The Europeans

On a cold, snowy day in May, two siblings from Europe sit in a Boston hotel room overlooking a dreary graveyard. Eugenia Münster, a striking woman of 33 known as the Baroness Münster, stares out the window in dismay. Her younger brother, Felix Young, a cheerful man of 28, sits sketching at a table, entirely unbothered. Felix is a penniless illustrator with an engagement to produce sketches for an illustrated newspaper, while Eugenia holds her title through a morganatic marriage, a union between a member of a ruling house and a commoner, to Prince Adolf of Silberstadt-Schreckenstein. The Prince's family wishes to dissolve the marriage so Adolf can make a political match, but Eugenia has withheld her consent. Ambitious and restless, she has come to America to visit their wealthy cousins, the Wentworths, hoping to improve their fortunes. She instructs Felix to visit the cousins first and report back before she presents herself.

The next morning, Felix walks to the Wentworth country house, a large, clean, gray wooden home set among meadows and orchards. He finds Gertrude Wentworth, a tall, pale young woman of about 22 with restless dark eyes, who has stayed home from church. She is reading the Arabian Nights on the portico when Felix appears and announces he is her cousin. He explains that his mother was Mr. Wentworth's half-sister, who married abroad and died in Europe. Felix tells Gertrude about Eugenia's morganatic marriage and the efforts to dissolve it. When the family returns from church, an excited Gertrude introduces Felix as "the Prince of Silberstadt-Schreckenstein," causing him to burst out laughing.

Felix reports to Eugenia that the Wentworths are kind, gentle, and quietly wealthy. He identifies the key figures: Mr. Wentworth, a solemn patriarch; his elder daughter Charlotte, sweet and serious; his younger daughter Gertrude; his son Clifford, a young man Felix suspects of drinking; Mr. Brand, an earnest young minister; Robert Acton, a worldly neighbor and cousin who has traveled to China and possesses a fortune; and Lizzie Acton, Robert's pretty younger sister. The next afternoon, Eugenia visits and charms the entire circle. She immediately perceives Acton as the most important person present. Overcome by the gentle atmosphere, she expresses a genuine desire to stay, tears rising in her eyes.

The family houses the visitors in a small white cottage across the road. Mr. Wentworth views the arrangement as generous while maintaining separation, cautioning his daughters that they are about to be exposed to "peculiar influences." Eugenia's maid, Augustine, transforms the cottage with draperies, India shawls, and lace, creating an elaborately festooned salon. Felix delights in the rural setting, though he senses a pervasive sadness in the household. Eugenia enjoys the admiration of a circle that has never encountered anyone like her. Gertrude astutely observes that Eugenia often means the opposite of what she says; Charlotte is troubled by the idea that anyone would have a reason to tell an untruth.

Felix begins painting Gertrude's portrait outdoors. Gertrude presses him to say what he truly thinks of her family. He says they take "a painful view of life" and proposes an alternative: viewing life not as a discipline but as an opportunity. He tells her stories of his European wanderings, and Gertrude feels as if she is reading a romance in daily installments. Meanwhile, Mr. Brand intercepts Gertrude on a walk and declares his love. Gertrude insists she has made no promise to him and replies bitterly that nothing makes anyone happy in their household. After he leaves, she bursts into tears in a field, but her tears pass quickly, and she never weeps again.

Robert Acton becomes Eugenia's most frequent visitor, fascinated but uncertain whether to trust her. On a long drive, he asks about her marriage. Eugenia explains that the Prince fell in love with her when she was young; she was flattered and accepted his proposal. She reveals she possesses a "renunciation" document that she need only sign and return to end the marriage. Acton takes Eugenia to his house, filled with Chinese art. There she meets Mrs. Acton, Robert and Lizzie's mother, a sweet woman in frail health. Eugenia flatters Mrs. Acton by claiming Robert has spoken constantly of her, but Acton detects the lie, since he has barely mentioned his mother. The false note registers with him.

Mr. Wentworth confides to Felix that Clifford has been suspended from Harvard for drunkenness. Felix proposes that Eugenia could civilize Clifford, but Mr. Wentworth rejects the idea. During an outing on the lake, Gertrude reveals her family expects her to marry Mr. Brand, but she declares she never will. Felix suggests Brand should marry Charlotte instead, observing that Charlotte clearly cares for Brand, and urges Gertrude to help make the match happen.

Brand approaches Gertrude again, warning that Felix does not care for "the great questions of life." Gertrude retorts that she doesn't either and tells him there is something better for him, a "reality" he is not seeing. Charlotte pleads Brand's case, and Gertrude stuns her by declaring that Charlotte is in love with Brand and should marry him. Charlotte is shaken, but Gertrude feels a new sense of freedom. Meanwhile, Clifford begins visiting Eugenia at the cottage, drawn by her sophisticated conversation.

After a trip to Newport, Acton visits Eugenia's cottage late at night and finds her subdued. She admits she has "broken down" for the moment. Clifford then emerges from a back room, blushing. Eugenia improvises an explanation, but the next day Acton confronts Clifford and learns a different story: Eugenia told Clifford to hide when she heard someone approaching. Clifford denies being in love with her. Acton realizes Eugenia fabricated her account, and his suspicion deepens.

On a rainy Sunday, Felix confesses to Eugenia that he loves Gertrude and intends to marry her. Eugenia reveals that Acton wants to marry her, but she does not particularly like him and could never live in this provincial place. That evening, Felix tells Brand directly that Charlotte is in love with him. Brand departs stunned, in dawning realization.

Eugenia pays a farewell visit to the dying Mrs. Acton, then encounters Acton on the grounds and tells him she is leaving. He asks whether she has sent the renunciation document. After a pause, she says yes. Acton is uncertain whether to believe her.

Felix formally asks Mr. Wentworth for permission to marry Gertrude. The patriarch resists on moral grounds. Gertrude enters and declares she has chosen Felix, telling her father he has never allowed her to be natural. Mr. Brand appears and surprises everyone by urging Mr. Wentworth to consent, offering to perform the ceremony himself. Charlotte presses her father's arm and whispers "consent." Mr. Wentworth, moved by Brand's recommendation, agrees.

That evening, Eugenia announces she is returning to Europe immediately. She reveals she has refused Acton and, contradicting what she told him, has not signed the renunciation document. She surveys the cottage with contempt, comparing herself to a strolling actress who has spoken her part. On the piazza at Mr. Wentworth's, she charms the company one last time before departing. Felix sees her off at the ship, where she remarks that Europe seems much larger than America. In the novel's swift conclusion: Felix and Gertrude marry and travel abroad. Clifford marries Lizzie Acton. Charlotte eventually marries Mr. Brand. Mr. Wentworth listens for echoes of his daughter's distant gaiety. Robert Acton, after his mother's death, marries "a particularly nice young girl."