Tag: Freud

The Nuclear Family and its perversions in The Woman in White

Not one family dynamic in Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White fits into any definition of “the nuclear family” – that is, a married mother and father with children, residing in the same home. Laura, Marian, and Mr. Fairlie reside in the same home, unmarried and related to each other more distantly- when Laura marries, she and Sir Percival have no children, and neither do Count and Countess Fosco. After Laura/Anne’s death, she lives unmarried as siblings with Walter and Marian. Mrs. Catherick “raises” Anne as a single mother. And, as we learn about Sir Percival, he is not even really a “sir” at all. In Mrs. Catherick’s letter, she states “his father and mother had always lived as man and wife – none of the few people who were acquainted with them ever supposed them to be anything else” (530), indicating that his parents were not legally married and therefore he was born out of wedlock. Furthermore, she asserts his mother’s familial structure as far from nuclear, recalling “his mother had been living there just before she met with his father – living under her maiden name; the truth being that she was really a married woman; married in Ireland, where her husband had ill-used her and had afterwards gone off with some other person” (531). Thus, Sir Percival’s mother was not only living as a wife to a man she was not legally married to but was engaging in bigamy by being already married.  

The fact that Sir Percival’s history of perversion of the nuclear family dynamic is the “Secret” that serves as the catalyst for the entire novel suggests that the perversions of the family dynamics of every other character are equally important in understanding the novel. The disorder that comes with the establishment of non-nuclear families is a driving conflict of the novel overall; the dynamics between characters because of their relation (or lack thereof) to each other causes problems. For example, Mr. Fairlie’s distancing of Laura because although he is her legal guardian, she is not his daughter, causes several issues in the initial marriage proposal, as well as later, in failing (or refusing) to recognize her after her supposed “death”. Additionally, there is the added layer of members of a family unit having multiple roles within that unit. For example, Walter, Marian, and Laura are living together as siblings, while Walter and Laura are in love; and though Marian and Laura are in fact legitimately sisters, they have a running theme throughout the novel of having a level of intimacy that indicates potentially something more.  

The fact that the majority of these disorderly family dynamics are kept hidden or secreted in the novel harkens back to Freud’s interpretation of symptoms of neurosis in his “Remembering, Repeating, and Working Through”. His perception of repetition comes from the idea that a specific habit is created by the brain and body working together to divert attention from an unsavory secret, memory, or desire (150). Therefore, particularly in the case of Percival Glyde, his neurotic and obessive tendencies to protect his reputation, to find Anne Catherick, to commit to the plot of taking Laura’s inheritance, and to control those around him reflects this need to cover up the Secret that he is hiding, which is the disorder of his family situation. This can also be reflected in Walter, Marian, and Laura’s living situation, as Walter’s paranoia that they are being watched and followed, and fear of their disordered dynamic being discovered, prompts him to obsessively communicate with Marian via letters whilst he is away.  

Walter Hartright Tries to Sigmund Freud His Way into Solving a Mystery

Our first narrator in the novel, Walter Hartright, is completely obsessed with solving the mystery of the Woman in White. Both scenes in which he encounters her involve some level of psychoanalysis on the part of Walter. The motivating factor in his conversations with the woman in white (revealed to be Anne Catherick) involve understanding her past- who she is, where she came from, and what has happened to her to make her act the way she does. In “Remembering, Repeating, and Working Through”, Sigmund Freud outlines the phases of psychoanalytic treatment which lead to the discovery of the point of origin for a patient’s symptoms. This begins by encouraging the patient to remember forgotten memories, which leads to the patient’s repetition of past events or erratic behaviors and finally allowing them time to work through and process these sensations, overcoming the symptoms (Freud). In a way, Walter Hartright practices psychoanalysis in his observations of all characters, but most predominantly in conversations with Anne. By pressing her with questions meant to unlock her memory, leading her to produce repetitive and erratic behaviors, Walter is able to piece together parts of her story.  

Walter’s interest in discovering the mystery of Anne Catherick begins upon their first meeting on the road to London in the middle of the night. Walter immediately wants to know more about her, automatically acting under the assumption that there is a truth beneath the surface that is hidden. He comes to this conclusion by analyzing the way she answers his questions; when he inquires about her destination, she repeatedly asks him “not to interfere with me”, asking five times very quickly “will you promise?”, until he responds with “yes” (26). Walter reads this behavior as mysterious because of its rapid repetition and panicked nature, leading him to dig further into psychoanalysis of Anne’s character as he attempts to discover the source of her panic. When he meets Anne for the second time in the graveyard, Walter further pushes his psychoanalytic investigation, asking more and more pressing questions until Anne begins to exhibit behaviors triggered by memories. When he questions her about Sir Percival Glyde, he reads her reaction to the name as a symptom- “the shriek at the name, the reiterated look of hatred and fear that instantly followed, told all” (105). He believes that his question has triggered some repressed memory of Anne’s, her reaction to which will be able to tell him what he needs to know both about her character and about Sir Percival’s. Walter’s tendency towards psychoanalysis is reflected in his interactions with several other characters, but most prominently towards Anne, emphasizing the intrigue and mystery of her character that creates the sensation of the novel.  

Freud & The Sensation Novel

Freud says, “At the same time one willingly leaves untouched as much of the patient’s personal freedom as is compatible with these restrictions, nor does one hinder him from carrying out unimportant intentions, even if they are foolish; one does not forget that it is in fact only through his own experience and mishaps that a person learns sense.” (Freud, 153). This passage concerns the vastness of human will and our capabilities to act based on individual experience. Meaning, Humans learn critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence by keeping track of their senses, in connection to what they are feeling. The language in my chosen passage from the novel uses repetition of the phrases “Nature” and “human interest” more than twice in its entirety. The word “Nature” is said 4 times in this passage, which made me think of autonomy and how each individual is fueled by their own interests, heightened by our senses in literature. The concept of the sensation novel is evident in this excerpt because the point of view of perception is independent of nature and perceiving one’s surroundings. 

Diving deeper into the text, Collins writes, “Those lives are most exclusively passed amid the ever-changing wonders of sea and land are also those who are most universally insensible to every aspect of Nature not directly associated with the human interest of their calling. Our capacity of appreciating the beauties of the earth we live on is, in truth, one of the civilized accomplishments that we all learn as an Art; and, more, that very capacity is rarely practiced by any of us except when our minds are most indolent and most unoccupied.” (WIW, 30). I found this quote quite compelling, concerning Freud’s idea of “obsessional neurosis,” (149) getting rid of different “thought-connections” involving phantasies, emotional impulses, experiences, and senses. The sensation novel is comprised of ‘obsessional neurosis” and the five senses to make sense of who we are and our relationship to the world around us. Art is Nature, Nature is Art, and Art is created by Nature which can be manipulated by the human.