The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (21- )

I think that Wilkie Collins is an admirable mystery writer. I am glad that I read Collins’ The Woman in White. I really liked The Woman in White! And yet, at the end I was a little disappointed. I was swept up by the first ¾ of the book, but then found that the last ¼ dragged on for me. I feel like Collins went to great pains to tie up every lose end possible in the story which I felt was somehow detrimental to the novel as a whole. Nothing was left to the reader’s imagination. There was no lurking shadow of suspense like I still felt at the end of Rebecca. Collins purposely uses the various narrators to bring the reader very close to the mystery and yet doesn't seem to give the reader enough credit for being able to use that technique to solve some things on their own. I was also not fond of the story line at the end that revealed Count Fosco, as I understand it, to be some sort of a mole inside a secret European society. Perhaps this is because I was unpleasantly reminded of certain contemporary authors’ more recent obsessions with these sorts of societies in their writing.

Another observation about English novels from the 1800s: I am bothered by the gentlemen of a certain title or class in this society, like Sir Percival - who appeared to rely on the earnings of his family estate to survive financially, as they frolic aimlessly through life. Why did society not require these men to have a real occupation, especially when they were sometimes facing financial ruin? How could these people occupy themselves day in and day out, year after year? No wonder they designed intricate plots of conspiracy and matchmaking and such…they were no doubt bored out of their minds half of the time.

Favorite Character: Marian!! Her section of narration was also my favorite. She was certainly a woman before her time. I can understand why Count Fosco was so attracted to her. And, I have to say that Mr. Fairlie also entertained me despite his nervous condition having gotten on my nerves.



Wilkie Collins 1824-1889



Favorite Quote: “I left yesterday to decide … and yesterday has decided. It is too late to go back.” Miss Laura Fairlie

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (1-20)

*I am reading from the Bantam Classic paperback edition of The Woman in White. My edition has around 783 pages, so my half way mark for the sake of the read-along is around 390 pages. As I have stated before, I am posting my reactions to the first half of our read-along assignments as I finish that portion, but I will not be posting my final thoughts until the indicated dates. With that in mind, other readers may want to refrain from reading my post until they have also finished the first half.*

Some thoughts while reading Part 1 of Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White, first published in 1860:

1.      I often find books written by English authors in the 1800s to have more intricate and rambling prose than I prefer. At times, The Woman in White fits this mold and at other times I find the prose delightfully simple. Oddly enough, I sometimes find myself thinking in the language of the day. Either way, Collins has certainly stirred my curiosity with the mystery and suspense that is developing in the novel. What is the story behind Anne Catherick?

2.      I have read that Charles Dickens was a friend and mentor of Wilkie Collins. I have not yet read any Dickens, but am wondering how their writing compares and who I will prefer. Somehow my money is on Collins, although he is the lesser known.

3.      Mr. Fairlie and his nervous condition have succeeded in getting on my nerves. I can certainly understand the trials of suffering from anxiety, but come on. He is a horribly ineffectual guardian for Miss Laura Fairlie. Also, it bothers me that Miss Fairlie does not have any conversations with this man on her own behalf regarding her money, marriage, or feelings. Does anyone else wish they could just run around this man’s rooms talking loudly and slamming doors for fun…much like Marian does in the following passage: “I dashed into Mr. Fairlie’s room-called to him as harshly as possible, 'Laura consents to the twenty-second'-and dashed out again … I banged the door after me; and I hope I shattered Mr. Fairlie’s nervous system for the rest of the day.”

4.      I find myself feeling so outraged as to the state of women’s rights during this time. Who should we blame for Laura having been compelled to still marry Sir Percival? After all, he did give her the option of ending the engagement. Is it her own fault, her dead father’s, that of Marian’s for sending Walter, her true love, away, or society’s at large? Marian certainly blames herself; an idea I also find disconcerting: “Between those two young hearts I had stood, to sunder them forever, the one from the other-and his life and her life lay wasted before me, alike, in witness of the deed.” I, obviously, lay the blame with society.

5.      What is the deal with Count Fosco? Is it possible that he is the one who actually enticed Sir Percival to marry Laura as a means to recover his wife’s Fairlie inheritance?

Enough writing for now, I must get back to reading the novel. This nineteenth century soap opera has certainly reeled me in. But first, I have to share this: When I went looking for pictures of Collins, I was immediately struck by his resemblance to my own estranged father...weird...very weird indeed. J

Checkin In...Random Thoughts Related to Writing and Reading...

Hello there!

1. I am finished with Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and am currently about 200 pages in with Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White, both of which I am reading for Allie's January read-alongs.

2. I have been busy receiving some interesting book loot from online purchases. I will be sharing the details soon. I am happy to report that I have purchased seven selections and have saved around $60 with the use of store coupons, member discounts, and store bucks! Yes, I am really excited about my savings...lol!

3. Something that bothers me about my writing: I cannot seem to ever fully master the proper use of punctuation, especially things like the comma and the semicolon. I took a grammar course in college, but am too lazy to refer to my notes while I am writing. I know that convention is important in the writing of academic papers, but is it really that important in creative writing or blogging? About the only thing I ever remember for sure is that a comma is required before the use of "but" in a sentence.

4. Something that bothers me about my reading: I have a horrible time with the proper or intended pronunciation of the names of people and places in books. This really aggravates me. It occurs to me that this is one situation where audio books really come in handy!

HELP! :)

January Read-A-Longs...

Information about Allie’s read-alongs:

Rebecca:

"There will be two times to post on the following days:

• January 14-17, 2011: This post will focus on the first half of the book (roughly 190 pages, or chapters 1-15)
• January 28-31 2011: This post will focus on the second half of the book (roughly 190 pages or chapters 16-27)"

The Woman in White:

"There will be two times to post on the following days:

• January 14-17, 2011: This post will focus on the first half of the book (roughly 300 pages or so)
• January 28-31 2011: This post will focus on the second half of the book (roughly 300 pages or so)"

War and Peace:

"We will have four posts covering the following:

• January 15, 2011: The first check-in will focus on volume 1. In my edition it is about 295 pages.
• January 31, 2011: The second check-in will focus on volume 2. In my edition it is about 306 pages.
• February 12, 2011: The third check-in will focus on volume 3. In my edition it is about 332 pages (the longest section).
• February 28, 2011: The fourth check-in will cover volume 4 and the 2-part epilogue. These sections are about 282 pages in my edition."