Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) Character Analysis in The Woman in White

Anne Catherick is a poor, unfortunate and mentally fragile young woman who is locked in an asylum by Sir Percival Glyde because he thinks that she knows the secret of his false identity, as the Baronet of Blackwater—a title which is not his own. Anne is the daughter of Mr. Philip Fairlie and Mrs. Catherick (a maid whom he seduced before his marriage) and the half-sister of Laura Fairlie. She bears a striking physical resemblance to Laura, which Sir Percival and Count Fosco use to their advantage. Count Fosco kidnaps Anne, whom he knows has a heart disease and is emotionally fragile after years locked up in an asylum, and keeps her at his house until her death, publicly passing it off as Laura’s. Meanwhile, he and Sir Percival place Laura back in the asylum, which Anne escaped from, under Anne’s name. Anne is the titular “woman in white” and always dresses in white clothes because Mrs. Fairlie, Laura’s mother, whom Anne spent some time with as a child and to whom she was very attached, liked little girls to wear white and gave her some white dresses. Anne is a gentle and innocent woman who is mercilessly exploited by the Count and cruelly imprisonment because of Sir Percival’s paranoia and ruthless climb up the social ladder. Anne’s mother, Mrs. Catherick, later reveals to Walter that Anne never even knew Sir Percival’s secret. In life, Anne is proud and hates being called an “idiot,” and she demonstrates that she is caring and generous through her multiple attempts to warn Laura not to marry Sir Percival. Anne is a tragic figure in the novel and the wish she makes at Mrs. Fairlie’s tomb—that she could be in the tomb with her—is sadly fulfilled when Anne dies of stress-induced heart disease and her body is passed off as Laura’s.

Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) Quotes in The Woman in White

The The Woman in White quotes below are all either spoken by Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) or refer to Anne Catherick (“The Woman”). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

But the idea of absolute insanity which we all associate with the very name of an Asylum, had, I can honestly declare, never occurred to me, in connection with her. I had seen nothing, in her language or her actions, to justify it at the time; and, even with the new light thrown on her by the words which the stranger had addressed to the policeman, I could see nothing to justify it now. What had I done? Assisted the victim of the most horrible of all false imprisonments to escape; or cast loose on the wide world of London an unfortunate creature, whose actions it was my duty, and every man’s duty, mercifully to control?

Related Characters: Walter Hartright (speaker), Anne Catherick (“The Woman”)

Page Number and Citation: 31-32

Explanation and Analysis:

To associate that forlorn, friendless, lost woman, even by an accidental likeness only, with Miss Fairlie, seems like casting a shadow on the future of the bright creature who stands looking at us now.

Related Characters: Walter Hartright (speaker), Marian Halcombe (speaker), Laura Fairlie, Anne Catherick (“The Woman”)

Page Number and Citation: 62

Explanation and Analysis:

I looked along the two rays of light; and I saw down into his inmost heart. It was black as night; and on it were written, in the red flaming letters which are the handwriting of the fallen angel: “Without pity and without remorse. He has strewn with misery the paths of others, and he will live to strew with misery the path of this woman by his side.” I read that; and then the rays of light shifted and pointed over his shoulder; and there, behind him, stood a fiend, laughing. And the rays of light shifted once more, and pointed over your shoulder; and there, behind you, stood an angel weeping.

Related Characters: Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) (speaker), Laura Fairlie, Sir Percival Glyde

Page Number and Citation: 80

Explanation and Analysis:

‘Try to compose yourself, or you will make me alter my opinion of you. Don’t let me think that the person who put you in the Asylum, might have had some excuse— ’ The next words died away on my lips. The instant I risked that chance reference to the person who had put her in the Asylum, she sprang up on her knees. A most extraordinary and startling change passed over her. Her face, at all ordinary times so touching to look at, in its nervous sensitiveness, weakness, and uncertainty, became suddenly darkened by an expression of maniacally intense hatred and fear […] ‘Talk of something else,’ she said, whispering through her teeth. ‘I shall lose myself if you talk of that.’

