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The First Epoch: Part 1, Chapter 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Woman in White, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Evidence and Law
Morality, Crime, and Punishment
Identity and Appearance
Marriage and Gender
Class, Industry, and Social Place
Summary
Analysis
Walter’s spirits are revived when he sees Pesca. Walter knows that something must have happened because Pesca has tracked him down at his mother’s house, but the Professor is so excited that it is impossible to get an explanation from him. Walter greets his mother and sister, Sarah, and notes that, while his mother is charmed by Pesca, Sarah seems to disapprove of his enthusiasm. Walter thinks it is strange that his mother is older and yet more open-minded than Sarah, who is young and yet very conventional.
Sarah disapproves of Pesca because of his excitability and enthusiasm, which is at odds with British standards of propriety and social etiquette. While older people are stereotypically more conventional and traditional than their children, Walter’s mother defies this stereotype and is more open-minded and less concerned about propriety than Sarah.
Themes
Sarah cleans up the remains of a cup which Pesca has knocked over in his rush to get to the door and Walter’s mother tells him that Pesca has some exciting news which he could barely contain until Walter’s arrival. Pesca, meanwhile, drags a chair into the center of the room and stands on it to make his announcement. He tells Walter that, while working as a teacher of literature for a rich family, he has heard of a position as a drawing master with another family and has recommended Walter for the job.
Pesca is dramatic and theatrical in temperament and unable to conform to the rules of British propriety, which required people to conceal their emotions. Instead, Pesca creates a scene in his excitement, knocking over a cup and moving furniture around. He has found Walter a job (something he knows he needs) to show his gratitude for Walter saving his life.
Themes
Mrs. Hartright and Sarah are delighted with Pesca’s news. The offer, which Pesca has acquired for him, tells Walter that the job is at Limmeridge House in Cumberland, that he will be employed by a Mr. Fairlie, and that the work will involve teaching two young ladies to draw for four months. Although Walter needs work and is grateful to Pesca, he feels apprehensive and reluctant to take the position. His mother, Sarah, and Pesca are amazed at Walter’s hesitation and insist that the job is a wonderful opportunity and one which his father never had.
For a lower middle-class man, the offer of stable employment with a rich family is an excellent opportunity. Despite this, Walter feels a sense of foreboding about the position. This foreshadows Walter’s role in the sinister plot which unfolds around the inhabitants of Limmeridge House. Walter feels pressure to take the job, however, because he feels he must live up to the memory of his father and, as the man of the family, provide financially for his mother and sister.
Themes
Walter writes to Mr. Fairlie about the job but secretly hopes that he will be turned down. He is disappointed when his application is accepted but, nevertheless, makes preparations to leave London for Limmeridge. On the night before his departure he walks to Hampstead again to bid his mother and Sarah goodbye.
Walter’s anxiety about the position is so strong that he hopes he will be rejected for the job, even though he needs money and is ill because of his unsanitary living conditions in London.
Themes
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