White clothes are associated with Anne Catherick, who is the titular “woman in white.” The white clothes that Anne wears are symbolic of Anne’s innocence and highlight her victimhood throughout the novel. Anne’s determination to wear white is representative of her fragile mental health but also of her sweet, loyal nature. She believes that she must always wear white because of her time spent at Limmeridge (Laura’s family home) as a child, and the close bond that she formed with Mrs. Fairlie during this time. Believing little girls look best in white, Mrs. Fairlie gave Anne white clothes to wear, and Anne, who always remembers Mrs. Fairlie’s kindness, lives by this until the end of her days. At one point in the novel, Anne is saddened when Mrs. Clements makes her wear a dark cloak to disguise her identity, and this further symbolizes the erasure of Anne’s identity, as well as her anonymity and lowly social status in society because of her lack of social power as a woman and someone who is mentally ill. Later, when Count Fosco places Laura in the asylum in Anne’s place, Laura is given Anne’s white clothes to wear. Like Anne, Laura is also associated with purity, innocence, and victimhood. Anne’s innocence is further established when Walter learns that Sir Percival imprisoned her in the asylum solely because he believed that she had learned his secret. However, on speaking with Anne’s mother, Mrs. Catherick, Walter discovers that Anne only knew that there was a secret, not what the secret was about, which shows that she was literally innocent and knew nothing of Sir Percival’s crimes.
White Clothes Symbol Timeline in The Woman in White
