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As many conventional heroines are beautiful, brilliant, and intrepid, Catherine however is meek. She is burdened with her mother’s name and cannot hope to live up to her brilliance. By the time she is 18, she is “quiet and irresponsive,” because “she was shy, uncomfortably, painfully shy."

Catherine departs from the norm of a conventional heroine—Catherine is indeed heroic, but not in the same manner readers would assume heroines to be. By the end of the novel she is as reserved as she was from the beginning, but instead has a voice and maintains a full personality. Additionally, although she is wronged by both her father and Morris Townsend, she forgives them both, which in itself is admirable and is a telling of great character. We admire her strength for refusing Morris Townsend near the story’s end, as well as the courage it must have taken for her to stand up to her oppressive father.

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The bitterest irony in the story is that Dr. Sloper, a brilliant and successful physician, is exactly right about Morris Townsend, and yet he is cruel to his defenceless and loving daughter. If the doctor had been incorrect in his appraisal of the worthless Townsend, he would be only a stock villain. As it is, the doctor's head functions perfectly but his heart has grown cold after the death of his beautiful and gifted wife.

Catherine gradually grows throughout the story, ultimately gaining the ability to judge her situation accurately. As James puts it: "From her point of view the great facts of her career were that Morris Townsend had trifled with her affection, and that her father had broken its spring. Nothing could ever alter these facts; they were always there, like her name, her age, her plain face. Nothing could ever undo the wrong or cure the pain that Morris had inflicted on her, and nothing could ever make her feel towards her father as she felt in her younger years." Catherine will never be brilliant, but she learns to be clear-sighted.

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Although Catherine does not possess the traditional characteristics of the heroine (eg. physical beauty, intellect), one can observe through the author’s narrative intrusion the narrator’s sympathy towards Catherine. For example, the narrator states that although Catherine was demeaned by rigorous critics due to her quiet nature, the narrator states that Catherine was merely “quiet [and] ladylike”. This depiction invites the reader to sympathise with Catherine, and although Catherine does not save anyone apart from herself at the end of the novel, her eventual rejection of two potentially harmful relations (her father and Morris highlights her robustness and tenacity.

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The stereotypical literary heroine, at least of the older English novels, was beautiful, resourceful, graceful, socially intelligent, and often much sought after by men, although she might come from a poor family. With Catherine Sloper, this is not the case. She isn't pretty, outgoing, witty, or intelligent. She's plain, ordinary, and as the doctor likes to say, completely unremarkable.  Having said that, Catherine is one of the few characters, if not the only character, in the novel who is able to come to terms with her loss.

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Catherine is an anti-heroine as she lacks the conventional traits of a heroine in a novel. A typical heroine would be described as intelligent and beautiful, with characteristics that distinguish her from other characters. However, Catherine is the complete antithesis of the typical heroine: she is overtly described to be not very clever, very plain-looking, without any distinguishing characteristics. Therefore, Catherine is an anti-heroine.

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Catherine is very much presented as an anti-heroine throughout the novel, as she is characterised as an unassuming, docile, and submissive character. In the end, Catherine fails to ever find love, having lost her father and cast out Morris Townsend. The novel therefore subverts the notion of the expected happy ending of a romance and is thus an anti-romance.

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- she compromises with her father's want and does not stand up for her own beliefs
- before the end of the novel, decisions in her life are made by people around her. She does not have control over her life
- shy, unintelligent, and lacks charisma

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A heroine can be defined as someone who is outstanding, has achievements, and noble qualities. However, H.J. does everything else of that to reverse our expectations of Catherine as a heroine despite being the protagonist (ironic. The narrator describes her as adequate, unremarkable: "She had no desire to shine", "was decidedly not clever". (Chapter II). This qualifies her as an anti-heroine.

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A heroine is a woman who is admired for her
- Courage
- Outstanding achievements
- Noble qualities

Catherine Sloper does not display outstanding achievements or noble qualities, as she is described in the novel as "simply a plain, dull, gentle countenance", “decidedly not clever, she was not quick with her book, nor indeed with anything else.” The author characterises Catherine as an average young girl who does not excel in intelligence, looks, or anything in particular, portraying her as an ordinary woman, and perhaps characterising her as an anti-heroine.

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Is Catherine an anti-heroine?

Traditionally, heroines in literature would be described as intelligent, beautiful, and dominant. Catherine Sloper lacks heroic attributes as she doesn't obtain intelligence and beauty from her parents. Her major flaw is her lack of decision making, and she is surrounded by dominating individuals who seek to make decisions for her and to control her. For instance, her father is in control of her decision of her marriage. Mrs. Penniman rejoices in the chance to take the role of matchmaker, living out her own romantic fantasies through Morris and her niece's relationship. Also, Morris Townsend manipulates Catherine to persuade Dr. Sloper to approve their marriage.

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What I found interesting about the article's interpretation of the novel was its portrayal of Catherine in her ability to overcome the challenges that surround her. The article describes how Catherine prevails and in doing so, creates her own world that she is in control of. The article seems to see Catherine's development as being very extreme, almost becoming the archetype of a heroine, standing up to and overcoming all adversity. While I certainly agree that Catherine's character develops in the novel, I felt that her life was still somewhat unlived, and rather than a life that she chose herself, it was one that in many ways she was forced into. Evidence for this can be seen in the novel's final lines, which uses the word 'morsel', which may suggest the small life that she leads

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Link to Private Sphere to World Stage from Austen to Eliot

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Link to Private Sphere to World Stage from Austen to Eliot

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https://goo.gl/B8Xq1v

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A glance at James's opening description of ...Catherine confirms his debt to Austen. Catherine Sloper, like Catherine Morland [Northanger Abbey], is an anti-heroine, unromantically conceived and described in negatives. She is not beautiful...She was decidedly not clever; she was not quick with her book...she is "extremely modest" and unassuming...(Private Sphere to World Stage pages 17- 18)

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Her young life is dominated by a tyrannic father, a stupid aunt, and a young man who plays her for a fool. And she cannot break free of this triangle because she is a woman. She is obliged to live under her father’s roof until someone suitable marries her. But she wants to marry someone unsuitable. It is a dilemma and she gets hurt by the obstinacy her father displays and the infidelity that Morris shows. But as I said, she is the one to prevail. In the end, she has created her own world, she is her own mistress and not willing to give that up. Not for Townsend, not for the other two men who are eager to marry her. (Bookworm article)