« You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie Collins

When Wilkie Collins launched the « sensation novel » with the publication of The Woman in White in 1859, he reworked late eighteenth-century gothic motifs and plot-patterns, and adapted them to the mid-Victorian modern world. In The Woman in White, mysterious, secretive and dangerous characters abou...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Laurence Taleirach-Vielmas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée 2008-12-01
Series:Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/cve/8511
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832581250187001856
author Laurence Taleirach-Vielmas
author_facet Laurence Taleirach-Vielmas
author_sort Laurence Taleirach-Vielmas
collection DOAJ
description When Wilkie Collins launched the « sensation novel » with the publication of The Woman in White in 1859, he reworked late eighteenth-century gothic motifs and plot-patterns, and adapted them to the mid-Victorian modern world. In The Woman in White, mysterious, secretive and dangerous characters abound, from the ghostly virgin dressed in white who wanders at night and threatens to reveal secrets, to the Italian count and the British baronet who incarcerate the heroine under her half-sister’s name in a lunatic asylum in order to inherit her fortune. However, behind the domestic plot, anxieties related to foreigners and to the fears of foreign invasion seep through. The discovery of Sir Percival Glyde’s real identity or the recovery of Laura Fairlie’s identity fade behind the mysteries revolving around Collins’s modern villain, Count Fosco and many other Italian spies who endanger the British nation. This paper examines the fears and anxieties on which Collins’s novel hinges. From mere domestic secrets to anxieties related to national security, Collins describes a modern world ruled by suspicions, and constructs his characters as paranoid patients.
format Article
id doaj-art-96dfafd773864705bef48759382a7399
institution Kabale University
issn 0220-5610
2271-6149
language English
publishDate 2008-12-01
publisher Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
record_format Article
series Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
spelling doaj-art-96dfafd773864705bef48759382a73992025-01-30T10:22:34ZengPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéeCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens0220-56102271-61492008-12-016710.4000/cve.8511« You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie CollinsLaurence Taleirach-VielmasWhen Wilkie Collins launched the « sensation novel » with the publication of The Woman in White in 1859, he reworked late eighteenth-century gothic motifs and plot-patterns, and adapted them to the mid-Victorian modern world. In The Woman in White, mysterious, secretive and dangerous characters abound, from the ghostly virgin dressed in white who wanders at night and threatens to reveal secrets, to the Italian count and the British baronet who incarcerate the heroine under her half-sister’s name in a lunatic asylum in order to inherit her fortune. However, behind the domestic plot, anxieties related to foreigners and to the fears of foreign invasion seep through. The discovery of Sir Percival Glyde’s real identity or the recovery of Laura Fairlie’s identity fade behind the mysteries revolving around Collins’s modern villain, Count Fosco and many other Italian spies who endanger the British nation. This paper examines the fears and anxieties on which Collins’s novel hinges. From mere domestic secrets to anxieties related to national security, Collins describes a modern world ruled by suspicions, and constructs his characters as paranoid patients.https://journals.openedition.org/cve/8511
spellingShingle Laurence Taleirach-Vielmas
« You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie Collins
Cahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens
title « You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie Collins
title_full « You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie Collins
title_fullStr « You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie Collins
title_full_unstemmed « You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie Collins
title_short « You don’t suspect me of doing anything wrong, do you ? » Peurs, soupçons et paranoïa dans The Woman in White de Wilkie Collins
title_sort you don t suspect me of doing anything wrong do you peurs soupcons et paranoia dans the woman in white de wilkie collins
url https://journals.openedition.org/cve/8511
work_keys_str_mv AT laurencetaleirachvielmas youdontsuspectmeofdoinganythingwrongdoyoupeurssoupconsetparanoiadansthewomaninwhitedewilkiecollins