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
The narrative is resumed by Mr. Gilmore, who is the lawyer of Marian Halcombe and Laura Fairlie and who is present at Limmeridge house, after Walter Hartright’s departure, to arrange the marriage between Laura and Sir Percival Glyde. Mr. Gilmore states that he has been asked to write this account of his time spent at Limmeridge by Walter Hartright. He notes that it is not his job to judge the case of the woman in white, which Walter is compiling, but instead, to provide “new links” to continue the chain where “Mr. Hartright has dropped it.”
Like Walter in his introduction to the narrative, Mr. Gilmore knows that his purpose is to provide evidence which conveys information to the reader about the events that took place. He does not plan to guess or speculate about anything but only to explain what he witnessed and experienced. This disclaimer serves to make his testimony seems more reliable, as Mr. Gilmore has no reason to lie and cannot mislead the reader by using conjecture to imagine what might have happened. Instead, the reader will be presented only with Mr. Gilmore’s point of view and must make up their own mind about the case from the different bodies of evidence provided, just as a jury would in a court of law.
Themes
Literary Devices
Mr. Gilmore states that he arrived at Limmeridge on Friday night and planned to stay over the weekend to draw up Laura Fairlie’s marriage contract, before the arrival of her betrothed, Sir Percival Glyde, on Monday. He notes that Mr. Fairlie, who thought of himself “as an invalid,” did not greet him at the house but that he was met by Marian Halcombe. He spends the evening in the drawing room with Laura and Marian and is introduced to Walter Hartright, who he thinks is an honest and agreeable young man but rather awkward around women and in company. Mr. Gilmore also notices, to his dismay, that Laura looks unwell and does not play the piano with her usual skill.
Mr. Gilmore does not suspect any correlation between Walter’s awkwardness and Laura’s sadness at dinner. Instead, he believes that Walter is shy, and Laura is ill. This again suggests that Mr. Gilmore is not particularly imaginative or empathetic when it comes to other people, and that he prefers to take things at face value as they are presented to him, rather than reading into situations. This is in keeping with his role as a lawyer, as his job is (supposed to be) based in deciphering facts and evidence.
Themes
On Saturday, Mr. Gilmore finds that Marian is “out of spirits,” while Laura remains in her room. He anticipates that Sir Percival Glyde will be able to give a satisfactory explanation for the accusations leveled against him. Finally, after being kept waiting for several hours, Mr. Fairlie invites Mr. Gilmore to his room to discuss the marriage. Mr. Fairlie considers the wedding a settled thing, as it was sanctioned by Laura’s father, Mr. Philip Fairlie, before his death. Mr. Gilmore is slightly surprised at how little interest Mr. Fairlie shows in his niece’s wellbeing but remembers that Mr. Fairlie has no children and so has no interest in the inheritance of Limmeridge House or whom the fortune will pass to. Mr. Gilmore notices, however, that Laura seems dejected about her upcoming marriage.
Mr. Fairlie is confident that Sir Percival Glyde is a respectable man who will live up to his good reputation in society and who has nothing to hide. Mr. Fairlie is not interested in Laura’s preferences about the wedding because he believes that it is up to Laura’s father who she marries, and not up to Laura. Although this was still common in the nineteenth century, Mr. Fairlie is portrayed as old fashioned for feeling that Laura should have no say in her own future. Even Mr. Gilmore, who is a conservative and traditional man, is slightly concerned about Laura’s lack of enthusiasm about her marriage. This shows that the perception of women as property to be given to their husbands by their fathers was changing in the 1800s.
Themes
Sir Percival Glyde arrives at Limmeridge on Monday morning. Mr. Gilmore finds him an extremely pleasant, easy 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 in Hampshire, Mrs. Catherick, whose husband has deserted her. Anne’s mental health has always been bad, and, on the request of her mother, Sir Percival paid to secure Anne a place in a private asylum rather than commit her to a public asylum for paupers. Mr. Gilmore admits that, if pressed, he could build a legal case to question Sir Percival’s claims, but he feels that any story can be challenged with the right evidence and that this is not his job in this instance. He is totally satisfied and surprised to find that Marian still seems unsure.
Mr. Gilmore likes Sir Percival and takes him at face value as a noble and respectable man who is honest in what he says about Anne Catherick. Public asylums were notorious for their horrendous and unsympathetic treatment of mentally ill people, although even in private asylums there was a general lack of knowledge about mental health in the 1800s. It would be considered a source of shame to place a relative in a pauper’s asylum during this period, and Mr. Gilmore feels that Sir Percival has spared his friend this shame. Again, Mr. Gilmore demonstrates that he does not like to look to deeply beneath the surface of things and sees no reason to question Sir Percival further when he feels there is no need for it.
Themes
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Sir Percival perceives Marian’s uncertainty about him and encourages her to write to Mrs. Catherick to verify his story. Mr. Gilmore notices, while Marian is doing this, that Sir Percival tries to stroke Laura’s Italian greyhound but that the dog cowers away from him. This seems to irritate Sir Percival and Mr. Gilmore sympathizes, acknowledging that he is irritable himself at times.
Sir Percival’s willingness to provide an alibi for his story seems to imply that he has nothing to hide and has, therefore, done nothing wrong. Laura’s dog seems to have taken an instinctive dislike to him, but Mr. Gilmore feels this is not Sir Percival’s fault. He seems eager to sympathize with Sir Percival because of his rank.
Themes
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 Corner, and Sir Percival says he will visit the place to try and trace Anne’s whereabouts. He is extremely concerned about her because of her poor mental health. He asks if Laura has come into contact with Anne at all and is told that Anne only spoke to Walter Hartright, who was employed as a drawing master at Limmeridge.
Again, it could prove Sir Percival’s good nature and good intentions towards Anne that he is so worried about her. He seems to feel that she is vulnerable and needs professional care and is concerned about her wellbeing if she is left unattended. At the same time, he could be concerned because he’s worried about what she will say about him.
Themes
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 Marian is still hesitant to accept his story. This strikes Mr. Gilmore as unlike Marian, who has always seemed extremely sensible to him, but she dismisses his worries by explaining that she is worried about her sister and that this prevents her from thinking clearly.
Mr. Gilmore feels that Marian is being paranoid and acting irrationally. As a conventional man, Mr. Gilmore feels that Marian’s judgement is impaired because she is a woman and because of her emotional attachment to Laura. It was common in the 1800s for men to assume that they were the more rational sex, while women were more emotional and easily alarmed.
Themes
