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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A domestic thriller garnished with Victorian misogyny. My compliments to the multi perspective storytelling through letters and diary entries, etc.
These poor women really were in a hell of societal convention. Not allowed to do anything without a disinterested uncle's consent. Not allowed to talk to each other plainly. Forced to walk on eggshells and hypervigilant to even the merest shadow of an insult. If only they could call everyone's BS and just LEAVE.
Like, at first I thought Marian was being paranoid. But no, Count Fosco and his wife really were sneaky little snakes. (Tho, the stubborn disgust at Fosco's praise was odd to me. Like, kinda a black and white moral superiority complex thing. As if because Fosco did some sketchy stuff, his very gaze could poison her or something.) (Oh, also, Fosco's condemnation of English society and crime was kinda weird. Was the author speaking through him as a form of social critique, or was the author trying to frame that line of thinking as obviously wrong because a villain was voicing it?)
In other news, the mystery threaded throughout, Percival Glyde's big secret, was v interesting.
Funny to me that this novel came out right after A Tale of Two Cities and both of them contain "twin" characters.
Anyway, I liked it. Not a top favorite, but worth the read.
These poor women really were in a hell of societal convention. Not allowed to do anything without a disinterested uncle's consent. Not allowed to talk to each other plainly. Forced to walk on eggshells and hypervigilant to even the merest shadow of an insult. If only they could call everyone's BS and just LEAVE.
Like, at first I thought Marian was being paranoid. But no, Count Fosco and his wife really were sneaky little snakes. (Tho, the stubborn disgust at Fosco's praise was odd to me. Like, kinda a black and white moral superiority complex thing. As if because Fosco did some sketchy stuff, his very gaze could poison her or something.) (Oh, also, Fosco's condemnation of English society and crime was kinda weird. Was the author speaking through him as a form of social critique, or was the author trying to frame that line of thinking as obviously wrong because a villain was voicing it?)
In other news, the mystery threaded throughout, Percival Glyde's big secret, was v interesting.
Funny to me that this novel came out right after A Tale of Two Cities and both of them contain "twin" characters.
Anyway, I liked it. Not a top favorite, but worth the read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Classism
Minor: Alcoholism
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
The Woman in White first appeared in Dickens' serial “All the Year Round” in 1859 and was published as a book the following year. It is good example of the sensational genre popular in the 1860's. Suspense is created by repeated reference to ominous things yet to occur, and an atmosphere of mystery and doom is created. Fate and chance play important roles in The Woman in White such as Walter Hartright's repeated encounters with Anne Catherick. The outcome of the book is perfectly happy. All wrongs are righted. The humble drawing master Walter Hartright never does anything bad. The vestry fire kills the evil “Sir” Percival and the Italian society finally catches up with Fosco. In the end, the hero and heroines live happily ever after at Limmeridge House.
The idea that appearance does not necessarily correspond with reality is central to The Woman in White. Laura Fairlie does not appreciate this distinction and her innocent naivete brings about her downfall when she accepts Percival. A similar theme is the lack of correspondence between word and meaning. For example, the name Anne Catherick on Laura's clothes in the asylum is presented by the nurse as evidence of her identity, the name engraved on the tombstone is wrong, and the brand on Fosco's arm belies his treachery to the secret Italian society. An extension of the idea of reality versus appearance is the role of propriety or social convention in human behavior.
Propriety represents conformity with social convention and a system of rules to govern social behavior. Propriety is good for society in that it promotes acceptable standards for human behavior but it can be deceptive and even harmful in that an individual person's behavior in a social setting may not correspond with the reality below the surface. It is this regard for appearances as opposed to reality that gets Marian and Laura into trouble when lower class Hartright falls in love with upper class Laura. Count Fosco has the appearance of propriety but is undeniably the most evil character in the book. Throughout The Woman in White, propriety and appearance are contrasted with reality. Although Percival is a deplorable character, his evil is quite visible on the surface and is merely physical. The evil of Count Fosco is much more dangerous because of his intelligence and deceptive behavior.
