Role of Marriage in ‘The Woman in White’: Analytical Essay

Collins attributes the destruction of intelligent, independent women, who have the potential to possess prodigious power, to the tool of oppression known as marriage hich when coupled with a catalyst of ‘anxious male imperatives’ (D.A Miller) becomes a lethal weapon utilised to hinder the freedom and individuality of women in society. Although Walter as a lower-middle-class man doesn’t gain power through marriage ‘in the same way or to the same degree’ (Connell and Messerschmidt) as men in higher classes do. Since, ‘patriarchal systems are intertwined with a wide variety of other hierarchal relations e.g., class, race, nation, region, generation, sexual orientation’ (Connell and Messerschmidt). Therefore, it can be argued that women gain power through marriage as not all matrimonies are for acquiring wealth and status but simply, out of choice, for love as Collins depicts through Laura and Walter’s matrimony.

Collin’s portrayal of marriage as the apparatus exerted by patriarchal, Victorian society in hopes of “confining or containing the woman” (D.A. Miller). His view is reinforced by Tyson who argues that ‘women are oppressed by patriarchy conomically, politically, socially, and psychologically; patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which women are oppressed.’ Furthermore, Connell uses the term ‘hegemonic masculinity’ to refer to the pattern of practices that sustain men’s dominance over women, marriage is a practice which is endorsed by the patriarchy as it guarantees the subordination of women. Collins encapsulates these concepts through Laura’s marriage to Sir Percival Glyde, a matrimony which threatens her identity, fortune and even her life. Women’s lack of power is a recurring theme all throughout the novel and was a concern of Collin’s in real life. This theme is conveyed through quotes such as “the lady not being at hand to speak for herself, her guardian had decided, in her absence, on the earliest day mentioned- the twenty-second of December” ,Laura doesn’t even have the power to decide when her own wedding day is going to happen, upon further analysis, Collin’s employs the noun ‘guardian’ to indicate the subordinate ,child-like nature Laura is subjected to .Collin makes it apparent that Laura possesses a desire to break out of the ‘gender role that has been assigned to countless generations of women’(H.Bertens). ‘What traditionally has been called ‘feminine’ is a cultural construction’ (H. Bertens), thus in Victorian society, Laura is expected to be ‘naturally timid, sweet, intuitive, dependent, self-pitying’(H. Bertens). Laura acknowledges that she is treated like a helpless child when she is quoted “You work and get money, Walter, and Marian helps you. Why is there nothing I can do? You will end up liking Marian better than you like me -you will, because I am so helpless! Oh don’t, don’t, don’t treat me like a child!”. Laura wants to feel empowered and like she has a purpose, yet ironically her dramatic whining, “Oh don’t, don’t, don’t” leaves the reader no choice but to perceive her as child-like. Laura’s naive demeanour is exposed through the quote, “Don’t let him part me from Marian, “she cried, with a sudden outbreak of energy. “oh, Mr. Gilmore, pray make it law that Marian is to live with me!”, the fact she begs Mr. Gilmore to make it “law” for Marian to live with her shows just how childish she is but it’s her fear that gives us some insight into just how helpless women in marriage were in this era, it supports the claim that marriage does in fact oppress women’s power in this novel.

Marriage in ‘The Woman in White’ has the power to transform people, alter fates and to expose women to dangerous circumstances, although the novel presents an exaggerated scenario, Sir Percival is willing to murder Laura in order to attain her fortune. Collins cultivates Laura’s marriage to Sir Percival to highlight that while women lose power through marriages, Sir Percival will gain enormously from his marriage with Laura. Similarly, in Jane Austen’s sense of sensibility, marriage revolves around wealth, uniting families and gaining a social status rather than love. If Laura dies, Sir Percival, will get £20,000 and Limmeridge House, this marriage seals Laura’s fate as it gives her future husband a financial incentive to murder her.

Moreover, like many wealthy women in the Victorian era, Laura has no say over who she marries, she is emotionally pressured into marrying Sir Percival on the basis of her father’s dying wish and it was a 19 th century norm that women must obey the wishes of their male relatives. Once Laura is married to Sir Percival, she loses her freedom, she must ask permission even for her sister, Marian, to live with her.

