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The Woman in White
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The Woman in White - Week 5: June 1 - 7: Ch. IX-II (through the end of The Story by Eliza Michelson
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I totally agree, Cindy, about Collins’ skill in switching between voices and perspectives. I thought that was especially brilliant in the section narrated by Mrs Michelson, who is continually revealing her true character to the reader while being oblivious to it herself. Her constant references to being “a lady in reduced circumstances” show that she really thinks of herself as a cut above some of the other characters, and she only favours Fosco because of his title. I really didn’t like her - she is so full of herself. She would say things like “I advance no opinions” and “My endeavour is to judge not” – neither of which could be further from the truth! She repeatedly judges Mrs Rubelle, apparently based on the fact that she is “foreign”, but the fact that Fosco is also foreign is presumably not a problem because he also has a title!Although I can’t stand Mr Fairlie, I did find the section narrated by him very entertaining. I loved the description of himself as a “bundle of nerves dressed up to look like a man” and his desperation to be left alone by Fosco – “my sister’s endless husband”! I can think of several people who feel endless when they just won’t go away!
I thought the scene with Marian on the balcony was brilliant. I loved the description of her taking her petticoats off and crawling on all fours covered in a cloak. It is shocking what she overhears, and Fosco is definitely revealed as the more merciless of the two men. It is he who suggests that Laura could conveniently die and Percival seems genuinely shocked by the idea. Fosco leaving a message in Marian’s diary seems a little far-fetched (why wouldn’t he just destroy it to get rid of the evidence?) but was excellently creepy!
It sounds to me that Laura is doomed to die, but since the first couple of chapters of this book, I’ve had a hunch which I haven’t discussed in case it spoils things, my conjecture is that Percival may not benefit from his wife’s death because I don’t believe that they are legally married.
I also loved the different voices in this section. And how clever it was to tell Fanny’s story through Fairlie’s narrative, much more effective than an omniscient 3rd person narrator. I am also a little puzzled by Fosco’s way of operating but he is a clever and calculating character unlike the blustering aggressive Glyde. Fosco plays the long game. It seems Glyde may be suffering some unease himself about his plans, which in turn makes me fear the worst for Laura.
I am hoping that the solicitor who got the blank piece of paper decides not to let things lie as he seems to be their only hope now that Laura and Marian have been separated.
Mod
I do believe Mrs. Michelson does feel superior to the other servants, but the class system in England is so rigid that it is not surprising. Despite the fact that she is also now a servant, she comforts herself with her memories of who she really is. No doubt her level of education and manner of speaking set her apart from the other servants and make this difference more apparent. Hence her respect for the Count's title, even though it is of foreign derivation.
I think her admiration for the Count is based on more than just his title, though. As I mentioned, he seems to go above and beyond in his thoughtfulness toward the servants. This is due to ulterior motives at least some of the time, but Mrs. Michelson is unaware of this. After being treated so rudely by Sir Percival, it's refreshing to hear Count Fosco talk to her gently and as if she matters.
The end of the Marian narrative was riveting. The overheard conversation between Percy & Fosco, Percy’s fear of a ‘secret’ becoming exposed, Fosco’s finding of Marian’s journal, Marian’s illness…I’m on the edge of my seat over here!Frederick Fairlie’s section had me in stitches. Brb getting “It is the grand misfortune of my life that nobody will let me alone” tattooed on me
Pamela wrote: "I am also a little puzzled by Fosco’s way of operating but he is a clever and calculating character unlike the blustering aggressive Glyde. Fosco plays the long game."Count Fosco is one of the most interesting literary villains I've read to date. Everything about him feels contradictory. He's large-bodied and heavy, yet stealthy and silent as a mouse. He's seemingly good-natured, patient, and an animal lover (animal lovers are always A-OK in my book), but then implies Laura ought to be murdered?? He's so quietly nefarious, and worse--he's unpredictable!
Mod
I know, right? I'm going to start using that description! This novel is so heavy with suspense and dread that Mr. Fairlie provides a welcome comic relief. Collins hits just the right note with his self-pitying fussiness!
Lorna wrote: "I thought the scene with Marian on the balcony was brilliant. I loved the description of her taking her petticoats off and crawling on all fours covered in a cloak. ..."
