Washington Square Chapter 32

In which the narrative delicately traces the slow passage of years during which Catherine, outwardly composed and quietly dignified, maintains a resolute silence about a broken engagement that has left her inwardly wounded, while her father, Dr. Sloper, clings to a sceptical theory of convenient absence and rehearses his well-worn judgements. Amidst the subtle shifts of social encounters and the discreet attentions of would-be suitors, Catherine assumes the role of a kindly spinster, her life a delicate balance of public duty and private memory that neither time nor circumstance quite alters.