Related Characters: Walter Hartright (speaker), Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) (speaker), Sir Percival Glyde

Page Number and Citation: 104

Explanation and Analysis:

It is the great beauty of the Law that it can dispute any human statement, made under any circumstances, and reduced to any form. If I had felt professionally called upon to set up a case against Sir Percival Glyde, on the strength of his own explanation, I could have done so beyond all doubt. But my duty did not lie in this direction: my function was of the purely judicial kind. I was to weigh the explanation we had just heard; to allow all due force to the high reputation of the gentleman who offered it; and to decide honestly whether the probabilities, on Sir Percival’s own showing, were plainly with him, or plainly against him. My own conviction was that they were plainly with him; and I accordingly declared that his explanation was, to my mind, unquestionably a satisfactory one.

Related Characters: Mr. Gilmore (speaker), Sir Percival Glyde, Anne Catherick (“The Woman”), Laura Fairlie, Marian Halcombe

Page Number and Citation: 132

Explanation and Analysis:

He was kneeling by a tomb of white marble; and the shadow of a veiled woman rose out of the grave beneath, and waited by his side. The unearthly quiet of his face had changed to an unearthly sorrow. But the terrible certainty of his words remained the same. ‘Darker and darker,’ he said; ‘farther and farther yet. Death takes the good, the beautiful, and the young – and spares me. The Pestilence that wastes, the Arrow that strikes, the Sea that drowns, the Grave that closes over Love and Hope, are steps of my journey, and take me nearer and nearer to the End.’ My heart sank under a dread beyond words, under a grief beyond tears. The darkness closed round the pilgrim at the marble tomb; closed round the veiled woman from the grave.

Related Characters: Marian Halcombe (speaker), Walter Hartright, Laura Fairlie, Anne Catherick (“The Woman”)

Page Number and Citation: 274

Explanation and Analysis:

Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) Character Timeline in The Woman in White

The timeline below shows where the character Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) appears in The Woman in White. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Class, Industry, and Social Place Theme Icon

...he suddenly he feels a hand on his shoulder and is shocked to find a woman dressed in white clothes standing in the road behind him. She asks Walter if the... (full context)

Walter apologizes to the woman and confesses that he was shocked by her sudden appearance. The woman then asks Walter... (full context)

On the way, the woman asks Walter if he knows any noble men in London. Walter tells her that he... (full context)

Struck by this coincidence, Walter stops, and the woman becomes frightened and thinks that he has heard someone following then. Walter tries to calm... (full context)

...cab is going the right way and that the driver is not drunk, and the woman in white clothes climbs eagerly into the carriage. The cab drives away, and Walter continues... (full context)

Walter is horrified to hear that the woman in white clothes has escaped from an asylum. He thinks back over their conversation and... (full context)

This reference to “adventures” reminds Walter of his meeting with the woman in white clothes. He tells Marian about the experience and Marian is shocked to hear... (full context)

Marian feels that Walter has done the right thing by helping the woman in white clothes to escape as she is sure that she is a poor, persecuted... (full context)

...the corner and Marian continues to search through Mrs. Fairlie’s letters for mentions of the woman in white. It is a moonlit night and they have the drawing room doors open... (full context)

...letter tells Mr. Fairlie about a new pupil at her school, the daughter of a woman called Mrs. Catherick. The girl’s name is Anne Catherick, and Mrs. Fairlie writes that she... (full context)

Mrs. Fairlie’s letter explains that she gave Anne several sets of white clothes, feeling that little girls look best in white, and that,... (full context)

Morality, Crime, and Punishment Theme Icon

...moonlight to relieve its eerie effect. He feels that this similarity between Laura and the woman in white is a bad omen for Laura’s future. Marian whispers to Walter that they... (full context)

As soon as the opportunity arises, Marian asks Laura if she remembers Anne Catherick. Laura does not remember much, except some mentions of her own similarity to Anne.... (full context)

...that he is a gentleman from Hampshire. Walter remembers that Mrs. Fairlie’s letter revealed that Anne Catherick came from Hampshire too and he is unnerved by the constant reappearance of the... (full context)

...he suspects, and Walter replies that he believes the figure, dressed all in white, was Anne Catherick. Marian tells Walter that she will show him to the grave and then return... (full context)

Walter listens anxiously as the woman with the bonnet tells the other woman that she looks strange wearing white clothes all... (full context)

Walter decides not to approach her and, instead, he watches the other woman, who begins to clean Mrs. Fairlie’s grave with a cloth. After a few moments, Walter... (full context)