There's no two ways about it--Marian is a badass! Of course, as a Victorian heroine, she is required to become deathly ill after getting rained on. I think raindrops must have actually carried influenza and typhus germs back then, and which illness you got depended on which raindrops you were hit with. Anyway, she could not avoid it--it was part of her contract. Being a badass does help her survive the illness, though! :)
Mod
LOL! Love that!! I often feel that way myself! :)
Mod
As I've probably mentioned before, he is one of my favorite literary villains! He's such a complex, interesting character. I'm reading the crime thriller Agent Pendergast series by Preston & Child and the fifth book, Brimstone, has a Count Fosco character who is modeled on TWIW Count Fosco. Add to that a Poe and Stephen King allusion in the book, and I was in book nerd heaven!! :)
Although I think that Collins has been masterful in his creation of the character of Fosco, I cannot admire this arch villain. This is because his many talents which could have been used for good are all employed in the exploitation of others. In this section we see him at his worst when he attempts to push Sir Percival to even greater evil than he seems to have ever intended. So many of the worst villains in history have used their intelligence to outwit the powers that be in order to satisfy their own selfish pleasures. We find out in this section that even though he admired Marian greatly, he wouldn’t think twice in sacrificing her if she got in his way. In his ruthless conversation with Percival about Anne Catherick and Laura he hinted at getting rid of them both, revealing how false and heartless that fabricated ‘charm’ has been.
Fosco’s plan to split up Laura and Marian when they were both at their weakest worked perfectly. Fosco’s middle name should be ‘deceit.’ I became angry at the way he cleverly exploited both Marian and Laura almost in a cowardly way. When Marian had that raging fever he used the opportunity to interfere with her medication, doctoring and nurses to prolong her illness, giving him time to set his plans in motion. For someone who said he admired the woman, he treated her abominably. Also to devise a plan involving the insipid Fairlie to send Laura to London on her own into his clutches was pure bullying tactics and therefore despicable.
I don’t think that Count Fosco would hesitate to murder both Anne Catherick and Laura if it became necessary. In fact he might have already killed one or both of them. Madame Fosco’s involvement cannot be pardoned either. The Count might terrify her but she seems to be complicit in his dark deeds and must be condemned for her assistance.
Marian has been left floundering, with the revelations in her diary adding more ammunition to Fosco’s arsenal. She really needs some help from somewhere if there is still time to save Laura.
Mod
Oh, no, I think he is evil to the bone! Although he is one of my favorite characters, he is firmly in that Villain category. There is nothing admirable about anything he does. I just admire the complexity of his character and find him fascinating to read about. Sir Percival is definitely a villain, as well, but much less interesting. The fortune-hunting husband as villain is rather trite; his blustering brutality is predictable. However, this hugely fat older man who moves like a ghost, dotes on his pets, and smiles genially on those he plans to destroy is... different, and intriguing. Most of the people around him have no idea of the threat he poses--only those directly impacted by his schemes are able to see who he really is. This is refreshing to me when many books contain villains whose evil is manifested in their personalities, manners, habits, etc. for all to see. He seems intelligent enough that he could be a formidable force for good if he chose to employ his talents in that way, but I suppose there's less money in benevolence, unfortunately. He's a terrible, terrible person, but I thoroughly enjoy reading about him!
Cindy wrote: "Collins has created this strong, intelligent, courageous character. Does he consider her just that, or is she strong, intelligent, and courageous “for a woman”? What sayest thou? ..""My courage was only a woman’s courage after all, and it was very near to failing me when I thought of trusting myself on the ground floor, at the dead of night, within reach of Sir Percival and the Count. "
I think here she is being realistic. Being a woman, she is physically weaker and these two men together are enough to make her physically afraid. In some of the other places where she is self-deprecating, I think she is being sarcastic. Or satirical. Back in ch. 6 of Walter's first narrative, when they first meet, she says "For my own poor part, I don’t know one note of music from the other; but I can match you at chess, backgammon, ecarte, and (with the inevitable female drawbacks) even at billiards as well." Walter calls it "....her gracefully bantering way".
