The Woman in White: The Second Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

That evening at dinner, Count Fosco is lively and entertaining. Marian remarks that she and Laura are almost as mesmerized by his stories as Madame Fosco is, and that women are unable to resist a man “who knows how to talk to them.” After dinner, she and Laura take a walk through the plantation to the boathouse. It is a still, dreary evening, and a heavy mist hangs over the grounds.

Once at the boathouse, Laura begins to tell Marian about her marriage. She is deeply ashamed and confesses that it has been humiliating to discover that her husband does not care about her. She tells Marian about a day in Rome when she felt affectionate towards Sir Percival and made an effort to connect with him.

They were on a visit to a tomb which was built by a man to commemorate his wife. Laura asked Sir Percival if he would build her a tomb and he callously joked that, if he did, he would “build it with her own money.” Seeing that this upset her, Sir Percival told her that she was hard work and told her to imagine that he had treated her lovingly and paid her compliments. This exchange hardened Laura’s heart against Sir Percival and, after this, she never again prevented herself from thinking about Walter Hartright.

Laura confesses that Sir Percival left her alone a lot during their honeymoon and that she often imagined what it would be like if she were with Walter instead. Marian begs Laura to be discreet. She is worried that they will be overheard, but Laura replies that Sir Percival knows everything, even Walter’s name.

She tells Marian that one day, when they were in Rome, they met a woman in a gallery who asked Laura if she liked drawing. Laura said that she used to, and the woman said that the best drawing master she ever had was a man named Walter Hartright. Laura tried to conceal her embarrassment, but she saw from Sir Percival’s face that he understood everything. When they returned to their hotel room Sir Percival forced her down into a chair and announced that she had spared him the trouble of seeking out the name of her lover for himself and that now, Walter Hartright would be made to pay.

Laura tells Marian that Sir Percival uses this knowledge against her every time they have a disagreement. Marian is heartbroken to hear Laura’s story and regrets that she is the one who sent Walter Hartright away from Limmeridge “for the sake of Sir Percival Glyde.”

Marian begins to cry, and Laura comforts her. After a long while they realized that it has almost grown dark and that they must walk back through the plantation to the house in the gloomy dusk. Just as they make up their minds to leave the boathouse, they see a figure—half concealed in the mist—travel along the bank past the boathouse and vanish into the plantation. They are frightened and cannot tell if the figure is a man or a woman.

Marian eventually convinces Laura to enter the plantation—where the mysterious figure has disappeared and which they must go through to reach the house—and the women cautiously begin their journey home, traveling as fast as they can. At one point, they hear a rustling behind them which sounds like footsteps, and they reach the house shaken by what has occurred.

Marian tells Laura to go straight to her room and begins to make investigations to see if anyone is missing from the house—and if this might be the figure that they saw. She finds Count Fosco and Madame Fosco in the library and is convinced that they have not been out in the plantation, because Count Fosco questions Marian about where she has been. On her way to bed, she meets a servant who confirms that none of the maids have been away from the house, and Marian goes to bed wondering who the strange figure could be.