Furthermore, when Marian stands up to Sir Percival in the quote, “Take care how you treat your wife, and how you threaten me, there are laws in England to protect women from cruelty and outrage.” Even though Marian is bold, her words are ultimately hollow as Sir Percival and Count Fosco have all the power in their marriages, Marian can do little to stop Percival from hurting her or Laura.

Collins insinuates that marriage is a social establishment that demolishes women’s power, rights and individual characteristics, this concept is most prevalent through the Fosco’s marriage. Once an outspoken young woman who “advocated for the Rights of Women”, Madame Fosco is transformed into an obedient and unquestioning accomplice for the Count, he has destroyed her independent spirit as well as her sense of self to the point where she has become an extension of him. “As Eleanor Fairlie (ages seven-and-thirty) she was always talking pretentious nonsense… As Madame Fosco (aged three-and-forty), she sits for hours together without saying a word, frozen up in the strangest manner in herself.” This quote demonstrates how marriage is a tradition that facilitates the oppression of women as it strips them of any individuality and power they had prior to the union. The description of Madame Fosco as a young woman mirrors Marian through her outspokenness, however Marian is aware of the perilous nature of marriage for women in the 19 th century consequently she does not plan on getting married. This analysis supports the claim that marriage oppresses women’s power in marriage as if it gave them power, Marian would have been married but by not doing so she risks alienating herself .Best explained by de Beauvoir ,in her most influential book ‘The Second Sex’ , ‘women have been defined by men and that if they attempt to break with this, they risk alienating themselves’. The fact Marian is willing to take such a massive risk, just to avoid marriage, demonstrates how detrimental marriage is to the capacity of power women can possess within this social institution.

From a feminist approach it is easy to see why Collins would want to warn 19 the century women of the dangers of marriage however Collins concludes his novel with a rare symbol, Laura and Walter’s marriage which proves that marriage does in fact give power to women. This alliance serves as a rare icon to 19 th century readers, Collins crafts a relationship built on the foundation of mutual love and respect to influence Victorian era readers, who would have been raised to recreate traditional societal norms, into realising that both women and men are at an advantage when the marriage consists of an equal power dynamic. The beginning sentence of the novel supports my claim, “This is the story of what a woman’s patience can endure, and what a man’s resolution can achieve.” Collins highly implies that man and woman are a team which are supposed to incorporate individual skills into marriage.

Therefore, marriage does give power to women but only when the relationship is created based on mutual love and respect. Although Walter, as a lower-middle-class man, may gain financially by marrying Laura, he proves that he is interested in her and not her wealth through his dedication to her throughout the novel. He even leaves Limmeridge House for Laura to be with her new husband even though he is deeply in love with her and supports her financially after she had lost her fortune and works tirelessly to help her restore her identity and fortune, there is nothing Walter doesn’t do for Laura ,he doesn’t pressure her into marrying him while she is emotionally fragile instead remaining faithful and patient with her till the very end.

Thus, when examining the novel through a feminist lens, it could be argued that “Collins was reifying gender norms and sexual difference in the face of the contemporary breakdown of strict gender differences” (M. Kellen Williams) as although the majority of the marriages in this novel steal the little power women in the 19 th century had, Walter and Laura’s matrimony goes against gender norms and sexual difference as Laura gains more than Walter from it ,although Walter’s devotion to her is treated as a rare occurrence in the novel , he helps her restore her identity and fortune therefore it can be argued that marriage gives power to women rather than oppressing it.

In conclusion, marriage is portrayed as a social institution which oppresses the power women have prior to it for most of the novel, powerful women who act outside of their socially approved roles are eventually restrained and transformed by conventional, patriarchal structures such as marriage moreover the male characters feel threatened by female freedom, consequently, they spend the entirety of the novel trying to confine their female counterparts. However, Collins intentionally saturates this novel with such themes as he was highlighting Victorian gender inequities, not to reinforce them but to educate his readers on the importance of the balance of power between men and women within marriage.