...without becoming frightened. Walter tells her that he has been staying at Limmeridge and the woman, whom he now knows is Anne Catherick, is delighted and feels that he must be... (full context)

Walter continues to talk with Anne and tries to put her at her ease. He tells her about the men from... (full context)

Anne tells Walter that she has known Mrs. Clements since she was a little girl. He... (full context)

Anne tells him that she is staying at a farm near Limmeridge called “Todd’s Corner” and... (full context)

Anne is shocked that Walter has seen the letter. She begins to panic and pound on... (full context)

At the mention of this person, a change comes over Anne and her face twists with hatred. She asks Walter what he wants, and he says... (full context)

When she hears Anne scream, Mrs. Clements rushes back towards the grave and verbally attacks Walter for scaring Anne.... (full context)

...found out: that there is no doubt in his mind that Sir Percival Glyde had Anne Catherick placed in the asylum. Marian agrees to go to Todd’s Corner the next day... (full context)

...to Todd’s Corner with Marian but, when Marian enters the farm, she is told that Anne Catherick and Mrs. Clements left unexpectedly and will not return. Mrs. Todd, who lives at... (full context)

Marian and Walter approach the dairymaid and ask her what she was talking about when Anne Catherick took ill. The dairymaid says that she had been talking about Sir Percival Glyde,... (full context)

...warning her about Sir Percival Glyde, and has heard about Walter’s involvement in tracking down Anne Catherick. Mr. Gilmore thoughtfully recognizes that Walter has Laura’s best interests in mind and might... (full context)

Mr. Gilmore tells Walter that he has sent a copy of the letter from Anne Catherick to Sir Percival Glyde’s solicitor in London and has kept the original of the... (full context)

...that Mr. Gilmore has dispatched returns and tells them that he followed Mrs. Clements and Anne Catherick as far as Carlisle but could trace them no further. Mr. Gilmore, Walter, Marian,... (full context)

...going and respectable man and cannot see anything to object to in his explanation surrounding Anne Catherick’s letter. Sir Percival explains that Anne is the daughter of a friend of his... (full context)

When Marian’s note is written, Sir Percival asks her if she knows where Anne Catherick stayed when she was in Limmeridge. Marian tells him that Anne stayed at Todd’s... (full context)

Despite Sir Percival’s assurances, his concern over Anne’s wellbeing and the letter sent to Mrs. Catherick, Mr. Gilmore is surprised to find that... (full context)

...continued disinterest in him. On Tuesday morning, Sir Percival visits Todd’s Corner to enquire about Anne and, on Wednesday, a letter arrives from Mrs. Catherick which corroborates Sir Percival’s story about... (full context)

...subject and asks Mr. Gilmore, seemingly in passing, if he has heard anything about “the woman who wrote the anonymous letter,” Anne Catherick. Mr. Gilmore admits he has not. Mr. Merriman... (full context)

...Marian sent him detailing the explanation that Sir Percival provided for the letter sent by Anne Catherick to Laura. Walter bitterly replies that it is not his place to question the... (full context)

...burn it because it contains evidence about his love for Laura and his interactions with Anne Catherick. She is concerned about his reports of being followed in London and his final... (full context)

...why she is so prejudiced against him. Perhaps Walter’s bias as a jaded lover and Anne Catherick’s letter have turned her mind unfairly against him. She resolves to try harder to... (full context)

...briskly along. He tells her that he has been to Todd’s Corner to enquire after Anne Catherick again. He asks Marian if, by any chance, Walter has heard anything of her.... (full context)

...but she has heard nothing of him since then. She also hasn’t heard anything about Anne Catherick or Mrs. Clements, and even Sir Percival’s lawyer, Mr. Merriman, has given up the... (full context)

...she sees the dog and says that the animal belongs to Mrs. Catherick. Mrs. Catherick, Anne Catherick’s mother, came to Blackwater to enquire if there was any news about her daughter.... (full context)

...dog it was. Marian, startled by Sir Percival’s tone and anxious about the connection to Anne Catherick, feels pressured to tell the truth and admits that it was Mrs. Catherick’s dog... (full context)

