Waymarsh

Character Analysis

In short, Waymarsh is a total stick in the mud. But he's still a super interesting character.

For Henry James, Waymarsh is your typical prude from New England. He's separated from his wife and he puts every waking hour of his life into his work, and occasionally buying stuff he doesn't need. On top of that, Waymarsh is pretty much incapable of having fun or enjoying life in any way. When it comes time to describe him to Maria Gostrey, Strether says that Waymarsh has a "sacred rage" that makes him hate it when people around him are having fun (1.3.54). That's pretty heavy stuff.

It's also clear that Waymarsh has a serious inferiority complex that he compensates for by thinking he's better than everyone. A normal response, says Freud. As Strether notes to Miss Gostrey, "He thinks us unsophisticated, he thinks us worldly, he thinks us wicked, he thinks us all sorts of queer things" (1.3.17). Yeah, Freud would have tons to sink his paws into here.

Now all this wouldn't be so bad if Waymarsh didn't always insist of cramping Strether's style and dragging down his European vacation. Strether loves the way Europe makes him feel. But Waymarsh doesn't like the changes he's seeing in Strether, which is why he starts reporting back to the Newsomes on what Strether is getting up to in Paris. Nosy jerk.

The only real joy that Waymarsh seems to get in this entire book is when he's spending money. There's something about blowing dough on stuff he doesn't need, Strether says, that makes him feel like he has "struck for freedom" (1.3.26). Or in other words, Waymarsh expresses his freedom by consuming crap he doesn't need. See, we told you James had him pegged for a typical American.