Review: The Woman in White

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My literary classic read for August has been The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. This is the third time I've read the book and my love of Marian Halcombe, easily the standout character in the book, remains unabated. Giving us a view of women's rights and the potential treachery of women's mental health care during the Victorian era, Collins produced a novel of that was a sensation (this post-gothic style of story was, in fact, called a sensation novel) and one of the earliest books in the mystery fiction genre. The central mysteries of the Woman in White involve identity and legitimacy.

A complex narrative tells the tale of two women who are similar in appearance but who could not be more different in their fortunes. Laura Fairlie is an heiress, who is sheltered, raised as a young lady in her uncle Frederick Fairlie's house, Limmeridge House and who is subsequently married to Sir Percival Glyde, Baronet. Laura's fugitive doppelganger is Anne Catherick, the eponymous woman in white, an unfortunate young woman who has been committed to an asylum and escaped. The women look almost identical in appearance, save for the fact that Anne looks more worn by her life. The novel's central story involves the hidden connections between the two women, and the misdeeds of Sir Percival Glyde and his Italian friend, the stereotypically dark and malevolent Count Fosco, that cost both women dearly. Sir Percival is willing to marry Laura although she reveals she is in love with another man, whose station in society is beneath her own. Glyde doesn't care. What he cares about is Laura's fortune, which he attempts unsuccessfully to extort from her, ultimately faking her death to steal the funds.

Like Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, a classic I reviewed earlier this year, The Woman in White displays the plight of 19th Century women being treated as chattel and having little or no control over their lives. To marry, which was expected of almost every woman, was to take a terrible risk in this era. Even the callous disregard of Laura's uncle and former guardian of her dangerous marital situation and her subsequent precarious financial position is shocking. Difficult women like Anne and Laura are shown to be shut up and set aside by institutionalizing them for mental health problems, with few questions being asked about their actual mental status. The sad fate of these two women also includes their not knowing how they are related to one another. Anne's fragile health and mind might have been buoyed by the fond connections that Laura and Marian could have offered, had their relationship only been known. Instead, Anne's confused obsession with Glyde's secret past (ironically, unknown to her, with illegitimacy, like her own) and her weak heart result in her untimely death.

The heroes of the novel are Laura's half-sister, the splendid Marian Halcombe, whose devotion to Laura saves her, and Walter Hartright, Laura's drawing master, who falls in love with her and comes to the aid of the sisters in Laura's darkest hour. Marian is one of the most amazing female characters in Victorian fiction as far as I'm concerned. She is a supremely competent detective, in addition to being brave, clever, and loyal. A homely woman who is lauded for her mind and disposition! She persists in the face of adversity and is the reason that Laura is rescued from a truly awful fate. Walter, meanwhile, is the reason that Laura's place in society is restored. His surname of Hartright continues the time-honored English literary tradition of a name that describes the character. Walter's heart has always been in the right place where Laura is concerned.

The Woman in White is such an enjoyable and absorbing read. If you haven't had the pleasure, I'd strongly encourage you to read it.

September will be a sci-fi or fantasy classic month. Can you help me decide what book to read? Vote in the poll!

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