Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Woman in White, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Evidence and Law
Morality, Crime, and Punishment
Identity and Appearance
Marriage and Gender
Class, Industry, and Social Place
Summary
Analysis
One morning Walter comes down to breakfast and finds that Marian is not there. Laura is out on the lawn but there is so much mutual embarrassment between them, because of their feelings for each other, that he does not go out and speak to her. When Marian comes back and Laura comes inside for breakfast, Marian tells Laura that she has had heard from Mr. Fairlie and that the “purple room” is to be prepared. This news makes Laura begin to cry and, as the group get up from the breakfast table, Walter feels a terrible premonition that he is soon to be separated from Laura.
Walter and Laura feel awkward with each other because of their mutual attraction and because they cannot express how they feel about each other. It would be improper for a wealthy woman like Laura to marry a poor drawing master and, therefore, they cannot admit their feelings. Walter then begins to suspect something else is amiss when Marian mentions the guest. His intuition tells him that he will soon be forced to leave Laura.
Themes
Marian takes Walter aside as he is leaving the dining room and asks for a private word. They go into the garden, but before Marian has spoken to Walter, a lad approaches them with a letter for Laura, which he tells her was given to him by an old woman at the gate. Marian thinks this is strange but takes it nonetheless and then leads Walter to the summer house.
It seems likely that Marian is about to deliver some bad news to Walter about his future with Laura. She takes him to the summer house, which is, ironically, the place where he first met Laura. This highlights the contrast between Walter’s previous happiness at Limmeridge and the separation and unhappiness he foresees.
Themes
Once inside, Marian tells Walter that she knows he is in love with Laura. She sympathizes with him and knows that he is well intentioned towards her sister, but she feels that she must tell him to leave Limmeridge House because Laura is engaged to be married.
Marian feels that, for the sake of propriety, Walter must leave Limmeridge so that Laura’s fiancé does not find out about their feelings for each other.
Themes
Literary Devices
Walter is heartbroken and begins to cry, but Marian urges him to “crush” his affections for Laura here “where they started” in the summer house. She explains that Laura is not in love with her future husband but that she is bound to marry him because she promised her father on his deathbed. Therefore, it will be better for Laura if Walter leaves Limmeridge immediately, since she is unlikely to break off her engagement and go against her father’s wishes. The room that she spoke of at breakfast is for Laura’s future husband, who will arrive the next week.
Walter behaves in a stereotypically feminine way by giving in to his emotions. Marian, however, demonstrates her ability to separate her emotions from the practical necessity of the situation; something which was considered a masculine trait. She encourages Walter to be strong and to act in Laura’s best interests by leaving. Laura feels obliged to fulfil her father’s dying wish and it would be painful for her to break off the engagement, even though she does not love her fiancé.
Themes
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Devastated, Walter agrees that it would be best for him to leave Limmeridge. The pair get up to leave the summer house and Laura’s maid rushes up to them and begs Marian to come into the house. Walter lingers in the garden feeling depressed and embarrassed, and anticipating his mother’s disappointment when he returns early from his job. Marian returns and seems distracted and distressed. She tells Walter that Laura is very upset by the letter she has received.
Walter agrees with Marian that it will be best for Laura if he leaves; it will allow her to focus on her fiancé and forget her feelings for Walter, which can never be acted upon. Walter worries about disappointing his mother because he has lost a good position in a wealthy household: a rare opportunity for a poor, young man.
Themes
As they make their way back towards the house, Walter questions Marian about Laura’s future husband. Marian tells Walter 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 woman in white in his circumstances. Marian tells him that the man’s name is Sir Percival Glyde. Walter suddenly remembers the woman in white’s complaint about a “certain Baronet” and asks Marian what Sir Percival’s Glyde’s title is. Irritable, and in a hurry to comfort her sister, Marian answers sharply that he is a Baronet.
Walter remembers the woman in white’s suspicion of noble men. He is concerned when he hears that Laura’s fiancé, also a noble man (and specifically a Baronet), is from the same county as the woman in white because he worries that there may be some connection between Anne (who he and Marian believe may have been falsely imprisoned) and Laura’s fiancé. The situation makes him uneasy.
Themes
