Rashmi bookmarks “The Woman in White”

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins is the story of Walter Hartright, his accidental meeting with a mysterious woman dressed in white, and the series of events following his brief stint as drawing master for Laura Fairlie and Marian Halcombe at Limmeridge House.

The most impressive feature of this story was its storytelling; I really liked the idea of the story being narrated by different characters as they came in and out of the story, mirroring the presentation of a court case by several witnesses personally touched by the events. This also gave each narrative a unique touch, as a lawyer does not tell the story - or even have the same perspective - as, say, a painter.

I also thought that the story consisted of some very rich and varied characters - in some cases, beautifully described in one effective sentence - example, when Hartright says of Mrs. Vesey: “Some of us rush through life, and some of us saunter through life. Mrs. Vesey SAT through life.” I can’t say that I liked Laura Fairlie very much - I’m not a big fan of the delicate, pretty, sad heroines of yore, which is an inextricable part of novels of a certain time period (this book was written in 1859!) - however, considering the year, it is even more impressive to meet someone like Marian Halcombe - as decisive as she was intelligent. Also, just for the sheer humour value, I enjoyed reading all the parts involving Frederick Fairlie; while he may have been utterly useless to the other characters within the story, I thought his permanent ‘health issues’ and his dramatic reactions to the slightest puff of movement or tiniest whiff of sound, were just so funny!

While I did think that there were large sections of the book where the story really slowed down (some of Marian’s narratives did not advance the story much), from the time we get to Walter’s interview with Mrs. Clements and his subsequent meeting with Mrs. Catherick, to the final dénouement at the church in Knowlesbury, the story was really exciting. And while I had harboured some suspicions from early on, the final reveal involving Lady Glyde and Anne Catherick and the “Secret” involving Sir Percival Glyde and Count Fosco, was something I did not see coming at all.