Henry James (1843-1916) is a distinguished novelist, dramatist and literary critic in the late 19th century and early 20th century. He holds high prestige in both American literature and English literature. He is regarded as one of the three greatest realist masters in the late 19th century in American literature. Henry James creates the narrative “point of view” technique, which prepares the way for the “stream of consciousness”, a common practice in modern fiction. He is also the first to devote to the “international theme” —the encounter of the New World with the Old World in culture. The medium-length novel, Washington Square, published in 1881, is one of Henry James’ early works. This thesis studies the novel from the initiation perspective, and mainly analyzes the heroine Catherine’s growth from innocence to maturity by using the literary genre “initiation story” and the discursive power theory. This thesis is divided into three parts, the introduction, the main body and the conclusion. The main part is made up of three chapters. At first, the introduction part gives a brief introduction of the writer Henry James, the novel Washington Square, an overview of literary reviews of the work and an explanation of the theory of initiation story and the discursive power theory. The first chapter analyzes Catherine’s innocent character. She knows nothing about the adults’ world or of the outside world. She holds no discursive power under the patriarchal system, which shows her innocence. Then chapter two mainly studies the growth of Catherine. She gradually grows up from a little, innocent, kind and silent girl to a mature, strong minded and conscious new woman. The third chapter mainly discusses Catherine’s maturity. Her communication with outside world, her changing psychological landscape and the maturation of her emotions, are all reflected in the heroine’s independence, strong mind and maturity. The ‘new’ Catherine displays a certain level of discursive power at this stage. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the above contents. This thesis points out that the novel shows the process of Catherine’s growth from innocence to maturity under the patriarchal system. The heroine gains her independence through a growing self-awareness brought about through self-struggle and self-reflection. Key words: Initiation Story; Patriarchy; Discursive Power; Innocence; Maturity; Feminism