Chapter 1An Ordinary Girl

          Many years ago in the city of New York, there lived a doctor. America likes doctors and New York liked Dr Sloper. At the time our story begins, in 1843, Dr Sloper was fifty years old. He was a good doctor, he was a man of the world, and he was honest.

          Life was good to him. At twenty-seven he married a beautiful and clever girl. She had pretty eyes, ten thousand dollars and a good place in society. For five years Dr Sloper was a happy man. Many of his wife’s friends came to him and he did well in his profession. They lived in a large house in Washington Square — a quiet corner in a noisy city.

          Their first child, a very clever little boy, died when he was three. His mother’s love and his father’s profession did not help him. Two years later, Mrs Sloper had a second child, a girl. The doctor did not want a girl. But this was not the worst.Two weeks later, Mrs Sloper died. The little girl’s name was Catherine. She was strong. Her father was not afraid of losing her.

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          When the child was ten years old, Dr Sloper asked his sister, Mrs Lavinia Penniman, to come and stay with them. Mr Penniman, a churchman without a penny, died when Mrs Penniman was thirty-three. She had no children and no money.

          ‘Stay for six months,’ he said.

          ‘I will look for a flat,’ she said. She moved into her brother’s house and never went away again. Mrs Penniman told everybody that the child wanted a clever woman near her. Dr Sloper did not think his sister was clever, but he was always very polite to her and never angry. They didn’t speak much. He gave her his opinions about Catherine’s schooling and not much more.

          Catherine was very good and honest, but she was not pretty or clever. She was quiet. She loved her father and was very afraid of him. She was happy when her father was happy. The doctor wanted to be proud of her, but he wasn’t. He was sometimes angry because his only child was ordinary.

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          When she was eighteen, Catherine was a quiet young woman, but she began to wear strong, noisy colours. Dr Sloper did not like her new dresses. He thought she was vulgar.

          One day, Catherine’s other aunt, Mrs Almond, asked a lot of people to her house. Mrs Almond was the younger of Dr Sloper’s two sisters. She was the wife of a rich city man and the mother ol nine children. She was pretty, happy and clever, and her brother liked her. When he wanted to talk about Catherine, he went to her and not to Mrs Penniman. Catherine was close to her aunt’s children. There were seven boys and two girls. The older girl married young. The younger girl, called Marian, soon decided to marry too. She found a young man called Arthur Townsend. And so the Almonds asked everybody to the house.

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          Mrs Penniman and Catherine arrived at the Almonds’. The doctor planned to come later.

          Soon after the dancing started, Marian Almond brought a tall young man over to Catherine.

          ‘Catherine, this is Mr. Morris Townsend. He is from the same family as Arthur! He wants to meet you very much!’

          Marian Almond was a pretty woman. At seventeen she moved easily in society. She left Catherine and Mr Townsend together. Catherine looked at the young man. He was very handsome. ‘What can I say to this handsome man?’ thought Catherine. But Mr Townsend began to talk to her with an easy smile.