are so difficult, and her prospects for improving them are essentially non-existent.

Catherine has some security from the fortune that her mother left her, but a wealthy husband would better establish her position. After Townsend breaks off their engagement, she has opportunities to make respectable and comfortable marriages. But her father’s cruelty and the pain she feels from the break with Townsend affect her ability to love and trust. She also refuses to marry in part to thwart her father’s desires. She no longer loves and respects him enough to make decisions just to honor his wishes, and may make choices simply to defy him. Ultimately, she remains unmarried, engaging in needlecraft and charity work from the comfort of her Washington Square home. This ending defies the conventional romantic conclusion that fulfillment must be found in marriage.