Mrs. Michelson Character Analysis in The Woman in White

Mrs. Michelson is the housekeeper at Blackwater. She is a proud, religious woman—the widow of a Protestant minister, as she enjoys telling people—and takes pride in her role in the household. At times, Mrs. Michelson seems slightly self-righteous and self-important. She is extremely taken in by Count Fosco, who flatters Mrs. Michelson by paying her attention and respecting her role in the house. She is adamant that the Count is innocent of the conspiracy acted against Laura Fairlie—Count Fosco and Sir Percival switch her identity with that of Anne Catherick, who dies in London, and lock Laura in an asylum in Anne’s place in order to steal her fortune—and blames the whole thing on Sir Percival Glyde. It is Mrs. Michelson who innocently takes Laura to the train station and sees her off to London, where she is met by Count Fosco and taken to the asylum. Mrs. Michelson suspects that there is something strange going on at Blackwater but cannot say what it is. She feels sorry for Laura and Marian and is convinced that they are being tricked or mistreated. Mrs. Michelson’s testament provides evidence that Laura is tricked into going to London—Sir Percival tells her that Marian has already left Blackwater and that Laura is travelling to meet her—because when she returns from taking Laura to the station, she finds that Marian is still at the house and has been hidden in a separate wing. Mrs. Michelson is horrified by this and only remains in Sir Percival’s service to care for Marian, who is extremely ill.

Mrs. Michelson Quotes in The Woman in White

The The Woman in White quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Michelson or refer to Mrs. Michelson. 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:

The bare anticipation of seeing that dear face and hearing that well-known voice to-morrow, keeps me in a perpetual fever of excitement. If I only had the privileges of a man, I would order out Sir Percival’s best horse instantly, and tear away on a night-gallop, eastward, to meet the rising sun – a long, hard, heavy, ceaseless gallop of hours and hours, like the famous highwayman’s ride to York. Being, however, nothing but a woman, condemned to patience, propriety, and petticoats, for life, I must respect the housekeeper’s opinions, and try to compose myself in some feeble and feminine way.

Related Characters: Marian Halcombe (speaker), Mrs. Michelson, Laura Fairlie

Page Number and Citation: 197-198

Explanation and Analysis:

Marian waits at Blackwater Park, Sir Percival’s home, for his and Laura’s return after their honeymoon. Marian is excited to see Laura and feels confined by societal expectations about women, which do not suit her active and adventurous nature or allow her to express her excitement by riding out to meet her sister. Although men were expected to do the majority of the physical labor in the Victorian period, this seems like a “privilege” to Marian who feels that women’s social place is very constrained by comparison. Men were expected to work, but they were also allowed to go where Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia so

Mrs. Michelson Character Timeline in The Woman in White

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Michelson appears in The Woman in White. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Morality, Crime, and Punishment Theme Icon

...who Baxter is, hears that he is the groundskeeper, and dismisses the girl. The housekeeper, Mrs. Michelson , whom Marian likes, then arrives to help her. (full context)

Mrs. Michelson is shocked when she sees the dog and says that the animal belongs to Mrs.... (full context)

Marian asks Mrs. Michelson if Mrs. Catherick lives nearby, but the housekeeper tells her that Mrs. Catherick lives twenty-five... (full context)

Marian and Mrs. Michelson both think this is very odd, and the housekeeper remarks that Mrs. Catherick did not... (full context)

The narrative is then taken up by Mrs. Michelson , who was the housekeeper at Blackwater park and who has been asked by Walter... (full context)

Although Mrs. Michelson cannot remember the exact dates, she states that one morning in June, Marian did not... (full context)

Class, Industry, and Social Place Theme Icon

The doctor, Mr. Dawson, also refused Count Fosco’s help when he arrived to treat Marian. Mrs. Michelson observes that she is very fond of the Count because, although of noble birth, he... (full context)

On the second day of Marian’s illness, there was no improvement. As Mrs. Michelson was heading upstairs, after completing some chores, she saw Count Fosco arriving home from a... (full context)

...and returned the next day with the nurse, Mrs. Rubelle, a very quiet, foreign woman. Mrs. Michelson congratulates herself on her lack of prejudice towards foreigners—despite the “blinds errors” in their cultures—and... (full context)

...Marian’s illness. Even though Marian seemed to improve during this period, Madame Fosco confided in Mrs. Michelson that she did not trust the doctor, Mr. Dawson. She wrote to the Count every... (full context)

Later that day, Mrs. Michelson was summoned to Sir Percival’s study where he informed her that he planned to dismiss... (full context)

A couple of days after this, Sir Percival sent Mrs. Michelson to Torquay to look at houses. He said he wanted to rent one for a... (full context)

On her return, Mrs. Michelson went to check on Laura, who was waited on by Margaret Poacher. Mrs. Michelson and... (full context)

Laura followed Sir Percival to his study and dragged Mrs. Michelson along with her. She insisted that she must follow her sister and Sir Percival told... (full context)

Mrs. Michelson took Laura back to her room, where Laura remained adamant that she would not sleep... (full context)

Mrs. Michelson carried out Laura’s wishes and the next day escorted her to the station. Laura complained... (full context)

Back at Blackwater, Mrs. Michelson felt restless and walked in the grounds to clear her head. She was shocked to... (full context)

Mrs. Michelson still wished to resign but changed her mind when Sir Percival told her that, if... (full context)

Marian was distraught when she discovered that Laura had gone. Mrs. Michelson spent the remainder of her time at Blackwater caring for Marian until Marian left for... (full context)

...at Limmeridge, Laura tells Marian the story of what has happened to her. Unfortunately, like Mrs. Michelson , Laura does not remember the date that she traveled to London and met Count... (full context)

...a date on it to confirm exactly when Laura traveled to London. Walter also contacts Mrs. Michelson , the housekeeper at Blackwater for her story, and Mr. Goodricke, Hester Pinhorn, and Jane... (full context)

...knows the date when Sir Percival left for London in the night, as discussed in Mrs. Michelson ’s testament. If this course of action fails, he intends to track down Sir Percival’s... (full context)

...the way and encouraged Sir Percival to get rid of all the servants, except for Mrs. Michelson and Margaret Poacher. With the help of Madame Fosco, Sir Percival and Count Fosco moved... (full context)

Mrs. Michelson Character Analysis

Mrs. Michelson Quotes in The Woman in White

The Second Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 1 Quotes

Mrs. Michelson Character Timeline in The Woman in White