Chapter 7 of Washington Square is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Washington Square is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Ah, yes; that is _my_ weakness! And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.” “I don’t say that. I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste. I say simply that you belong to the wrong category.”
Chapter 7 of Washington Square is here in full — 199 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “I say simply that you belong to the wrong category.””
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading “I say simply that you belong to the wrong category.””
an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid
From this reading “I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.”
possessive form of “daughter” — a female human offspring
a person hired to fight for another country than their own
From this reading “And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.””
the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
From this reading “I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.”
To perceive flavor through the mouth.
From this reading “I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.”
a flaw or weak point
From this reading ““Ah, yes; that is _my_ weakness!”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Ah, yes; that is _my_ weakness!
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading I say simply that you belong to the wrong category.”
a collection of things sharing a common attribute
From this reading I say simply that you belong to the wrong category.”
an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
possessive form of “daughter” — a female human offspring
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I don’t say that.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Ah, yes; that is _my_ weakness!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
a person hired to fight for another country than their own
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Ah, yes; that is _my_ weakness!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
under a moral obligation to do something
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
and nothing more
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
except for; apart from
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
express in words
From this reading “I don’t say that.
and nothing more
From this reading I say simply that you belong to the wrong category.”
the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch)
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
To perceive flavor through the mouth.
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “Ah, yes; that is _my_ weakness!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I say simply that you belong to the wrong category.”
for that reason; as a result
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
precisely as stated
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
a flaw or weak point
From this reading “Ah, yes; that is _my_ weakness!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I am not obliged to say it; and to say it, save under stress of compulsion, would be very bad taste.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading I say simply that you belong to the wrong category.”
an affirmative
From this reading “Ah, yes; that is _my_ weakness!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And therefore, you mean, I am mercenary—I only want your daughter’s money.”
Chapter 7 of Washington Square by Henry James holds 199 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 7 holds 199 sentences of Washington Square, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Washington Square by Henry James exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 199 sentences, grouped into 40 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 7 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Washington Square by Henry James on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3988 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2870 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2870, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 332 minutes of reading across 798 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Washington Square section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Washington Square to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Washington Square, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
