Marian's Oppression

Interestingly, the novel is spilt not only into chapters but also by narrators. Having given a vague outline of the novel I am going to deal with two main aspects which I believe is worth contemplating about and also because they complement each other.

They are - oppression of women and the ill treatment of mentally challenged people during the Victorian Era. “This is the story of what a Woman’s patience can endure and what a Man’s resolution can achieve” The story begun by Walter Hartright , (Part 1 line 1).The very first line somewhat suggests that the novel might be on the patience and endurance a woman has and about what a Man’s determination could lead to. No doubt, as the novel unfurls we get to know about the distressed

The devoted Marian is of the belief that women got to take matters into their hands to defend their interests since the men around them are mostly dysfunctional, careless and cruel. Marian is a proto-feminist who deeply resents the tyranny and the injustice of the patriarchal order. However, it will be wrong if we generalise the whole lot. Hartright did not fit into the stereotype of the patriarchal Victorian man; he in fact shows a different side of their sex which was quite interesting to find out. Anne Catherick (the lady in white) is described by most of the people in the story as being mentally underdeveloped and strange in her conduct. However, it was not so. During the first meet with Hartwright he describes her as “ all I could discern distinctly by the moonlight was a colourless, youthful face, meagre and sharp to look at about the cheeks and chin; large, grave , wistfully attentive eyes; nervous, uncertain lips; and light hair of a pale, brownish-yellow hue. There was nothing wild, nothing immodest in her manner.” These lines clearly indicate that she didn’t fit into the “mentally

No doubt, her behaviour was indeed odd but no, she wasn’t a lunatic. Yet another incident that can be taken into account was her letter to Laura warning her against marrying Percival Glyde (her fiancée). But sadly everyone took to Glyde’s story over Anne’s warning, because after all the letter was from a “lunatic”. Mrs, Fairlie, Mrs. Clemens and Laura Fairle all believed that there is something slightly abnormal in Anne’s emotional state. When Percival suspects that Anne is aware of his secret, he takes advantage of her disturbed emotional state and imprisons her in the asylum. However, Walter Hartright believes there is nothing wild in her conduct and therefore he believes that she should not be imprisoned in the asylum (yet again distinguishing him from the rest). Anne has herself suffered much in her life. From an illegitimate child born to a heartless, uncaring and tyrannical mother; to a person who suffers wrongful imprisonment in the asylum and great emotional crisis, Anne has faced it