The Woman in White
By: Wilkie Collins
- Ali Emre Nebiler -
The original story is detailed and long.
I summarized it as much as I can.
Walter Hartright - a drawing teacher
Professor Pesca - a friend of Walter Hartright
Anne Catherick - the woman in white
Mrs Catherich - Anne's mother
Mrs Clements - a friend of Anne
Laura Fairlie - after marriage Lady Glyde
Marian Halcombe - Laura's half sister
Frederick Fairlie (Mr Fairlie) - Laura's uncle, owner of Limmeridge House
Mr Gilmore and Mr Kyrle - Lawyers of Fairlie family.
Sir Percival Glyde - Owner of Blackwater Park
Count Fosco - an Italien nobleman
Countess Fosco - the Count's wife, Laura's Aunt Eleanor
Mrs Michelson , Mrs Rubelle , Mr Dawson, Fanny...
On the last day of July, he wanted to see his mother and his sister, Sarah, in Hampstead because he got bored of London. When he arrived to Hampstead, his friend Pesca also was there.
The story begins with Walter Hartright. He is an art teacher works in London.
Pesca was a language teacher who had left Italy for political reasons. They became best friends after Walter saved his life while swimming.
While they were all in the sitting room, Pesca announced the wonderful news. He said that a qualified drawing teacher was wanted by Mr Fairlie of Limmeridge House. With his family's oppinion, Walter agreed to apply for the job.
Four days later, Mr Fairlie accepted his services so Walter went for a journey to Cumberland. He started to walk in the dark night. After he turned his way to London road, he felt a cold hand touching his shoulder.
It was a white dressed woman walking in the night.
Woman: "Is that the road into London?"
Walter: ...
Woman: "Did you hear me?"
Walter: "Yes, that's the road. Please excuse me - I was surprised by your sudden appereance."
Woman: "I heard you coming and hide to see what kind of men you are. May I trust you?"
Walter: "Tell me how I can help you and if I can, I will.
Woman: "Oh thank you. You are very kind. Can you help me to get a cab or carriage? And Will you promise not to interfere with me?
Walter: "Yes, I promise."
After a while walking she asked suddenly:
Woman: "Do you know any Baronet in London?"
Walter: "No."
She relieved and said she had been cruelly used by a Baronet she would not name. And futher when she learned Walter was going to Cumberland she said:
"Ah! I wish I was going there too. I was once happy in Limmeridge House."
Walter shocked but couldn't learned more because a cab came over. She thanked again and went away.
Ten minutes later, two men passed by in another cab and stopped near a policeman. They asked for a woman in white clothes and said she had escaped from an asylum. That made Walter question himself.
Soon he arrived to the Limmeridge House
He met with members of Limmeridge House in the morning. They were three person living in the house:
- Marian Halcombe, Laura's half-sister
- Laura Fairlie
- and Mr Frederick Fairlie, Laura's ill uncle.
Walter met with Marian first and had breakfast. He learnt that Mr Fairlie had a mysterious illness of the nerves and never left his room. He also told his adventure to Marian, she showed an eager interest. She liken the woman in white, to a woman that her mother mentioned before in their letters.
In the same day, Walter met with Laura and he thought that he had seen her before. They had dinner together and after dinner, while Laura was walking in garden, Walter and Marian were in sitting room. Marian read the old letters of her mother and found a clue. It has been written that there was a servant's girl named Anne Catherick. It also said she looks like Laura a lot and like to wear the old white clothes of Laura.
After reading this, both Walter and Marian looked at the Laura in garden. For a moment, Walter saw the similarity between them. In the garden standing and shining with the moonlight, the woman in white. Marian and Walter decided to keep it as a secret.
Days passed and Walter fell in love with Laura. It was an impossible love because Laura has promised to her father before his death that she will marry with a gentleman. Walter learnt it from Marian and decided to leave the house before marriage.
Marian said that she will marry with Sir Percival Glyde.
Walter: "Is he a Baronet?"
Marian: "Yes."
It was an another connection with Anne Catherick
Some days later, an unsigned letter came for Laura, says not to marry with Sir Percival Glyde. To find the writer, they examined the village. They found something at village school. One of the students said that he saw a ghost, ghost of Mrs Fairlie next to her grave. Walter thought that it was Anne Catherick so he went to grave. He found the grave clean so someone must cleaned it lately.
He went there again and found out it was Anne Catherick with one friend, Mrs Clements. He asked gently some questions but after he mentioned the Baronet's name she gave suck a scream of terror. After that, two women left the grave.
In the same day, Walter quit his job and left the Limmeridge House.
Marian liked Sir Percival Glyde at the first sight. He was kind and great to Laura. He even accepted Laura knowing that she had another love. He also accepted Marian in their house.
The marriage was near and they planned to go to Italy for honeymoon to a friend called Count Fosco.
Getting more closer to marrage made Sir Percival a disgusting percon and Marian hated it. She even tried to change Laura's mind but couldn't.
After their marriage, Marian missed Laura a lot and couldn't get enough information from Laura. She told a little about Sir Percival. They met with Count not in Italy but Austria. She also said that Aunt Elenaur (Countess Fosco) was quieter and more sensible than she had used to be.
