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
Walter returns to his room and makes preparations to leave Limmeridge. He is overcome by a sense of foreboding about the future and feels that some threat hangs over Laura, Marian, and himself. Before he is ready to leave, Marian arrives at his room and tells him that she is very concerned about the letter which arrived for Laura as it contains allegations against her future husband, Sir Percival Glyde. Laura is extremely upset, and Marian wishes to find out who wrote the letter by asking around in the village if anyone saw the old woman who carried the note.
Walter’s growing anxiety increases suspense for the reader as they ponder the unusual connections between the characters. Again, Marian suggests that she and Walter try and solve part of the mystery themselves by questioning people who may have witnessed surrounding events. This technique in Collins’s novel influenced the development of the detective novel, particularly fictional detectives like Sherlock Holmes who rely on their own investigative skills and the art of deduction to solve crimes. The fact that Marian suggests that they do this puts Marian on a par with Walter as a protagonist of the novel.
Themes
Marian wonders if she should write to their solicitor and shows Walter the letter. It contains a strange message which claims that the writer has a premonition about Laura’s wedding. The writer has seen a vision of Laura getting married to a man who looks like Sir Percival Glyde and that, although this man appears charming and handsome, a demon stands behind him and laughs during the ceremony. The writer claims that Mrs. Fairlie was very dear to them—their “best and only friend”—and begs Laura to accept this warning.
The letter has frightened Laura because it describes the writer’s dream about her marriage to Sir Percival and seems to suggest that Sir Percival has evil intentions towards her. In the dream, the demon stands behind Sir Percival, suggesting that he is hiding something or has a dark secret. The mention of Mrs. Fairlie again connects the letter to Anne Catherick.
Themes
Literary Devices
Marian, however, has no reason to suspect Sir Percival or question his reputation, which is allegedly spotless. She and Walter decide to go and enquire in the village and see if they can solve the mystery themselves.
Marian is willing to give Sir Percival the benefit of the doubt until she knows otherwise. She believes that, if he really was a bad man, he would not have the good reputation in society that he does.
Themes