...the others begin to walk back more slowly. Count Fosco begins to interrogate Marian about Anne Catherick and, although Marian wishes to conceal information from the Count, it is difficult to... (full context)

...her dream by Laura, who tells her that she has just come from speaking to Anne Catherick. The women rush to Marian’s room and Laura tells Marian that she met Anne... (full context)

Anne told Laura that she did not do more at Limmeridge because she was afraid Sir... (full context)

Marian finds that Laura has not learned much more from Anne and plans to follow Laura the next day, to meet Anne herself. Leaving Laura alone,... (full context)

...goes out early the next morning. Laura and Marian plan to keep their meeting with Anne Catherick and Laura sets out alone, while Marian prepares to follow her. After waiting a... (full context)

Laura tells Marian that, when she arrived at the boathouse that morning, Anne was not there but had left a note for her buried in the sand. The... (full context)

...been hammering on her door and demanding that she tell him all she knows about Anne Catherick. (full context)

...listening in horror, it begins to rain. Count Fosco begins to press Sir Percival about Anne Catherick and the secret that she knows about him. Sir Percival refuses to tell him... (full context)

Sir Percival confesses that he is utterly ruined if he cannot find Anne Catherick, and Count Fosco asks how Anne knows his secret. Sir Percival replies that she... (full context)

...over for a chance to marry him. He feels Walter has plotted against him; helping Anne escape the asylum and then again at Limmeridge. (full context)

...they will dispose of Walter if he ever returns. He then asks Sir Percival what Anne Catherick looks like, as he saw Laura with a woman a few days ago, at... (full context)

...legally believed to be dead. The public also believe that Walter and Marian have helped Anne Catherick escape from the asylum a second time. Although, Walter acknowledges, Laura strongly resembles Anne,... (full context)

...Mr. Fairlie while he was there. In these notes, Count Fosco told Mr. Fairlie that Anne Catherick had been found and returned to the asylum. The note also warned Mr. Fairlie... (full context)

...Sir Percival now lives in Paris. Thwarted, Marian decides to go to the asylum that Anne Catherick is confined in. (full context)

She is shown into the establishment and learns that Anne is in the garden. Anne is pointed out to her by a nurse and, when... (full context)

...Marian gives her some money and asks her to arrange a time when Marian and “Anne Catherick” can meet privately. The nurse reluctantly agrees to allow them to meet the next... (full context)

...the asylum. The nurse is to casually drop into conversation with the other nurses that Anne Catherick has been asking for directions to Hampshire, where Blackwater Park is situated. This way,... (full context)

...in the asylum. The nurses there showed her the tags on her clothes, which had Anne Catherick’s name written on them, and told her that she could not be Lady Glyde... (full context)

...the asylum on the 27th of July and that she was formally identified there as Anne Catherick. Marian notes that her sister is much changed by the experience, and that she... (full context)

Laura is so like Anne Catherick already, and looks so tired and ill after her ordeal, that even the servants... (full context)

...Marian’s story. The first is that Count Fosco has switched the women’s identities; he took Anne Catherick to his house, where she died, under Laura’s name, and he placed Laura in... (full context)

...asylum has severely disturbed her, and in her weakened state, she now looks more like Anne Catherick than ever. For this reason, Walter does not believe that there is any hope... (full context)

...her tomb. All he has to go on, besides this, is the word of a woman whom almost everyone believes to be Anne Catherick, whom they know to have been mad... (full context)

...is after the date on the death certificate, then this will prove that it was Anne Catherick who died and not Laura. Walter at present has no way of finding this... (full context)

...get to Sir Percival through the secret. He decides to find and question Mrs. Clements, Anne Catherick’s companion. He hopes that she will tell him something about Mrs. Catherick which he... (full context)

...arrives at Mrs. Clements’ house, she is desperate to find out if he knows where Anne is. Walter sadly informs her that he does not think Anne will ever be found... (full context)

When Anne recovered, she became obsessed with going to Blackwater to speak to Laura. Mrs. Clements eventually... (full context)

...person he should give the message to, and the man told her that Laura wanted Anne to leave Hampshire as soon as possible, for her own safety, and go to London,... (full context)

The man was shocked when he saw Anne’s condition and went out to secure her some medicine, which worked wonders, Mrs. Clements says.... (full context)

