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The Second Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Woman in White, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Evidence and Law
Morality, Crime, and Punishment
Identity and Appearance
Marriage and Gender
Class, Industry, and Social Place
Summary
Analysis
Back in her room, Marian sits up the rest of the night frantically writing down everything that she heard. As the night wears on she begins to shiver, feel hot, and lose track of time. She soon realizes she is growing feverish and that she is going to be ill. The diary trails off into illegible scrawl and is taken up again with a “postscript by a sincere friend.”
Marian grows too ill to write and to coherently describe what is going on around her. The postscript has clearly been written by someone else who has accessed her diary. This is ominous, as Marian’s diary is private and she would not let anyone write in it or read it without permission.
Themes
The postscript is written by Count Fosco and congratulates Marian on the clarity and insightfulness of her diary—which he has read through. He laments that Marian is terribly ill and that he has tried to help the doctor who treats her, but that the doctor refuses his help: “miserable man!” He feels that Marian is so clever and impressive that, in different circumstances, they could have been lovers, but he regrets that her knowledge of his plans will not stop him from executing them.
Count Fosco has gained the upper hand over Marian and Laura, as he now knows everything that they do and all the plans they have made to escape. It is implied that Count Fosco tries to “help” the doctor in order to poison or sedate Marian, and the reader instinctively sides with the doctor, who seems to be protecting her (although this is later called into question, further complicating the issue of the Count’s character). Count Fosco respects Marian’s intellect, but it seems unlikely that he will let these feelings stand between him and his plan to secure Laura’s money. The Count is clearly very confident that he will not be caught, and his intrusion into Marian’s diary feels like a horrifying violation.
Themes
