The Woman in White: The First Epoch: Part 3, Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Marian and Laura are back at Limmeridge House and Marian writes in her diary that her fears have come true; a date has been fixed for the wedding before the end of the year. While they were away in Yorkshire, Sir Percival wrote to Mr. Fairlie and told him that, because of some renovations which need to be carried out on his house in Hampshire, he would like to fix a date for the wedding so that the couple can be settled before this long-term project begins. Mr. Fairlie, therefore, recalls Marian to Limmeridge so that she may negotiate the date with Sir Percival and so that Mr. Fairlie does not have to go to the trouble of arranging it.

Just as Marian is about to meet with Sir Percival, Laura momentarily loses her nerve and begs Marian not to set the date for the wedding too soon. Marian says that she will be delighted to postpone the wedding, and that this is a woman’s right. However, Laura holds her back and implores Marian to do her best to please Sir Percival; after all, Laura says, she has caused him so much trouble already. Marian becomes enraged and cries furiously that men tear women away from their loved ones and families and then expect women to think of their peace of mind and the trouble their wives are causing them. Laura soothes Marian, however, and tells her that it is too late and there is no point putting off the inevitable.

Before Marian leaves the room, Laura asks her falteringly about a letter she received while they were in Yorkshire. Although Laura does not say it, Marian knows she refers to the letter from Walter announcing his departure. Laura begs Marian not to tell Walter the date of her wedding and Marian conceals from her sister that, even if she did write to Walter again, he would not receive the letter on board his ship or in the heart of the South American jungle where his expedition has taken him.

Furious about the position that Laura has been placed in, and her inability to do anything to prevent the wedding, Marian storms to Mr. Fairlie’s room, bursts inside and shouts at him that Laura agrees to the proposed date—the 22nd of December—then rushes out of the room once more.

The morning after these events, Marian reads Walter’s letter once more and wonders whether she should burn it because it contains evidence about his love for Laura and his interactions with Anne Catherick. She is concerned about his reports of being followed in London and his final note, which insists that the “mystery” of Anne Catherick is not yet cleared up. In his letter, he implores Marian to do her best to solve it if she ever has the opportunity. Marian decides, in the end, to burn the letter.

Preparations commence for Laura’s wedding and Laura submits to them all with a remote and despondent resignation. Marian thinks sadly about how different Laura would be if she were getting ready to marry Walter instead of Sir Percival. They receive regular updates from Sir Percival about the renovation of his house and his plans to take Laura on a tour of Rome once they are married. Marian knows that she cannot go with them but hopes that the traveling will be good for Laura and bring her renewed hope for the future. Marian feels strange writing about Laura’s wedding, as though she is not writing about a wedding at all, but about a death.

Laura brightens up temporarily at the prospect of the honeymoon tour but is distraught when she learns that Marian will not go with her. She begs Marian to come but Marian wisely insists that, if she upsets Sir Percival before the wedding, he may not let the sisters live together once Laura is his wife. In a hasty note, Marian says that she always writes negatively about Sir Percival and wonders why she is so prejudiced against him. Perhaps Walter’s bias as a jaded lover and Anne Catherick’s letter have turned her mind unfairly against him. She resolves to try harder to get along with him and see him in a positive light.

As December progresses, the family prepare for the wedding, which will take place in the village church and will be a small private affair with very few guests. Sir Percival arrives on the 17th of December and brings Laura several pieces of jewelry for a wedding present. Marian notices that Laura has developed a dread of being alone or unoccupied. Sir Percival perceives her energy as excitement about the wedding, but Marian can see that her sister is putting on an act and thinks it is horrible to watch.

Marian continues her efforts to write only positive things about Sir Percival in her diary. She notes that he is extremely handsome—although she is not attracted to him—and notes that his only flaws seem to be a habit of snapping at the servants and a constant restlessness which puts her on edge.

Marian wakes up the next morning feeling low, and goes for a walk to clear her head. On her way, she meets Sir Percival, who is marching briskly along. He tells her that he has been to Todd’s Corner to enquire after Anne Catherick again. He asks Marian if, by any chance, Walter has heard anything of her. Marian says no and notes that Sir Percival speaks as though he is vexed by this but looks very relieved. Marian tries to convince herself that this is even more evidence of Sir Percival’s virtue—that he is so determined to find a lost, vulnerable woman even when he is preparing to marry another.

Marian writes that she is shocked again by Sir Percival’s good nature. She asks him if she will be permitted to live with him and Laura in their new home, and Sir Percival answers enthusiastically that she should. Sir Percival tells Laura and Marian that they will spend part of their honeymoon tour with his friend Count Fosco, the husband of Laura’s aunt, Madame Fosco.

Marian is pleased to hear this, as she feels that, perhaps, the friendship between Sir Percival and Count Fosco will heal the family rift between Laura and her aunt. She remembers her aunt—now Madame Fosco—as an outspoken and vivacious woman and wonders if her husband has calmed her at all. She is quite embarrassed that Laura’s father objected to Count Fosco simply because he is foreign and wonders what sort of man he is. All she knows about him is that he once saved Sir Percival’s life when Sir Percival was attacked in Rome, and that this was the basis of their friendship. She tells herself, determinedly, that she is sure to like him if he is a friend of Sir Percival’s, whom she is making a great effort to view as a friend.

Marian’s good intentions towards Sir Percival collapse, and she opens her diary to write that she hates him. She decides this when a number of cards arrive addressed, not to Laura, but to the future Lady Glyde. While Laura is opening them, Sir Percival whispers something in her ear which stops Laura in her tracks and makes her turn pale. Witnessing this, Marian can no longer suppress her hatred of him.

As the wedding draws closer, Marian feels her own anxieties—and the anxieties of those around her—increase. She confides in her diary that she has maintained a wild, desperate notion that something will—must—happen to prevent the wedding. Strangely enough, she believes that Sir Percival suspects this too; his agitation increases, and he questions servants who come to the house about their intentions. Laura and Marian remain very gloomy, certain that Laura’s marriage will bring about a terrible separation between them.

On the night before the wedding, Marian looks in on Laura while she is sleeping and thinks, sadly, how “friendless” Laura is despite her fortune and position in society. She also thinks of poor Walter, far away on a ship somewhere, and wishes that he was there to help them. The next morning Laura seems calm and prepared. The marriage flies by in a blur and, after Laura and Sir Percival have left, Marian sets her diary aside, exhausted from crying.