Woman in White - Who is more of a villain, Fosco or Glyde? How similar are they to other villains?

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Robert Smith

English essay – Woman in White

Q – Who is more of a villain, Fosco or Glyde? How similar are they to other villains?

A villain is somebody who is devious, cunning, and in most cases he or she is intelligent. In almost all-good English literature there are villains, from the woman in white itself to Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Villains usually play a large part in books and are typically two faced, violent, and with only their interests in mind. They play with people’s emotions in order to gain the best out of them, and are often multi-faceted. In the woman in White there are two main villains, Count Fosco, and Sir Percival Glyde.

Sir Percival Glyde, in the woman in white is a slick and forceful character, and immediately makes his presence known in the book. He is first referred to as ‘a gentlemen of large property in Hampshire’. This gives him the image of a well-respected person, which he uses to his advantage. It is soon found out that Sir Percival is a villain and his motive is to gain Laura’s inheritance. He would do almost anything to get his own way, but has the disadvantage of not knowing how to be a good villain. For example when Count Fosco speaks of Laura’s sudden death, he implies that they would kill her, and this shocks Sir Percival. He would not know how to go about killing a woman, and is obviously not keen on the idea. This shows that Sir Percival does have some morals, however insignificant they may be. A true villain on the other hand is never scared of the consequences of their actions and will not let anything stand in their way to power.

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        We find out further into the book that Sir Percival has bad intentions, and an anonymous letter is sent to Laura, which warns her about him. The letter stated, ‘I saw down into his inmost heart. It was as black as night’. The sender has seen Sir Percival’s true personality, but because of Laura’s loyalty to him she does not believe it. Sir Percival has, again, used his status and force to his advantage. This can be seen as villainous trait.

Un-like most villains in English literature, Sir Percival has a weakness in that he is not intelligent enough ...

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