How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
[A]nd it was absolutely true of him that—even after the close of the period of conscious detachment occupying the centre of his life, the great middle desert of the two deaths, that of his wife and that, ten years later, of his boy—he had never taken any one anywhere. (2.1.4)
These lines can be easy to miss in this massive book. But they're crucial for understanding Strether as a character. It turns out the dude once had a family—a wife and son—but they died ten years apart. That means that Strether has been all alone in the world for a long time. It makes sense, then, that he might have eventually moved toward a strong woman like Mrs. Newsome to give him a sense of direction in life.
Quote #2
'He's a young man on whose head high hopes are placed at Woollett; a young man a wicked woman has got hold of and whom his family over there have sent you out to rescue.' (2.1.5)
When Maria feels like she understands Chad's family well enough, she repeats it all back to Strether. And as she tells us, Strether is like an ambassador sent from a country led by Mrs. Newsome to bring back Chad. Like we've mentioned, the Newsomes have a lot invested in Chad running the family business, and they'll do just about anything to get him back.
Quote #3
'Quite all. His father has been dead ten years, and there's no brother, nor any sister. They'd do,' said Strether, 'anything in the world for him.' (2.1.35)
Strether lays out the Newsome family situation for Maria in order to help her understand just how much the family has invested in Chad's success. His dad's been gone for ten years, meaning that there's been no man around at all for the family (no one's exactly counting Strether for this role). Strether can also hazard a guess why a dude wouldn't exactly jump at the opportunity to fill this role, since the Newsome women can be very aggressive and controlling.