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Madame Fosco
Mr. Fairlie is the hypochondriac uncle of Laura Fairlie and the guardian of her and her half-sister, Marian Halcombe. He is the current owner of Limmeridge House, which will pass to Laura in the event of his death, as he is the brother of Laura’s late father, Mr. Philip Fairlie. Mr. Fairlie is a self-centered, pampered, and idle man. He rarely leaves his rooms, is paranoid about becoming ill, and never troubles himself to help or go out of his way for anyone, even his own family. Marian appeals to him for help several times throughout the novel, but he ignores her and leaves her and Laura at the mercy of the men who plot against them, Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde. Mr. Fairlie is also a snob and believes himself to be superior to everyone because of his noble birth. He treats, and openly refers to his servant, Louis, as an inanimate object and is rude about the residents of Limmeridge and to the servant girl, Fanny, who visits him to bring a message from Marian. Mr. Fairlie pretends to be obsessed with art and spends all his time examining pieces in his room. He believes that his refined taste and interest in culture mark him out as a man of superior intellect and aristocratic bearing. However, underneath all this, Mr. Fairlie is lazy, has no serious opinions on art, and does nothing to help anybody else throughout his life. His death does not cause his nieces grief but, instead, is a joyful event because it allows them to move back to Limmeridge House and allows Laura to inherit her property. This demonstrates that Mr. Fairlie has made no impact on his family in life and has left no friends or acquaintances to mourn him because he has been totally self-absorbed and unfeeling.
Mr. Fairlie Quotes in The Woman in White
The The Woman in White quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Fairlie or refer to Mr. Fairlie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The First Epoch: Part 2, Chapter 3
Quotes
As matters stood, my client – Miss Fairlie not having yet completed her twenty-first year – was her guardian, Mr. Frederick Fairlie. I wrote by that day’s post and put the case before him exactly as it stood; not only urging every argument I could think of to induce him to maintain the clause as I had drawn it, but stating to him plainly the mercenary motive which was at the bottom of the opposition to my settlement of the twenty thousand pounds. The knowledge of Sir Percival’s affairs which I had necessarily gained when the provisions of the deed on his side were submitted in due course to my examination, had but too plainly informed me that the debts on his estate were enormous, and that his income, though nominally a large one, was, virtually, for a man in his position, next to nothing.
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The First Epoch: Part 3, Chapter 2
Quotes
‘It will only involve us in more trouble and more confusion,’ she said. ‘It will set you and my uncle at variance, and bring Sir Percival here again with fresh causes of complaint— ’ ‘So much the better!’ I cried out, passionately. ‘Who cares for his causes of complaint? Are you to break your heart to set his mind at ease? No man under heaven deserves these sacrifices from us women. Men! They are the enemies of our innocence and our peace – they drag us away from our parents’ love and our sisters’ friendship – they take us body and soul to themselves, and fasten our helpless lives to theirs as they chain up a dog to his kennel. And what does the best of them give us in return?’
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Mr. Fairlie Quotes in The Woman in White
The The Woman in White quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Fairlie or refer to Mr. Fairlie. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The First Epoch: Part 2, Chapter 3
Quotes
As matters stood, my client – Miss Fairlie not having yet completed her twenty-first year – was her guardian, Mr. Frederick Fairlie. I wrote by that day’s post and put the case before him exactly as it stood; not only urging every argument I could think of to induce him to maintain the clause as I had drawn it, but stating to him plainly the mercenary motive which was at the bottom of the opposition to my settlement of the twenty thousand pounds. The knowledge of Sir Percival’s affairs which I had necessarily gained when the provisions of the deed on his side were submitted in due course to my examination, had but too plainly informed me that the debts on his estate were enormous, and that his income, though nominally a large one, was, virtually, for a man in his position, next to nothing.
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The First Epoch: Part 3, Chapter 2
Quotes
‘It will only involve us in more trouble and more confusion,’ she said. ‘It will set you and my uncle at variance, and bring Sir Percival here again with fresh causes of complaint— ’ ‘So much the better!’ I cried out, passionately. ‘Who cares for his causes of complaint? Are you to break your heart to set his mind at ease? No man under heaven deserves these sacrifices from us women. Men! They are the enemies of our innocence and our peace – they drag us away from our parents’ love and our sisters’ friendship – they take us body and soul to themselves, and fasten our helpless lives to theirs as they chain up a dog to his kennel. And what does the best of them give us in return?’
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