Washington Square Lesson Plan

Why does Mrs. Penniman change her mind about Morris’s marriage to Catherine, and what does that reveal about her?

Discussion can focus on the close of Chapter 27 and on Chapter 28. In a close analysis of the end of Chapter 27 starting with the words “sentimentally speaking," the narrator offers some insight on what might be Mrs. Penniman’s motives for behaving as she does. Have students discuss whether they find the narrator’s explanation reliable and convincing. If not, what evidence contradicts this interpretation of Mrs. Penniman’s motives? What does it say about Mrs. Penniman that she would have liked to have had a son who was as tyrannical as Morris? The narrator...