I'm having trouble not reading ahead in this story - the suspense grows, the villains are ever more villainous, and our heroines are in ever greater distress. It is one of the best written Victorian novels I've read in a long time (and I say that as a die-hard Dickens fan who has copies of David Copperfield in every room!). Count Fosco is fascinating, with his calmness and his courtesies to everyone. That he admires Marian and considers her a worthy adversary is a tribute to his intelligence. But I'm equally sure he will do away with her if necessary. I agree with those of you who believe Laura will die. Mrs. Michelson mentions that they receive sad news in the days ahead, and it seems likely that the news will be of a death. I've never considered that Laura's marriage to Percival might not really be legal, but I think Neil has a good point. Certainly it seems that the marriage may not have been consummated, based on Percival's insistence to Fosco that there is no way there will be children.
One thing I forgot to mention is that the stories told by Mrs. Michelson and the extremely irritating Mr. Fairlie read like written testimony, as if the are writing at the behest of the authorities. This seems to hint at a murder having taken place.
Mod
Two interesting suppositions! Laura does seem like one of those sickly, delicate young ladies who faint at the drop of a hat and are overcome by the slightest ill wind or hint of misfortune. Her actual death would not come, I feel, as too much of a surprise. That they may not actually be married is something I hadn't really considered. I suppose Anne Catherick's secret could be that Sir Percival has another wife stashed somewhere, some woman of much lower quality that he doesn't wish anyone to know about. Desperate for money, he sees a chance to acquire Laura's wealth and a socially suitable bride in one bold move. It sounds plausible to me! We shall see .. . .
We start off with our dear Marian. We ended last week with her trying to slip communications to her solicitor without the knowledge of the Count, but we find that she was not successful in this endeavor. The last few pages in her voice allow us to share her intrepid outing onto the roof in a storm and at great personal risk, all in the service of her beloved sister. What she hears confirms all her worst suspicions of both her brother-in-law and the Count and makes her fear for Laura's future safety.
I was much struck by the misogyny in the beginning of this section. It starts off with Marian herself, as she plans to eavesdrop on Sir Percival and the Count. She notes that her courage “was only a woman’s courage, after all” (313) and this is where the first-person narration gets tricky, in my opinion. Is this Collins writing Marian as self-deprecating because of her conditioned acceptance of how women are perceived at this time, or is this Collins unconsciously expressing the masculine viewpoint in what he believes to be a universal truth? We have seen Marian express this endorsement of feminine inferiority to men before. Is it due to her relative seclusion, living alone with her sister and Mr. Fairlie, that allows her to continue in this belief despite always being a step ahead of everyone around her? Or is this Collins echoing the sentiments of the era despite endowing his own character with a formidable intellect? I am not one of those who faults classic texts for not adhering to modern standards–heaven forbid!! I’m just musing. Collins has created this strong, intelligent, courageous character. Does he consider her just that, or is she strong, intelligent, and courageous “for a woman”? What sayest thou?
Collins goes on to have the Count tell Sir Percival his theory of “managing” women–you can either “knock her down” if you’re a brute, or never “accept a provocation at a woman’s hands” (317). After all, according to him, it works on animals, children, and women, who are apparently nothing but large children. However, Count Fosco seems to recognize Marian’s superior qualities, even if she does not. He waxes rhapsodic over her, declaring that with her for his friend, “[he] would snap these fingers of [his] at the world.” Were she his enemy, he would walk “upon egg-shells.” She is a “grand creature . . . this magnificent woman” whom he admires with all his soul (318). Can you imagine Madame Fosco’s reaction had she been privy to this speech?!?
Marian continues to listen as the men discuss their precarious financial situation. Due to Percival’s mismanagement (according to the Count), they have been forced to take out loans at a usurious rate to avoid their current embarrassments. When these loans become due, they will be ruined without access to Laura’s money. I did enjoy Count Fosco’s observation that men of Mr. Fairlie’s stamp “live long, and marry malevolently when you least expect it” (320). As they lay out the realities of their circumstances, Count Fosco lingers thoughtfully on the financial ramifications of Laura’s death. I must admit that Sir Percival’s vehement rejection of the possibility of bringing this about surprised me. I didn’t think he would care as long as he could get away with it. He seemed repulsed by the idea, and not just because of the yearly income he would lose. I also found it interesting that he stated with confidence that she “was not in the least likely” to produce children. Apparently, even if he can’t bring himself to kill her, he intends for her to die childless so that he is assured of the twenty thousand pounds.
