The section that I chose to close read was Marian’s diary entry for December 20th, beginning with the line “I hate Sir Percival!” (191). What I wish to focus on is the interpretation of the moment in which Laura first sees her name with Sir Percival’s last name attached to it and her reaction.
“Last night, the cards for the married couple were sent home. Laura opened the packet, and saw her future name in print, for the first time. Sir Percival looked over her shoulder familiarly at the new card which had already transformed Miss Fairlie into Lady Glyde — smiled with the most odious self-complacency — and whispered something in her ear. I don’t know what it was — Laura has refused to tell me — but I saw her face turn to such a deadly whiteness that I thought she would have fainted. He took no notice of the change: he seemed to be barbarously unconscious that he had said anything to pain her.” (191).
Upon first reading I thought that it was rather clear what Sir Percival might have said to Laura. Considering the discussion between Laura and Marian only a few pages earlier where Marian tells us that, “She has learnt her hard, her inevitable lesson. The simple illusions of her girlhood are gone” (186) I made the assumption that what Sir Percival whispered was of a sexual nature, something to connect Laura’s new title with her new role in his life. I also thought that it might be something sexual in nature because of Laura’s refusal to repeat it to Marian. I saw this as a moment of foreshadowing the change in roles that occurs between Marian and Laura post-marriage, as Laura upon her return from the honeymoon refuses to share the problems in her marriage with her sister as a means of protecting her. However, upon further thought, I do think that a more complex reading of this section can be seen when considering the marital laws at the time.
I think that it is very important in this section to consider the phrase used to describe Laura’s impending transition into marriage, “the new card which had already transformed Miss Fairlie into Lady Glyde” (191). In the Victiorian period, when a woman married she ceased to exist as an individual and became completely the property of her husband. I think that by phrasing this as Miss Fairlie becoming Lady Glyde with the exclusion of her first name it is acting as a symbol for this loss of individuality that would occur upon her marriage to Sir Percival. When considering this reading of the text, it is entirely possible then that Sir Percival did not say anything sexual to her at all, but rather he might have said something in reference to his soon to be ownership of her, and that the concept of losing herself in this unwanted marriage is what shook Laura to the core. Thus, her reluctance to share her future husband’s words with her sister was not to prevent her from knowing her husbands carnal thoughts about her, but instead to prevent Marian’s further anger at him, as she has been throughout the novel very much a feminist figure.
I, too, took his whispered comments to be something sexual, likely perverted. Sir Percival strikes me as a total creep, someone who would likely whisper something equally creepy, particularly once Laura has no means of reproach or any way to escape from whatever things he intends to do with her. As she lost her identity in marriage, she lost her ability to fight back against Percival’s intentions though she was likely strongly opposed to them. At this point marital rape was not even a term used, and it is likely that even if that is what Laura held back from Marian, it wouldn’t have garnered any kind of response. Following the wedding, Laura would have no identity of her own and no voice; she would be Percival’s marionette. I do support your second reading, in the Victorian context, but in the 2015 context, I think it would be more likely a disgusting perverted comment rather than something about his ownership of her.
I also had the same reaction to this passage. What I find interesting about Laura’s adverse reaction to losing her own identity is that she doesn’t have much of an identity in the first place. As we discussed in class, Laura’s character is very bland. She possesses extensive beauty and charm, but beyond that we don’t see much of a personality. She seems to be a vessel in which people place their desires. For someone with so little personality, it is interesting to see her become so agitated by the idea of losing her own self.