DIS+15

DIS 15

Michael Cunningham writes, "James did much to release the novel from its obligation to instruct and improve the reader, at least in terms of the reader's morals, intellect, and social conscience."

In the voice of the author assigned to you, respond to James' comment:

Jennifer: Flannery O'Connor Breanna: Georges Bernanos Lizzie: Gerard Manley Hopkins Eleanor: Dorothy Day (just teasing, Eleanor). Henry James, himself.

EM: I did not intend for this novel to relate to any one person or overarching idea. My novel is for all ages and all kinds--the conflicted young girl, the surly older man, and the hopeful, aging aunt. I wanted to present a set of situations in a certain society under a set of familial guidelines to my readers and allow them to take it from there. One reader may view Dr. Sloper as a malicious, unrelenting old man; another may sympathize with him and understand his reasoning. One may pity Catherine and maybe even shed a tear for her; another may tire of her flippant nature and constant insecurities. One may regard Lavinia as a blessing to Catherine while another may solely regard her as a petty nuisance that is insubstantial to the plot line. My story, along with all readers, is evolving. It puts into the words the battles that all families face and the challenges that many societies present. It characterizes the insecurities and apprehensions that all human beings can claim to their name, regardless of the facade they may attain. I am not telling you, as the author, what is right to believe and what you should be drawing from this novel. I can only hope that you will relate to something within the pages and find meaning in my words. GG: It is good that you see that the novel is not didactic! What would D. Day say? "Occupy Washington Square?" :)

BK: Like my friend Henry James said about his own work above, I think that any esteemed novel must have relatable qualities about it in order for it to be a success. While my work __Diary of a Country Priest__ can seem daunting and, even I can admit, a tad dreary at times, it is full of relatable topics. At one time or another we have all felt isolated and/or ostracized from a community or a group of people, just like the protagonist in my work. This novel, __Washington Square__, does do an accurate job of crafting characters that can liked or disliked, loved or hated, or all of the above, by any and all readers. You are more or less consumed by the narrative and there really isn't an all encompassing message that James seems to want to get across to all of his readers at the end of this story. While this differs slightly from my strong message that "Grace is everywhere," I don't personally think that one is more right than the other, just different. I think that diversity in the literary world is one of the most important things that writing and novels can possess. If you are able to relate to Catherine and her lost way in James's novel, great. If you are feeling a little more ambitious and want to pick up my novel, awesome, hopefully you as well will be inspired by the priest's dying words. James does do an excellent job of eliminating the reader's personal background in order to immerse them fully into his narrative. This is one technique that I find admirable, as it is not something that I am prone to doing. GG: "As my friend Henry James said..." - subordinating conjunction.It is very hard to find grace anywhere in W.S. right?

LD:

I agree with the fact that Washington Square did not force any moral or thought onto the readers. Much of the book, particularly many of the characters, were left rather open on whether or not they were “bad” or “good”. For instance, at the end of the novel, when Catherine locked the door on Morris, Was she in the right? Was that how God would have wanted her to treat Morris? These answers were left up to interpretation. The whole theme of religion was rather ambiguous in this novel as a whole. The character’s is this novel really struggled in their lives. “And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil”. What I took from James’s novel is that struggling with yourself, with your religion, can bring you more at one with your self, and more at one with your spirituality. GG: So much of literature is left to interpretation. That appeals so some minds and frustrates others.

JR:

While James did not write this novel with didactic intentions, one cannot completely avoid extracting a religious undertone or two. Albeit they are completely unintentional, I found God’s grace in the novel. God is everywhere, we may not understand or see him but his grace is lurking around us. We find such grace in unlikely situations and in the novel it can be argued that Catherine found His grace. Sure, James does not “instruct” the reader in any way, but discovering inadvertent religious sentiment is quite separate. If a reader can find such sentiment, she can be reminded of God’s presence in her life and perhaps be guided to finding His grace. I always try to help my literary characters to discover grace in unlikely situations- I’d say a book is an “unlikely situation” and therefore a reader could indeed be enlightened to His grace. The reader must simply search but not necessarily expect to find it. God’s grace is everywhere, it will appear.

GG: what we did not discuss (note to file!) is the Catholic reader. That is she who find God's grace in the world.