Thanks, Claire, for your article -- I had started reading The Woman in White on a whim, and started to notice remarkably similar elements to one of my favorite films, The Handmaiden. Come to found out that the book The Handmaiden is based off (Fingersmith) is listed as a re-imagining of The Woman in White!
Having just finished The Woman in White this is just the sort of article I wanted to read for a deeper dive-thank you! I too agree that Laura and Anne (and later Marian) are denied their own voices in the novel. Also, after her illness and Walter’s return, u disliked the way Laura was infantilised.
Maybe I need to read Fingersmith! Interestingly, Roald Dahl - the subject of my most recent post - wrote a wonderful short story in which a supremely talented pickpocket refers to his profession as that of "fingersmith." He explains, "Pickpockets is coarse and vulgar people who only do easy little amateur jobs. They lift money from blind old ladies.... I'm a fingersmith. I'm a professional
fingersmith.... It's the name given to them who's risen to the very top of the profession. You've 'eard of a goldsmith and a silversmith, for instance. They're experts with gold and silver. I'm an expert with my fingers, so I'm a fingersmith."
Yes. Laura is infantilized throughout, maddeningly. There's just so much to say - I couldn't get to all of it! The masculinization of Marian is another interesting theme. I'm not sure why Collins has so much invested in calling her extremely graceful and then saying that she's ugly and masculine. Many mysteries!
Upon rereading, I admired the way Wilkie Collins fully characterizes people by what they say and don't say, and the voices in which they say it. The format is perfect for that approach!
Another thing I noticed is how sympathetic the author seems to be to people with mental illness. There is no horror at bad blood or hereditary curses here, as you'd find in some other books even later than this one.
The sexual politics of the book are fascinating, too. Do you think Marian is attracted to Walter, or envies the freedom his being a man gives him to exercise the intelligence and courage they both share? Does she love Laura as a sister, or as more than that? (In a different setting, would they have a "Boston marriage"?)
Your point about mental illness is very interesting - given the stigmatization of mental illness throughout most of history ... as to Marian, it's hard to know - but I don't think she has any even quasi-romantic feeling for Laura, because they're blood relatives and, more importantly, I think that her feelings toward Laura are more protective and maternal than romantic. Don't know if you've read The Moonstone, but the contrasting voices of the wonderful Gabriel Betteredge and the annoying Miss Clack are great examples of the contrast in voice!
Thanks, Claire, for your article -- I had started reading The Woman in White on a whim, and started to notice remarkably similar elements to one of my favorite films, The Handmaiden. Come to found out that the book The Handmaiden is based off (Fingersmith) is listed as a re-imagining of The Woman in White!
Having just finished The Woman in White this is just the sort of article I wanted to read for a deeper dive-thank you! I too agree that Laura and Anne (and later Marian) are denied their own voices in the novel. Also, after her illness and Walter’s return, u disliked the way Laura was infantilised.
Maybe I need to read Fingersmith! Interestingly, Roald Dahl - the subject of my most recent post - wrote a wonderful short story in which a supremely talented pickpocket refers to his profession as that of "fingersmith." He explains, "Pickpockets is coarse and vulgar people who only do easy little amateur jobs. They lift money from blind old ladies.... I'm a fingersmith. I'm a professional
fingersmith.... It's the name given to them who's risen to the very top of the profession. You've 'eard of a goldsmith and a silversmith, for instance. They're experts with gold and silver. I'm an expert with my fingers, so I'm a fingersmith."
Yes. Laura is infantilized throughout, maddeningly. There's just so much to say - I couldn't get to all of it! The masculinization of Marian is another interesting theme. I'm not sure why Collins has so much invested in calling her extremely graceful and then saying that she's ugly and masculine. Many mysteries!
Upon rereading, I admired the way Wilkie Collins fully characterizes people by what they say and don't say, and the voices in which they say it. The format is perfect for that approach!
Another thing I noticed is how sympathetic the author seems to be to people with mental illness. There is no horror at bad blood or hereditary curses here, as you'd find in some other books even later than this one.
The sexual politics of the book are fascinating, too. Do you think Marian is attracted to Walter, or envies the freedom his being a man gives him to exercise the intelligence and courage they both share? Does she love Laura as a sister, or as more than that? (In a different setting, would they have a "Boston marriage"?)
Your point about mental illness is very interesting - given the stigmatization of mental illness throughout most of history ... as to Marian, it's hard to know - but I don't think she has any even quasi-romantic feeling for Laura, because they're blood relatives and, more importantly, I think that her feelings toward Laura are more protective and maternal than romantic. Don't know if you've read The Moonstone, but the contrasting voices of the wonderful Gabriel Betteredge and the annoying Miss Clack are great examples of the contrast in voice!