The Woman In White - plot and characters.

- It has been positively ascertained (...) that the daughter who bore her [Mrs Catherick] husband's name was not her husband's child." (493)

- Read by the new light which had now broken upon me. (574)

Nevertheless there is a unity in the story which contributes to the structural coherence of the book, that is the structural coherence which can be found in modern detective novels in a much more simplified way, that is the triangle which forms the basis of the structure; the victim, the villain, the detective. The fact that "il est impossible de modifier la structure [du roman policier] sans s'égarer", as Boileau and Narcejac put it in Le roman policier, proves that The Woman in White already contains the germ of the detective novel while keeping the traces of a still recent fancy for the Gothic novel.

B/ THE BASIC TRIANGLE

a) A characterization pattern drawn from drama and comedy

Before passing to the typical characters of this novel one needs to give some consideration to the characterization of comedy and drama. According to Northrop Frye :

- All lifelike characters (...) owe their consistency to the appropriateness of the stock type which belongs to their dramatic function. That stock-type is not the character but it is as necessary to the character as a skeleton is to the actor who plays it."

Thus, with regard to the characterization of comedy, three types of characters appear and they seem closely related to some of the characters of romance. First, the villain, who represents to some extent a "menace", who threatens the true heroine and who is always a sinister figure. Secondly and central to the group too, is the hero or the heroine, often a weak character. Thirdly, the last central figure is the type entrusted with hatching the schemes which bring about the hero's victory. This character evolves into the amateur detective of modern fiction. According also to Northrop Frye, the world of ghost stories, thrillers, and Gothic romance belongs to the sixth phase of comedy as it "ranges from the most savage irony to the most dreamy wish-fulfilment romance" (ibid, 177), its structural patterns and characterization being much the same throughout its range.

b) A device similar to the subsequent detective novels

Basically, the detective novel raises an issue to be solved, with imagination as a starting point. Eventually the problem can be solved by reasoning and rationalization. Characters fulfil their relative functions and their sphere of activity is clearly delineated.

If we apply that definition to The Woman in White, the fundamental elements necessary to the setting and the unravelling of the intrigue are present. Taking its roots in the world of the Gothic romance, the intrigue is carefully planned, as is also the increasingly complex unravelling. The villain, the heroine-victim, the amateur detective, that is the three main types of characters, contribute to the plot just as they do in a detective novel. However it seems difficult to extend that similarity further, for The Moonstone, written by Collins later in 1868, was described by T.S.Eliot as "The first, (...) of modern English detective novels". Nevertheless, The Woman in White deals with the unmasking of a crime by one of the characters belonging to that fundamental triangle, exemplifying Collins' ability to portray them with a fidelity in advance of some more famous Victorian novelists. As he made a point of honour to get factual details correct, he endowed not only the male figures but also the female ones with intellect, passion and strength of will. Both illustrate his skill in building characters within or without the contemporary conventions of fiction.

C/ WHO ARE THE MAIN PROTAGONISTS?

a) Two victims

-1- Anne, the woman in white, at the centre of the web

Her figure appears at the very beginning of the story. The author does not give a full description of her as she is to play the part of a mystery-woman dressed in white, and, as such, her function is to contribute to the atmosphere of fear:

- This is all that I could observe of her in the dim light and under the perplexingly strange circumstances of our meeting." (4)

Anne is to appear only twice in the novel. However her main characteristic is her strong resemblance to Laura Fairlie and as such she is central throughout to the unravelling of the plot, for without her existence the Secret and the wholesale ramification of deception that permeate the novel are nothing.

-2- Laura Fairlie: a conventional heroine

Laura, too, plays the part of an innocent girl. She is also to be the victim of foul machination, Sir Percival's eagerness for her money. Walter Hartright describes in some detail his own portrait of her, so that, in a sense, Laura is a picture,

- So often sung by the poets, so seldom seen in real life, (...) A fair, delicate girl (...) with truthful, innocent blue eyes --, that is all the drawing can say. (75)

She is sweet-tempered and charming, and certainly is as conventional as a lot of girls of her time of similar rank and situation. At that time the word conventional conveyed even more meaning than it does nowadays: it meant, for a young girl, to be shy and reserved, to be respectable and respected; not to have any personal opinions and to consider man to be the great master, the one she must obey. Nevertheless, occasionally, she shows more spirit than we would be inclined to give her credit for. She would not always submit to male superiority, as was then common practice. When she refused to sign Sir Percival's document, "a mere business formality" (269), she did it quietly and firmly, despite the uncompromising attitude of her husband who openly and violently outrages her:

"You wouldn't understand. I am your husband and I am not obliged [to explain]." (269)

Her half-sister, Marian, found,

- an expression in her eyes which, throughout all my experiences of her, I had never seen in them before. (269)

If this scene shows her clear-sightedness, the trap nevertheless is to close on her.

The vulnerability of these women reinforces the vileness of the two criminals, Sir Percival and Count Fosco, of whom the latter is a striking personality.

b) The two villains

-1- Count Fosco: the great male character of the novel

Although he has little or no say for he only testifies in writing, he not only towers above all the characters of the novel with his great height and weight, but he is also a highly intelligent man, and a skilled criminal.