Months later, Marian went to Blackwater Park, Sir Percival's family home in Hampshire. The house mentioned in the book like this:
"The house was very old, much of it is very dusty and unused; only one part of the enormous building is confortable enough to live in. The gardens are small and not well kept, and there are so many trees that the house feels shut in by them. I found a path through the trees, which after half a mile brought me to a lake. It was a damp, lonely place. The still dark waters of the lake and the long shadows from the tall trees gave it a gloomy air. Near the lake there was an old boat-house with some seats in it."
Important part of the story takes place in Blackwater Park.
At the first day, Marian learnt from the housekeeper that Mrs Catherick came to Blackwater Park to ask about her daughter Anne. She also wanted the housekeeper not to mention about her to Sir Percival. That means there is something between them.
With enough time Marian and Laura saw the true face of Sir Percival. He married with Laura just for inheritance. Because he was in need of money.
In the inheritance of Mr Fairlie, it said the property and income will be given to Laura. If she dies everything will go to her husband, Sir Percival Glyde.
One night, Marian heard the plan of Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde:
They wanted to kill Laura to get the money.
While Sir Percival was trying to get the money, Anne Catherick was secretly meeting with Marian and Laura. She always referred about a secret that Sir Percival has.
When she got back, she learnt from the housekeeper that Laura had gone with Sir Percival. Count Fosco and Sir Percival told Laura:
"Marian went back to Cumberland. She is waiting you here"
Poor Laura didn't know the truth, that was a lie. She went after Marian but they stopped in Aunt Elenour's house.
Some days later, a letter delivered from Aunt Elenour. It was written that Laura was taken seriously ill when she arrived and died the next day. She would be burried at Limmeridge, in her mother's grave.
One day, Count Fosco chought Laura and Anne while talking. So he and Sir Percival locked her in a room. Marian got so angry that went to Limmeridge House to tell everything to Mr Fairlie. But he didn't care and said nothing. So Marian came back to Blackwater Park.
But that was fake news.
Walter went to Limmeridge House to visit Laura's grave. When he was standing there, two women came. He was pretty sure he know who they are, he started trembling and fainted.
Laura was standing by the gravestone, looking at him over her grave.
The truth was: Count Fosco and Sir Percival put both Anne and Laura to sleep. Then they got Anne to Countess Fosco's house but Anne couldn't stop screaming in fear. A day later she died by her increasing disease. While Anne was at home, Laura was sent to asylum in Anne's white clothes. Marian found her with a letter from asylum
From that time, Walter started investigating the secret of Sir Percival to finish him.
First he got some information about Mrs Catherick from Mrs Clements. Mrs Cathercik had been working in Welmingham Church before.
Then he talked with Anne's mother Mrs Catherick:
She didn't give enough information and answered the questions angrily. When Walter spoke about Sir Percival, she got more angry; especially the part that Walter mentioned their meetings (Mrs Clements told it.) in the vestry of the church.
Walter got suspicious about that place. So he went to the vestry of Welmingham Church. He found the church clerk to open the vestry, looked at the the marriage register.
He found the record of the marriage of Sir Felix Glyde and Cecila Elster of Knowlesbury. Just a usual information. Clerk said the copy of registers is kept by a lawyer in the next village. Walter wanted to see it too.
On the road to Knowlesbury, where the lawyer's office was, he caught by two of Percival's men, managed to get rid of them and finally saw the registers. Walter found out the secret, at the same space of the registers, under the same date, there was no record of the same marriage. That means Sir Percival had no right to the inheritance of Blackwater Park, no right to the rank of Baronet, no right even to the name of Glyde.
To prove it, Walter went back to Welmingham Church and asked the keys of vestry to clerk. Clerk suspected Walter by stoling the keys of vestry because he couldn't find them. Walter ran to the church with clerk. When they arrived, window of the vestry was shining with fire. Inside was Sir Percival, shouting in terror, trying to open the door but he has damaged the lock. A crowd came to help, they searched for something to break the door and found it. By now the flames were shooting up out of the windows and the screams had stopped.
The church wasn't damaged but it was late for
Sir Percival Glyde.
After Percival's death, an unsigned letter came,
it was apparent who wrote it:
Mrs Catherick.
She wrote that there was a hidden relationship between Sir Percival and her. He was giving expensive prizes like gold rings or jeweleries. But he also wanted something from her; the key of the vestry. That's how he entered and wrote his parents' fake marriage record. But she didn't write who is Anne Catherick's father is.
They opened their feelings to each other, a month later, they got married.
With time, Laura got better. Walter was still in love with her and Laura felt the same.
The last problem was Count Fosco. They needed him as a witness, to clarify Laura is alive. One day he came to talk with Marian and wanted her to warn Walter. But Walter was determined about his desicion.
He called for help one of his old friend, Pesca, because he was in Italy too before. They went after Fosco to an opera and managed to got an eye contact. Pesca said he had never seen him but Fosco went white and ran away from them. They ran after him, also a man who has a scar on his face was following Count Fosco.
When Walter asked why did he get scared that much, Pesca was forced to explain his before life. Pesca was in a political society. Pesca thought Count Fosco might had done something wrong to society.
They made a plan and trapped Count. Walter forced him to write the real story so that he could prove Laura is alive. After getting the paper, Walter let Count to leave the city.
But the man with the scar was after him, Walter didn't know why. Later, Pesca told Count Fosco was killed with a knife near a river. Walter was sure the man with scar did it.
Laura's existance was clarified by law. They changed the gravestone as Anne Catherick.
There is only one thing that we didn't say before: