Bread's Power in Comparison to Her Position Newman turns out to be far more naïve and easily manipulated than the women he thinks he needs to protect and care for. Tristram, and old Madame Bellegarde) who are shrewd, clear-sighted, and able to accurately perceive situations and individuals, using this information to achieve their goals. This perspective is ironic in that it is the female characters in the novel (Noemie, Mrs. He sees his role in relation to his future wife to involve caring for her and sheltering her. Newman at various points expresses his belief that women are innocent, fragile, and in need of protection and guidance. Newman's Belief About the Need to Protect Women Whether or not he will ever get Claire back, he wants to feel vindicated, which is the same impulse that he had ironically rebuked Valentin for experiencing.

However, when Newman's own honor and pride are hurt by being rejected for not being good enough for Claire de Cintre, he also becomes equally consumed by a need for revenge.

When Newman learns that Valentin is going to fight a duel over an insult to his honor, he thinks this is absurd and unnecessary, believing that Valentin should instead simply move on from his quarrel with another suitor of Noemie Nioche. Newman's Rejection of Vengeance over Personal Honor Rather than rejecting family influence over marriage decisions, he tries to use this power dynamic to his advantage, which is ironic in light of his earlier reaction. Later in the novel, rather than directly trying to woo Claire, he tries to persuade and then blackmail her mother and brother into telling her to marry him. However, the same reason why a family would likely favor one suitor over another (money) is the same major reason why Newman thinks a woman would want to marry him, a circumstance he has no problem with. Buy Study Guide Newman's Rejection of Family Interference in a Woman's Marriage DecisionĪt the start of the novel, Newman is outraged and disgusted at the idea of family members influencing a woman's decision about who to marry, deploring the custom as a kind of European barbarism.

The american by henry james