the woman in white - wilkie collins

[crisgal]

i have just read the woman in white, and have a question to anyone who's read it.

[tigerlelly]

I've read it a couple of times but don't know if I'll be able to answer the Q. Willing to try.

[saxy_jag]

Same here. I read it a couple of years ago and would need to re-read it to remember it fully, but try me.

[ethandron]

tried it but couldn't get into it. is it worth another go??

[naomi24]

Me too.

[saxy_jag]

It absolutely is. I wasn't too sure when it was first suggested, but I gave it a go and ... wow!

That said, I guess it wouldn't suit everyone's taste. I like Dickens and this isn't too dissimilar. If you're not really into VIctorian/gothic novels, then you mightn't like it.

[tigerlelly]

And the question is??????????

[crisgal]

i do apologise! I had to go out and have only just got back to the computer.

I suggest those of you who haven't read it yet look away now!

Seriously - read no further if you want to enjoy the book!

towards the end of the book when laura, marian and walter are reunited, walter and laura marry before the 'mix-up' is revealed. How could they have married when she was supposed to be dead?

[wolf63]

I haven't read it - but here is the plot:-

http://en.wikipedia.o...oman_in_White_(novel)

[crisgal]

i appreciate the link but unfortunately, it doesn't answer my question.

[tigerlelly]

At some stage in the story Laura reclaims her rightful identity and the body in the grave is given the correct name (Anne Catherick?). I can't quite remember but presumably she marries once she has reclaimed her identity.

[saxy_jag]

Sir Percival was killed in the fire at the church, which meant Laura was free to marry. She and Hartright (along with Marian) only lived together before that.

[crisgal]

no, they were married on page 562 and count fosco's confession doesn't begin unitl page 598.
I have looked at online discussion groups and book clubs, and can't believe that no-one onsiders it a major flaw in the plot.
Would they have een able to marry at that time without proof of who they were?

It's really bugging me - and has spoiled the story somewhat!

[saxy_jag]

The woman that Walter Hartright marries is, to all intents and purposes, Anne Catherick, a spinster and therefore free to marry. She had committed no crime and therefore was not hiding from the law, having been placed in an asylum on a private basis. An 'enemy' could have objected on the grounds of her not being of sound mind, but they'd have had to find her first. Let's give Collins the literary licence for that not to happen.

Whichever name she was married under, by the time everything was 'found out', I doubt the authorities would have taken action against the pair of them, as she had been, in any case, a widow at the time of her wedding to Walter and hence free to marry.

[crisgal]

thanks for your input saxyjag - i appreciate you taking the time to reply.

I think it's annoying me, because he goes into such detail on everything else, and yet on the marriage he simply states: - 'ten days later, we were married'!

i feel cheated! But - i loved the book and will definitely read more of ol' wilkie's!

[crisgal]

i've just looked back at my old thread, and see it was you who recommended it in the first place. Just wanted to thank you! ♥

[dance2trance]

It is a fabulous read. It is what the Victorians called a 'sensational'. And that it is. I agree the ending is rather rushed (its basically body swap and look a likes confusion) but then it might well have been because it was published in weekly doses in a mag. and Collins had to get it to the publishers. And it was written at one and the same time as 'A Tale of Two Cities' too. Can you imagine the thrill at the time! But in that period marriages were not big affairs if you could not be bothered. Standing on the church steps with the vicar and a witness (Marian) was all you needed. So the characters could have done it.