Several other themes are expressed in The Woman in White, for example, the impotence of the legal system. Law has little to do with the abstract sense of justice but rather is a formality (as is propriety) that serves the ruling groups of society. For example, Mr. Kyrle doubts that Hartright would have a case if he tried to prove Laura's identity in a court of law. Another theme is Collins' attitude about the inadequacy of the Victorian laws of marriage and inheritance. It is this
inadequacy that leads to Laura's tragedy. Yet another theme is that knowledge and intellect are more powerful that brute strength. Consider for example, Marian's eavesdropping on the conversation between Fosco and Percival, the effect of Fosco's reading Marian's diary, and the meticulous research that Hartright conducts in his documentation of Fosco's deception. This contrast between the effectiveness of intellect versus force is embodied in the characters
of Fosco as compared to Percival.
In what light are women presented in The Woman in White? In 1944, Dorothy Sayers said: "Collins is genuinely feminist in his treatment of women." Laura embodies the common representation of women in Victorian literature and what befalls her can be interpreted as Collins' dissatisfaction with this view of women. On the other hand, Marian is more of a modern woman. Her strength and resources rise above what is considered feminine by Victorian social convention.
There is an ironic pattern of gender ambiguity in The Woman in White. Fosco is somewhat feminine and childlike (e.g. his taste for sweets and small pets) but he is the epitome of evil. Marian is masculine (see for example Hartright's original description of her). Even Sir Percival has a feminine nose. Thus, the categories of masculine and feminine are insufficient to cover the entire spectrum of human sexuality and gender. In this sense, Collins can be considered a feminist.
The idea that appearance does not necessarily correspond with reality is central to The Woman in White. Laura Fairlie does not appreciate this distinction and her innocent naivete brings about her downfall when she accepts Percival. A similar theme is the lack of correspondence between word and meaning. For example, the name Anne Catherick on Laura's clothes in the asylum is presented by the nurse as evidence of her identity, the name engraved on the tombstone is wrong, and the brand on Fosco's arm belies his treachery to the secret Italian society. An extension of the idea of reality versus appearance is the role of propriety or social convention in human behavior.
Propriety represents conformity with social convention and a system of rules to govern social behavior. Propriety is good for society in that it promotes acceptable standards for human behavior but it can be deceptive and even harmful in that an individual person's behavior in a social setting may not correspond with the reality below the surface. It is this regard for appearances as opposed to reality that gets Marian and Laura into trouble when lower class Hartright falls in love with upper class Laura. Count Fosco has the appearance of propriety but is undeniably the most evil character in the book. Throughout The Woman in White, propriety and appearance are contrasted with reality. Although Percival is a deplorable character, his evil is quite visible on the surface and is merely physical. The evil of Count Fosco is much more dangerous because of his intelligence and deceptive behavior.
Several other themes are expressed in The Woman in White, for example, the impotence of the legal system. Law has little to do with the abstract sense of justice but rather is a formality (as is propriety) that serves the ruling groups of society. For example, Mr. Kyrle doubts that Hartright would have a case if he tried to prove Laura's identity in a court of law. Another theme is Collins' attitude about the inadequacy of the Victorian laws of marriage and inheritance. It is this
inadequacy that leads to Laura's tragedy. Yet another theme is that knowledge and intellect are more powerful that brute strength. Consider for example, Marian's eavesdropping on the conversation between Fosco and Percival, the effect of Fosco's reading Marian's diary, and the meticulous research that Hartright conducts in his documentation of Fosco's deception. This contrast between the effectiveness of intellect versus force is embodied in the characters
of Fosco as compared to Percival.
In what light are women presented in The Woman in White? In 1944, Dorothy Sayers said: "Collins is genuinely feminist in his treatment of women." Laura embodies the common representation of women in Victorian literature and what befalls her can be interpreted as Collins' dissatisfaction with this view of women. On the other hand, Marian is more of a modern woman. Her strength and resources rise above what is considered feminine by Victorian social convention.
There is an ironic pattern of gender ambiguity in The Woman in White. Fosco is somewhat feminine and childlike (e.g. his taste for sweets and small pets) but he is the epitome of evil. Marian is masculine (see for example Hartright's original description of her). Even Sir Percival has a feminine nose. Thus, the categories of masculine and feminine are insufficient to cover the entire spectrum of human sexuality and gender. In this sense, Collins can be considered a feminist.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's an interesting book that thoroughly explored each perspective that it is written from. I enjoyed the overall mystery, particularly the character of Marian, although it is quite a long book. :)
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated