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
For a while, after his marriage to Laura, Walter is so happy and distracted that he forgets about Count Fosco. However, one night he sees Laura crying in her sleep and knows that she is dreaming about her time at Blackwater. He resolves to finish his investigations and seek justice for the Count.
The memory of the injustice done to Laura reminds Walter that real justice has not been fully achieved and that Count Fosco still remains unpunished for his crimes.
Themes
Walter reviews the evidence he has and cannot find much out about Count Fosco’s background. He remembers a part in Marian’s diary in which she says that the Count often receives foreign letters with “official” stamps on them and thinks that he may be a “political exile.” He also remembers Laura calling the Count “a spy” and—although Laura did not mean this literally—Walter wonders if she may be right, that the Count is a political spy.
Walter reviews the evidence he has about the Count and deduces that the Count is a literal, political spy. This explains his proficiency as a criminal, as he has a lifetime of experience avoiding the law.
Themes
It is the year of the Great Exhibition and many foreigners are traveling to London to visit it. Walter knows that there are many political exiles among these people, and he thinks that Count Fosco may be a powerful, high ranking spy who works for the Italian government. Considering this, Walter decides to speak to his friend Professor Pesca, who is also Italian and may know something of the Count’s political position.
The Great Exhibition was an event put on in 1851 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The exhibition was a celebration of modern technology, invention, and industrial manufacturing. It showcased all sorts of machines and inventions designed to make modern life easier and more comfortable for the Victorian consumer and reflected the fascination and excitement about new technology and leisure industries in the 1800s. Pesca also left Italy for political reasons, so Walter thinks that, if Count Fosco is a political criminal, then Pesca may have heard of him.
Themes
Walter notes here that he has not included everything in his narrative so far and that, just because he has not written of Pesca, does not mean he has not seen him often. He also notes that he has seen his mother and sister but did not write about these events at the time. He has been to tell them of his marriage to Laura but, unfortunately, they believe that he has been tricked by an imposter and that Laura is really Anne Catherick. Walter will not see them now until they accept his wife for who she is.
Although Pesca has not appeared much in the narrative, he is still to play an important role in it. This reflects Walter’s statement at the beginning of the novel that he will only include information which is vital to the events being described.
Themes
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Pesca, however, has been a good friend and Walter has seen a lot of him. Before he approaches Pesca, Walter decides to spy on Count Fosco, whom he has never seen or met in person. He waits outside the Count’s house and overhears him singing to his birds; a sound which he recognizes from the descriptions in Marian’s diary. The Count then leaves the house and Walter follows him. He sees the Count buy a tart from a bakery and then give it to an organ grinder’s monkey who looks starved on the street. Walter tails Count Fosco to an opera house and sees the Count buy a ticket for a show that evening. When the Count is gone, Walter buys two tickets and races away to find Pesca.
Count Fosco’s behavior mirrors the descriptions of him in Marian’s diary, which proves that Marian’s testimony is accurate and trustworthy. Once again the Count shows himself to be an intriguing character, as he is generous and kind to animals despite his ruthless brutality towards humans. His love of fine art is also not just an act—he chooses to go the opera for his own pleasure.
Themes