Collins took great trouble in portraying Fosco. Indeed his appearance is worthy of a theatrical character's entrance. He is introduced by Marian Halcombe when he actually appears for the first time in the second "epoch" of the novel. She gives the reader a detailed physical description of him. Indeed he is larger than life:

- He is immensely fat (...). His features have Napoleon's magnificent regularity. [He has] unfathomable grey eyes. (241)

He dresses in the oddest way and has a fancy for white mice, a "vicious" cockatoo, canary-birds, and opera.

All the things we know about him reveal much of his inner personality. Though he is close on sixty years of age he is nervous and sensitive but shows unmistakable mental firmness and power. He is of great culture and, one of the firsts of the experimental chemists living and he is tactful and clever. His intelligence enables him to judge and understand people, and assess the value of those he comes across;

- He has evidently discovered that Laura secretly dislikes him -- but he has also found out she is extravagantly fond of flowers. (244)

To his intelligence we can add shrewdness in the sense that he instinctively does or says the right thing. His behaviour at the lake shows how much of an unscrupulous diplomat he is. When Marian objects to his illustration of crime and virtue, he simply replies,

"Miss Halcombe is unanswerable, (...) that is to say so far as she goes. Yes! I agree with her." (257)

Finally, and it is not the least of his peculiarities, he is able to dominate human beings in the same way as he can cope with the most savage beast.

All these details would be enough to arouse the reader's interest, but because no hint concerning his past is given except that he is an Italian who had run away from his country, the man is surrounded by mystery;

- The interest which I really cannot help feeling in this strangely original man has led me to question Sir Percival about his past-life.
Sir Percival either knows little, or will tell me little about it. (245)

Moreover, his personality combined with the ascendancy he gains over people make them afraid of him. The forthcoming events will only confirm that fear. We are going to deal with an unusual kind of criminal, and, strangely enough, Sir Percival seems to be among those who fear him the most.

-2- Sir Percival Glyde : a conventional Victorian evil villain

In the treatment of the two villains, if Fosco is the stronger one, Sir Percival is the traditional bad Baronet. Once married, his behaviour rapidly takes a new turn and he becomes rash and ill-tempered,

- [his manner] is much more abrupt than it used to be. He greeted me, (...) with little or nothing of the ceremony and civility of former times. (237)

He has impredictable moods and several times is on the edge of violence. However, it is important to know about Sir Percival's past as it determines his evil acts. It turned out that his parents were not married so that in order to enter into possession of his title and property he falsified the marriage register. He therefore must spend the rest of his life covering that living lie in order to marry a wealthy lady. This strong need for wealth gives him a formidable incentive to achieve what he wants, even if it necessitates the doing of evil things. He finally meets the end he deserves -- death -- like the evil villain of Victorian melodrama that he is. A death brought about by the stubborn determination of his pursuers.

c) Two unflinching investigators

-1- Marian Halcombe: the great female character of the novel

Of the female figures, the one who illustrates Collins' skill in building characters without the contemporary conventions of fiction is Marian. Walter gives a full physical description of her "graceful bantering way" (58) and he is "struck by the rare beauty of her form" (58). However, this description has an expected twist to it, for, much to the reader's surprise,

The lady is dark (...)
The lady is young (...)
The lady is ugly (...) (58)

One very common convention of the Nineteenth Century novels was the use of two heroines, one dark and one fair, the dark one being as a rule passionate, haughty and plain. However Collins' dark heroine is a forthright woman of integrity and power. She is warm, sensitive and intelligent and the author manages to make her even more credible when she happens to break down in accepted womanly fashion, "They are gone! I am blind with crying" (217).

Marian plays a leading role from the beginning of the novel. It is largely she who initiates the local investigation and is, like Walter, fascinated by the mystery of the woman in white,

- I am all aflame with curiosity, and I devote my whole energies to the business of discovery from this moment." (63)

-2- Walter Hartright: a conventional hero

Walter is the main character and the hero of the story. His meeting with the woman in white starts off the whole mystery:

"Let Walter Hartright, teacher of drawing, aged twenty eight years, be heard first." (33)

Thus is the way in which he is introduced in the preamble. We are not given a detailed description of him. What we know is that he is sensitive, upright and courageous. He is fascinated by the mystery woman, and active in the hunt to find out more about her, but is even more determined to unravel the plot and to pursue and trap the culprits. He shows perseverance and stamina as well as the good-sense and ingenuity of a modern detective, although he was not designed to imply a real policeman, which he is not,

He is respected for his bravery and noble qualities and thus certainly is a conventional Victorian hero, a trustworthy character -- "I will trust you" says Marian (418) -- who helps to bring about a resolution and who carries out the will of the author to reach a happy ending.

-3- On the minor characters

The minor characters are also created with consummate skill as they all contribute basically to the atmosphere of the novel and have a function in the unravelling of the plot and in the overall narrative structure of the novel. They range from evil personified with Mrs Catherick and Mme Fosco, to eccentricity with Pesca and Mr Fairlie, to unscrupulousness or devotion with the solicitors, and to the Gothic-type character with Mrs Rubelle. They all play their parts in reinforcing the credibility of the main characters and creating the atmosphere of mystery and fear that pervades the novel.

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