“He found nothing but a bright ring of golden hair, of that glittering hue which is so rarely seen except upon the head of a child–a sunny lock which curled as naturally as the tendril of a vine; and was very opposite in texture, if not different in hue, to the soft, smooth tress which the landlady at Ventnor had given to George Talboys after his wife’s death.” (160).
The disappearance of George Talboys has stirred up many unanswered questions regarding his whereabouts, family life, and especially his now deceased wife. When the reader first obtains knowledge of the death of Helen, that right there is a mystery within itself. Grief-stricken George wants a momentum of his late wife, and is given a lock of hair wrapped in silver paper (44). “This is the dear hair that I have kissed so often when her head lay upon my shoulder. But it always had a rippling wave in it then, and now it seems smooth and straight.” (45.)
Clearly, the two different locks of hair don’t match up in texture and well as color. Yet, they are suppose to have come from the same woman. Technically, we can’t know for sure which strand of hair really belongs to Helen, or if either belong to her at all. It seems like the golden lock found in between the book pages would belong to Helen, yet since it was hidden away, but it could belong to another female. We do not know for sure. I have many unanswered questions surrounding this issue. Who do the strands of hair belong to? Who are the two different women? Could they both be from Helen? (Which is doubtful.)
I also wanted to mention that in my mind, I thought of a correlation between the blonde, curled lock of hair found in between the book pages, and the one discovered in Lady Audley’s jewelry chest. Both hairs have similar characteristics. Could there be a connection between Lady Audley and George Talboys with the hair? Lady Audley’s hidden lock was probably that of a baby’s, and the same is mentioned in the quote about George’s hidden hair. What is the meaning of this?
I think that this passage hints at Lady Audley’s secret. She should not have had much of a relationship with Helen Talboys, yet she had a lock of her hair. This is an oddly personal item to carry, which could indicate that Helen Talboys did not die of natural causes, but rather, was murdered by Lady Audley. Another possibility is that Helen Talboys faked her death, and Lady Audley is her alter ego. Whatever the case, it seems that Lady Audley is heavily involved in the death of Helen Talboys.