They move to the subject of Anne Catherick and while we are still not told what “the Secret” is, Count Fosco pledges himself to finding Anne. He seems delighted to discover that she resembles Laura so closely. There their conference ends and Marian is able to make her way (with difficulty, after lying in the rain and cold for so long) back to her room. Before the night ends, she manages to record the events in her journal before succumbing to a raging fever.
At this point, a shocking entry is made to Marian’s diary–one by Count Fosco himself. He is brimful of admiration for “this sublime creature . . . this magnificent Marian”: her tact, her discretion, her rare courage, her wonderful memory, her easy grace, etc. (330). He laments the “cruel necessity” that sets them at odds and muses over how perfect they would have been for each other in other circumstances. The Count even offers his medicinal knowledge to the doctor, who rejects it. He must go (presumably in pursuit of Anne) and seems to genuinely hope for Marian’s recovery. He also regrets the fact that she is doomed to failure in her efforts to save her sister and hopes she will believe that her own journal entries play no part in events as the Count plans for them to unfold.
As Marian is unable to continue, we hear from Laura's uncle. We discover, through his querulous, self-absorbed tone, more of the Count's sinister machinations. All of the calamities being endured by Mr. Fairlie's family are told through the lens of how it affects him. Marian sends a letter that can only be delivered into his hand, but the important question is whether the messenger bearing her letter has shoes that creak! We learn that Madame Fosco, with the Count’s potions (presumably) in hand, intercepts the letter to the solicitor and replaces it with a bland sheet of paper. This remains undiscovered by Fanny, the messenger. The Count, with his usual savoir-faire, is easily able to manipulate him. The situation, as it is explained to Laura’s uncle, portrays the Count as her champion whose only concern is her welfare. Mr. Fairlie agrees to everything the Count says, obsessed only with getting the “infectious” man out of the room so it can be fumigated. What is your verdict of Mr. Fairlie's narrative? Does his peevish ridiculousness make you smile, or are you too horrified by his callousness to be amused? I have to admit, although I do find his disregard for anyone but himself monstrous, his languid peevishness amuses me and provides some comic relief.
Marian's illness turns the household on its ear. Laura tries to be there for her sister but in true Victorian fashion, is “much too nervous and too delicate in health to bear the anxiety of Miss Halcombe’s illness calmly” (352). The Count disagrees with the doctor's treatment of Marian. The Count does seem to be more learned when it comes to medicine than the doctor. What do you think is his true motivation? Does he try to involve himself in her medical care to make sure she stays sick, maybe even to endanger her life, or is he sincerely trying to save her?
Mrs. Michelson is a Fosco fan and believes him to be a well-mannered, thoughtful gentleman. Do you think his unfailing kindnesses to servants are entirely motivated by his machinations, or is partially motivated by his code of manners as a gentleman? Do you think Collins did a good job of relating hair-raising developments, such as the installation of a nurse of Fosco's choosing and the planned trip to his house in London for the sisters, effectively through the lens of Mrs. Michelson's admiration for the Count?
We learn that a supposedly benevolent deception has taken place in which Laura is told that Marian accompanied Count and Madame Fosco to London without a goodbye to her sister. The story is that Marian is travelling to Limmeridge House to discuss Mr. Fairlie’s sanctuary of Lady Glynde in person, as he requested. We, of course, know that this hurdle has already been cleared and the invitation issued from Mr. Fairlie. Laura leaves in pursuit of her sister, but with plans to stay with Mrs. Vessey, unwilling to put herself into the Count’s power by staying at his house. After she leaves, Mrs. Michelson is dumfounded to discover Mrs. Rubelle, the nurse who had supposedly accompanied Marian to London, serenely strolling in the gardens. It turns out that Marian had been moved to an unused wing of the house and hidden from her sister under the pretext that Laura needed a change of scenery. This shocks Mrs. Michelson enough to resign, although she agrees to stay on until Marian is better.
What do you think is the plan for Laura? Will they hold her prisoner in Count Fosco’s house in London? Or do you think they plan to murder her? What will Marian do now to save her sister? Share your thoughts and questions about this week’s reading!