Mrs. Clements is heartbroken over Anne’s disappearance, as Anne was like a daughter to her. Walter believes that he may find... (full context)

...Mrs. Catherick had perhaps known Sir Percival before her marriage and that he might be Anne’s father. Walter does not think that this is the secret, however, because it is a... (full context)

...speak to her and, therefore, she will not tell his secret. He does not believe Anne is Sir Percival’s daughter and wonders if Sir Percival has created this scandal to distract... (full context)

...place called Varneck Hall, before her marriage. She then tells him a little more about Anne’s childhood. Mrs. Catherick took Anne away from Mrs. Clements when she was nine or ten—after... (full context)

...on the old lady and—although he cannot safely go into detail—tells her that he knows Anne is dead but that she has been “nicely buried” in a way that she would... (full context)

Walter arrives and finds Mrs. Catherick’s house easily. He finds Mrs. Catherick a hard-looking woman dressed all in black. She asks if he has come to tell her that Anne... (full context)

...Catherick is horrified by this, and Walter gains confidence. He tells her that he knows Anne Catherick is not Sir Percival’s child. This makes Mrs. Catherick angry. She shouts at Walter... (full context)

...friends and could not spread his secret. Mrs. Catherick, who needed money to provide for Anne, did as he told her. (full context)

She next tells Walter that she will explain how Anne came to be involved in the secret and why Sir Percival locked her up. Mrs.... (full context)

While Anne was living with her mother, Mrs. Catherick wrote to Sir Percival and asked if she... (full context)

The next day, Sir Percival arrived at Mrs. Catherick’s house. When he saw Anne, he ordered her out of the room, but Anne refused to go. Sir Percival called... (full context)

She believes that Anne was clever enough to work out who had locked her up and why, but that—even... (full context)

...and never write to or visit her again. However, on second thought, he decides that—for Anne’s sake—he should try to find out who her father is. The next day is his... (full context)

...goes to see Mrs. Clements again—as he promised he would—and tells her the truth about Anne’s death. This interview reminds him that he still does not know who Anne’s father is,... (full context)

...remembers Mrs. Catherick’s letter, in which she describes Mrs. Fairlie, Laura’s mother, as a “plain woman” and Mr. Philip Fairlie as an extremely handsome man. Walter deduces from this, and Mrs.... (full context)

...they believe that he has been tricked by an imposter and that Laura is really Anne Catherick. Walter will not see them now until they accept his wife for who she... (full context)

...July, which tells Count Fosco that Laura has just left for London. The date on Anne Catherick’s death certificate is the 25th of July, so this letter proves Laura’s identity. (full context)

...Count Fosco also knew that Sir Percival was in a panic about the fact that Anne Catherick was free and had been talking to Laura. Count Fosco did not know the... (full context)

Mrs. Clements trusted Count Fosco and took him to see Anne Catherick, who was dying of heart disease. Count Fosco was “electrified” by the similarity between... (full context)

...that he has used this skill several times throughout the conspiracy. He gave medicine to Anne to strengthen her and tried his best to save Marian’s life when the doctor, Mr.... (full context)

He told Mrs. Clements to take Anne to London and sent Madame Fosco to follow them there, under the pretense of going... (full context)

...on the 24th of July, he and Madame Fosco set out for London to kidnap Anne Catherick. (full context)

While Madame Fosco took Mrs. Clements away in a cab—allegedly to see Laura—Count Fosco sent Anne a note which said that Walter Hartright was waiting outside in a carriage to take... (full context)

...was on her way to London. Count Fosco met her at the station and took Anne Catherick’s clothes with him for Laura to put on. He sedated her with a bottle... (full context)

...his wife and that wives must obey their husbands. Secondly, he tells Walter that if Anne Catherick had not died of natural causes then he would have killed her. And thirdly,... (full context)

...Laura’s return and the day ends with Laura’s name being removed from the tombstone and Anne’s name carved there instead. (full context)

The Woman in White

Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) Character Analysis

Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) Quotes in The Woman in White

The First Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 5 Quotes

The First Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 8 Quotes

The First Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 11 Quotes

The First Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 13 Quotes

The First Epoch: Part 2, Chapter 1 Quotes

The Second Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 6 Quotes

Anne Catherick (“The Woman”) Character Timeline in The Woman in White