How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[H]e turned away to find himself, in the hall, facing a lady who met his eyes as with an intention suddenly determined, and whose features—not freshly young, not markedly fine, but on happy terms with each other—came back to him as from a recent vision. (1.1.3)
This passage describes Strether's first encounter with Maria Gostrey, a woman who will eventually come to love him. As the description tells us, Maria isn't the most beautiful woman in the entire world. But her features are on "happy terms with each other," and this description foreshadows the fact that Miss Gostrey is a sociable woman who's pretty much on happy terms with everyone she meets.
Quote #2
The legend had been in later years that as the lower part of his face, which was weak, and slightly crooked, spoiled the likeness, this was the real reason for the growth of his beard. (1.2.4)
When the book describes Waymarsh, it suggests that beneath his heavy beard, Waymarsh has a really weak chin. This is pretty much symbolic of Waymarsh as a person too. Waymarsh is super insecure, so he overcompensates by acting serious all the time and never letting anyone know when he enjoys something. But before we know all of this about him, we know that he grew his beard to hide the weakness of his chin. Now that's some good symbolic writing, Mr. James.
Quote #3
'I don't say she's wonderful. Or rather,' he went on the next moment, 'I do say it. It's exactly what she is—wonderful. But I wasn't thinking of her appearance,' he explained, 'striking as that doubtless is.' (2.1.27)
When asked what Mrs. Newsome looks like, Strether is always dodgy in this book. It's like the guy doesn't even think of Mrs. Newsome as a flesh-and-blood human being. She's more like a godlike moral entity whose wrath could smite him down in an instant. In other words, you can't really picture her eating a sandwich or going to the bathroom because she's too busy being the most dignified, perfect woman in the whole world. And in case you weren't sure, that doesn't exactly make her fun to date.
Quote #4
On the point of conceding that Chad had improved in appearance, but that to the question of appearance the remark must be confined, he checked even that compromise and left his reservation bare. (4.1.3)
When Strether first encounters Chad in a Paris theatre, his first impression is that Chad has significantly improved in his appearance. But Strether is so determined to think that Paris has ruined Chad, he even tries to deny what he can see with his own eyes. At this point in the novel, Mrs. Newsome's prejudice still has a stranglehold on his imagination.
Quote #5
'Everything, every one shows,' Miss Barrace went on.
'But for what they really are?' Strether asked.
'Oh I like your Boston "reallys"! But sometimes—yes.' (5.1.67-69)
Miss Barrace insists that in Paris everyone "shows" everything—in other words, is an open book to those around them, or at least, tries to look like they are. Strether, though, is more interested in knowing truth from fiction, so he asks whether Paris people show their true selves or just their phony social faces. Barrace laughs at the distinction. After all, what's the difference between a real appearance and a fake one, as long as we like what we see?
Quote #6
She stood there quite pink, a little frightened, prettier and prettier but not a bit like her mother. (5.2.21)
Strether is impressed with the beauty of Jeanne de Vionnet. But he still thinks that the young woman is somehow lacking some essential ingredient that makes her mother even more beautiful. It's probably because Strether admires Madame's personality as much as her physical appearance, while Jeanne still strikes him as a frightened little girl.
Quote #7
She was fairly beautiful to him—a faint pastel in an oval frame: he thought of her already as of some lurking image in a long gallery, the portrait of a small old-time princess of whom nothing was known but that she had died young. (6.2.5)
Again, Strether is struck by Jeanne de Vionnet's physical beauty. But there's still something about it that's almost too beautiful for him. It's more like staring at a photograph than an actual person. Jeanne looks so good in her youth that Strether has a hard time imagining that she'll ever grow old.
Quote #8
She was an obscure person, a muffled person one day, and a showy person, an uncovered person the next. (6.3.1)
Strether tends to size people up based on their appearances. But Madame de Vionnet is a tough case because her clothes seem to be different every time he runs into her. She's covered up one day, then showing some skin the next. This, combined with the fact that she's very cagey with her language, makes it really tough for Strether to pin her down.
Quote #9
Mrs. Newsome was much handsomer, and while Sarah inclined to the massive her mother had, at an age, still the girdle of a maid; also the latter's chin was rather short, than long, and her smile, by good fortune, much more, oh ever so much more, meaningfully vague. (8.2.2)
This is one of the very few descriptions we ever get of Mrs. Newsome, which tells us that even in her advanced years, the woman still has the waistline of a young girl. The rest of the description simply tells us that Sarah Pocock isn't very attractive physically, which matches up with her unattractive personality.
Quote #10
Well, it was right, Strether slipped smoothly enough into the cheerfulness of saying: granted that a community might be best represented by a young lady of twenty-two, Mamie perfectly played the part, played it as if she were used to it, and looked and spoke and dressed the character. (8.2.5)
Strether has spent the first half of this book talking about how Chad's family plans to lure him (Chad) back to Woollett by marrying him off to Mamie Pocock. Mamie, you see, is the most beautiful girl in town. The problem is that while she might be the most beautiful girl in the small town of Woollett, there are many women in Paris who are every bit as beautiful.