Questions and passages for section:

• Why and for whom is this story told?  Pay close attention to p. 33 ("The Preamble").  How, according to Collins, is his novel organized?  What sort of effect does this legal/ juridical model have on you as a reader?  Do you think Collins stays faithful to this model?  See, for instance, p. 585 (in Part 4 of the Third Epoch).  What is the role of the law in this novel?

• Woman in White has been categorized as a work of "sensation fiction" -- fiction notorious for inspiring strong, nervous feelings in its readers.  (The modern equivalent might be a "thriller.")  What sorts of 'strong feelings' do characters display in this novel?  What types of situations excite these feelings?  And, as a reader, what sorts of feelings does the novel inspire in you?  Are these feelings consistent with the novel's 'courtroom' set-up?

• Keeping the above questions in mind, I'd like us to take a look at what Prof. Nunokawa has called this novel's "primal scene":  p. 76, Walter's first confrontation with the 'woman in white.'  What does he find so affecting about this encounter?  (e.g.-- What sort of language does Collins use to describe its disturbing aspects?)  Also take a look at p. 86 about Laura.  How does it compare to the earlier scene of confrontation?