Mrs. Newsome

Character Analysis

The Dull, Um, Distinguished Lady

Strether starts this book by admiring and respecting Mrs. Newsome more than any person on Earth. This respect seems to come from the fact that Mrs. Newsome doesn't even seem like a real person because of the whole virtue-over-fun thing. We're never given any indication that she enjoys anything about life, aad Maria Gostrey lumps her in with a general "failure to enjoy" (1.32) that she diagnoses for all of the people in Woollett, Massachusetts.

Basically, Mrs. Newsome seems to live only for the purpose of making sure that everyone else in the world is playing life by the rules and not having too much fun. In Strether's words, she's a swell (meaning a fun person), but she's "just a moral swell" (2.1.148), meaning that she's more interested in abstract ideas of morality than actually living in the moment. Sounds, um, great to us.

When Maria finally presses Strether to describe this woman physically, Strether can only answer, "Oh I can't talk of her!" (2.1.99). This is a weird way to talk about someone you're engaged to. But what it tells us is that Mrs. Newsome has a powerful hold over Strether's conscience—so much that he can't even chance an off comment about her not-so-baller hairdo, for example.

The Ghost of Healthy Relationships Past

Mrs. Newsome isn't so much a character in this book as she is a sort of ghost hanging over Strether's life. If anything, she symbolizes the part of Strether's mind that has always held him back from living life to its fullest. For example, Mrs. Newsome knows that keeping her true thoughts from Strether will succeed "in leaving him a prey to anxiety" (9.3.1). She knows that Strether is an anxious, paranoid person and she knows how to exploit this by hiding her true intentions from him. What a nice relationship.

This is one of the main reasons why we never see or hear anything directly from Mrs. Newsome in this entire book. Instead, the woman prefers to send ambassadors like Strether or Sarah Pocock whenever she wants her orders carried out. Even though he is her fiancé, Strether can't get a single word from Mrs. Newsome once he has displeased her.

The only thing he'll get are vague messages from her ambassador, Sarah, like "She has confided to my judgment and my tenderness the expression of her personal dignity" (10.3.22). What in the heck does that mean? Anyway, this lady's not about to take anything lightly.

By never revealing herself or her thoughts, Mrs. Newsome tries to make herself a sort of God-like presence in people's lives, casting her angry glare across the Atlantic Ocean and trying to manipulate people with shame and fear. Who wouldn't want to be engaged to a delight like that?

The Puppet Master

Mrs. Newsome might be a real drag in this book, but we can't underestimate her. Every time Strether thinks that he might have some sort of advantage over her, she'll do something to outfox him and to intimidate him.

For example, when Strether asks Sarah Pocock what her instructions from Mrs. Newsome are, Sarah answer, "My instructions from Mrs. Newsome are, if you please, my affair. You know perfectly what your own were" (10.3.10). Ouch.

It's impossible to argue with Mrs. Newsome in this book because, frankly, she never needs to say a single word to get what she wants. After all, before Strether even reaches Paris, Mrs. Newsome fills his head with ideas about Chad's "evil" life in Paris. It's only when he's free of her that Strether can begin to judge the world on his own terms.

Still, though, she's always got more ambassadors to carry out her work. Sarah Pocock reveals that she has clearly bought into her mother's propaganda when she tells Strether that her mother is "the most distinguished woman we either of us have seen in this world" (10.3.20). Even for a child, this praise is a bit over the top. But hey, when you're a big fish in a small pond (Woollett) like Mrs. Newsome is, you're bound to think pretty durn highly of yourself.