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
Shortly after this, Walter is offered a job as an artist for a newspaper, which he happily accepts. His first job sends him to Paris, and he takes Pesca with him, as Pesca has been in low spirits since the events with Count Fosco. On their last day, Walter returns to Pesca’s hotel room and meets the foreign stranger, whom he saw at the opera, leaving Pesca’s room. When he goes inside, Pesca seems frightened and begs Walter to leave Paris with him that morning. Walter says that they cannot leave until the afternoon, and Pesca accepts this.
The foreigner is clearly a member of the Brotherhood, and Pesca is unnerved by this brush with his political past.
Themes
On his way through Paris that afternoon, returning from his work, Walter passes the morgue and sees a huge crowd gathered outside to see the bodies. He approaches the glass and sees the body of Count Fosco. The Count has been stabbed in the heart and his body dumped in the river. Walter states that justice came for the Count after all, and notes that Madame Fosco spent the rest of her life writing books about her husband’s political career.
Count Fosco has been foiled by his encounter with Walter and Pesca. Although neither is personally responsible for the Count’s death, their efforts have led the Brotherhood to him and allowed justice to win out. This mirrors Sir Percival’s death, which he caused himself, and supports the adage that crime does cause its own detection. Even after the Count’s death, Madame Fosco does not reclaim her own identity but dedicates her life to commemorating her husband’s.
Themes
