Paper on The Woman in White

Victorian Women in a Detective Fiction Novel Wilkie Collins was born during the Victorian era, which was named after Queen Victoria, and known for the booming industries that emerged and the British empire that held power over one-fourth of the population of the world, and considered to be the largest empire in the history of the world. New forms of entertainment were also emerging, such as blood sports like cock fighting, and also different forms of theater such as the opera and dramatic playwrights. Book series were also becoming popular, and were printed in news papers once a week. Wilkie Collins brought this new exciting genera to the era by writing his series, The Woman in White. The Woman in White defined new characteristics that were dramatic and edgy, and also mysterious. It soon became known as a “detective fiction” genre, which had people rushing to get the next print of the series. It was also popular because it included it’s unique characters Laura Farlie, Marian Halcombe, and Anne Catherick. These three characters each portrayed the role of women during the Victorian society in different ways. Laura, for example, is a quiet, soft spoken woman who is under the influence by the men around her and is marrying a man whom she does not love. Marian, is a strong, independent woman who, although not listened to by most men, speaks her mind and does what she knows is the right thing to do. Anne Catherick is known also in the book as “the Woman in White.” She is forced by men to live in an insane asylum against her will because of a secret she never even knew. The father of the english detective novel, Wilkie Collins, presents the contrasting characters of Marian Halcombe and Laura Fairlie to portray the status of women in the Victorian society while also establishing the criteria of the detective fiction genera.“This is the story of what a Woman’s patience can endure, and what a Man’s resolution can achieve. (Collins 9)” The role of women during