While Anne Catherick is initially described by Hartright as appearing modest rather than sexual, there is nevertheless something sexual about their connection. Anne originally catches Hartright’s attention by touching his shoulder. The word “touch” is emphasized several times, as Anne tells Hartright “I was obliged to steal after you, and touch you” (25). Hartright immediately emphasizes her word choice by pointing out the oddness of how she caught his attention– “Steal after me, and touch me? Why not call to me? Strange, to say the least of it” (25). Mere sentences later, Hartright uses “touch” in an emotional context: “The loneliness and helplessness of the woman touched me” (25). While “touch” in this instance refers to invoking sympathy, the repeated usage of “touch” suggests that this traditionally feminine image of a helpless woman is an image Hartright is physically attracted to.
In the graveyard, Anne touches Hartright’s shoulder once more, and Hartright describes it as “a welcome interruption to be roused by” (97). “Welcome” suggests Hartright has a desire for her to touch him, or at least he enjoys it when she does. Further, following the line of thought that Victorian novels are always talking about sex in subtle, round-about ways, the sexual connotations of the word “roused” seem to very intentionally imply that Hartright is sexually aroused when Anne touches him.
Interestingly, Anne’s touch is also something that Hartright associates with fear. The emphasis on Heartright’s bodily feelings of terror, such as “petrified me from head to foot,” emphasize this connection between sexual attraction and fear. Her touches are always unexpected– “stealthy and sudden”– expressing the unexpectedness of a modest-looking woman provoking such sexual feelings (97). Anne’s description as a modest-looking woman, dressed in all white (a color associated with purity and chastity), and her fragile mental state all emulate traditional ideas of femininity. Hartright’s attraction to this “weak” womanly image suggests an idea that is terrifying and dangerous to men. No matter how innocent a woman looks, she can still gain sexual power over him.
Considering Anne Catherick’s resemblance to Laura Fairlie, and Hartright’s intense attraction towards her, this further complicates Anne Catherick’s touch. Is it an attraction connected to that fear, or is it inherently connected with her looks? Is it just her features of pure Victorian femininity? (Or, as you suggest, is it a combination?) Additionally, the kind of objectification that Anne is subject to throughout Hartright’s perception of her makes your point more striking. She is connected with the “asylum” she escaped from, linking her to an altered mental state that often experiences dehumanization and “othering” by “sane” society, to start. Additionally, her ghostly quirks such as her all-white outfit, her pale glow in moonlight, and her stealth that you mention in your response render her more of a gothic concept than a woman. Hartright consistently refers to her as a “creature.” While he likely means to compare her, sympathetically, to a prey animal based on her mysterious nature and jumpiness, he also suggests by doing it repeatedly that she is less human, more animal or thing.