So I’m about 500 pages into The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins and loving it but there’s something that’s really bothering and distracting me.
I’m at the point where Marian, Walter, and Laura are hiding in London and trying to figure out how to defeat Fosco and Percival. The problem is the Count’s plan is apparently spotless and there’s no proof that he did anything. But what about the message he wrote down in Marian’s journal after she spied on them in the rain? She copies down word for word the two men scheming and basically laying out their plan for us, and then Fosco jumps in and says “you’ve transcribed our conversation perfectly, and also you are exactly right about everything. Signed, Fosco.” Is there any reason to assume this message isn’t still in her journal? We know from later on that Walter has read the incriminating account, so why wouldn’t they have basically a written confession from the Count? Am I missing something? When Walter goes to the lawyer who basically says “sorry but it’s your word against his and you sound crazy,” why couldn’t Walter provide the confession that the Count wrote in Marian’s journal? I need to know what’s going on here, it’s seriously affecting my enjoyment of the last part of the book. Cheers!
by spunsocial