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.