Wilkie collins’s the woman in white: the portrayal and identity of women in victorian era

Abstract

Wilkie Collins is an English sensation author and pioneer of detective fiction; he is renowned for his mystery and narrative technique. This study examines and portray the Victorian Age women and how the society’s expectations modified their identity and oppressed them till attaining their desire through Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White novel. As in the Victorian era, this novel portrays the women are considered as subordinate and inferior to men who are considered to preserve socioeconomic empowerment. The patriarchal and gender restrictions that most Victorian women overcome to become independent. This paper evaluates the life of Laura Fairlie and Marian Halcombe who are the leading female characters in the novel. They suffered from internal and external interferences and challenges, especially from their family members and society to expose their identity.