Woman in white by wilkie collins

Anne Catherick
Anne Catherick is the mysterious "woman in white" whom Walter meets in the middle of the night at the beginning of the novel. She always dresses from head to toe in white clothing. Unbeknownst to her, she is the illegitimate child of Laura’s father. It is therefore not surprising that, as Laura’s half-sister, she bears a striking physical resemblance to Laura. Anne’s mysterious appearance in the middle of the night, her white dress, and her resemblance to Laura endow the storyline with an uncanny atmosphere, in keeping with the Gothic literary style of the novel.
Anne is the most pitiable character of the story. She is the unloved and unwanted child of Jane Catherick and Laura’s father. Unloved by her mother, fleeing from the persecution of Percival and suffering from a fatal heart illness, Anne has endured great hardship in her short life. As Walter observes, the mark of unhappiness and suffering is deeply stamped in her face. Laura’s mother was ignorant of Anne’s true parentage and enrolled Anne in her school. Mrs. Fairlie was extremely kind and attentive to Anne, and gave her a white dress. Anne resolves to always wear white as a token of gratitude and affection towards Mrs. Fairlie. Anne is described by many people as being mentally underdeveloped and queer in her conduct. But as Walter Hartright observes, there is nothing wild and deranged in her demeanor. Anne is incarcerated by Sir Percival in the asylum because he fears that she has discovered his faking of his parents’ marriage registrar. Anne cares for Laura’s happiness and tries to warn her about the dark side of the man to whom she is engaged. Anne suffers from a heart disease and dies while attempting to visit Laura in London. Percival and Fosco take advantage of Anne’s resemblance to Laura and bury her under the name of Laura Fairlie, which enables them to inherit Laura’s property. The portrayal of Anne’s mistreatment in the mental asylum acts as an indictment of the mistreatment of mentally unstable people during the Victorian era.
Jane Catherick
Jane is Anne Catherick’s mother. She was once an extremely beautiful woman. Young, lively and flirtatious, she caught the eye of Laura’s father and had an affair with him, resulting in the birth of Anne. Jane is a vain, strong-willed, ambitious woman who lusts after riches and luxury. She embodies the image of the scheming, unscrupulous social climber of the Victorian era. In Jane’s own words, she has the “taste of a lady”. She takes great delight in the expensive gifts which rich men showered on her. The readers only know that the late Mr. Fairlie was her lover, but it is possible that Jane had other rich lovers in her life. Sir Percival succeeds in bribing her to obtain the key to the church registrar, because her husband was a church official. Her husband abandons her after he wrongly suspects Percival to be her lover. Jane finds out about Percival’s illegitimacy and his faking of his parents’ marriage record. Percival pays Mrs. Catherick a handsome annuity, which enables her to live in dignity and comfort. Jane Catherick’s riches have restored her respectability in the eyes of her neighbors. She takes great pride in her social position and the fact that even the clergyman bows to her. Mrs. Catherick’s high position in her neighborhood shows that money could buy one’s dignity and respectability in Victorian era, even if that person’s past had been sinful and scandalous.