Book 9 Summary and Analysis
Summary
Visiting Madame de Vionnet, Strether expresses his frustration with the Pococks and their continued refusal to admit the change in Chad. He directs his frustration at Sarah, whom he cannot see as charming, despite Madame de Vionnet's high opinion of the girl. She is resigned to Chad’s infrequent visits now that his family has arrived. Chad is spending most of his time with Jim. Strether warns Madame de Vionnet that Jim thinks of her as a delightfully “bad” woman of the world. He also believes that Jim does not want Chad to go back to Woollett because he feels overshadowed by Chad’s stronger personality. In Mrs. Pocock’s view, everyone has been paired off: Madame de Vionnet and Chad, Strether and Miss Gostrey, and Jim with the city of Paris itself. Only Mamie is alone, which worries Madame de Vionnet.
As Madame de Vionnet shows Strether out the door, she suddenly announces to him that Jeanne is to be married. It has been arranged in the last few days by Chad. The fact that Jeanne’s father was not involved in the decision strikes Strether as ominous. He realizes that he does not know everything that has occurred between Chad and Madame de Vionnet.
Strether, despite repeated attempts, has yet to have a conversation alone with Sarah. Visiting with Miss Gostrey (now occasionally referred to as “Maria”), he discusses the odd pairing of Sarah and Waymarsh, with Jim left to his own devices. Strether states that if Mrs. Newsome had known Jim’s intention to enjoy Paris rather than take part in the “mission,” she never would have sent him.
Miss Gostrey tells Strether about Jeanne’s marriage and is surprised that he already knows about it. They discuss the implications of Chad’s involvement with it, knowing that it means that his relationship with Madame de Vionnet is not as virtuous as they have been led to believe.
On a subsequent visit to Sarah’s apartment, Strether is shown in, but no one seems to be there. He sees a letter addressed to Sarah from Mrs. Newsome on the table. Since he has not heard from his fiancée since the Pococks’ arrival, he is convinced more than ever that her silence means he has been “disinherited.”
Strether soon realizes that he is not alone. Mamie is out on the balcony, looking out over the city. She is startled on discovering Strether’s presence, thinking that he was Bilham. This strikes Strether as odd, but not so much as his observation that the young girl seems to be more “matronly” than he remembered her. As they visit, Strether notices that she talks of everyone but Chad. He realizes that Mamie has accepted the fact that she is out of the picture as far as marriage to Chad is concerned. As for Jeanne, Mamie says that she is not in love with her future husband, but is getting married only to please her mother and Chad.
Analysis
As the plot winds up to the climax, Strether is becoming more aware of the deception and manipulation that is going on around him. The revelation of Jeanne’s marriage leads him to believe that Chad is having an affair with Madame de Vionnet after all, even to the point where he is functioning as a stand-in father for her daughter. Strether has far staked his life on Chad’s being honest about a virtuous relationship with the comtesse. Now that his engagement to Chad’s mother is all but over, it seems that he has sacrificed everything to receive nothing. He has been used by Chad and Madame de Vionnet to buy...
(This entire section contains 1013 words.)
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time until they can convince Mrs. Newsome that her interference is pointless. It does not seem the true desire of Chad that he should have his mother’s approval, and rightly so. He has manipulated Strether into believing that he would go back to Woollett with him, while he has continued in his relationship with Madame de Vionnet and allowing him to believe that it was Jeanne with whom he was in love.
Notably shaken by what he sees as Madame de Vionnet’s deception and betrayal, he turns once again to Miss Gostrey, who has been left out of the picture as Strether spent time with Madame de Vionnet. Miss Gostrey is surprised that Strether is as much in the know as he seems to be. He has in effect taken her place as the one who knows all the goings-on of the crowd in Paris. Rather than reacting in anger, Miss Gostrey still remains close friends with Strether. She expresses concern over the role Mamie is now left to play, now that she has been dragged to Paris and then left in the dust by Chad.
It is significant that the always upright Mrs. Pocock is herself out with another man who is not her husband. Waymarsh is just as narrow-minded as Sarah is herself, and thus they do make a better couple. Like Mamie, however, Jim is left to his own devices. Succumbing to the glories of Paris as did Strether before him, he is taken in hand by Chad, just as Strether was. To even a greater degree than Strether, Jim places himself within the hands of Paris as a “man’s town,” and is free of the control of the women in his life.
Mamie, left alone, has grown in insight. She sees that Chad has fallen in love with someone else. Her brother is off enjoying the life of an independent man in Paris. Her sister-in-law is busy with her plans, whatever they may be, with Waymarsh. In a display of unexpected maturity, she expresses the wish that Chad should stay in Paris. She sees that he has moved beyond her and would not longer fit in the world of Woollett. Strether sees a reflection of himself in her, although she has moved forward without leaving Woollett behind. It is possible that in her sees his future in Woollett, but perhaps without Mrs. Newsome.
