I nominate Marian Halcombe as the finest female character from 19th century literature.

[NumTumDeDum]

Marian Halcombe was intelligent, resourceful and ahead of her time. She is the main reason The Woman In White is one of my favourite books. Other nominees?

Possibly I should have reverse AIBU'd!

An excellent character. I shall give this some thought :-)

Marian rocks - but Magdalen from, 'No Name' rocks more! I also nominate Ibsen's Nora.

I've only just started No Name, I'll have to re evaluate when I'm done.

I'll vote for Marian too. I love her.

Oh yes, I adore her. And the author's ambivalence about her appearance is fascinating - the only example I can think of where the heroine is described as having facial hair.

Am I remember right that Sebastian Faulks in Faulkes on Fiction had some appalling remarks about doing her from behind. Horribly sexist book. He also talked about Pride and Prejudice as being about Darcy's journey. Women are just for "doing" apparently, never central figures in their own right.

*remembering

Oh I hadn't heard that about Faulks. I missed those programs. I think Collins was ambivilent about her face, but when Walter meets her for the first time Collins does a detailed description of her figure and hair. I imagine her to be a woman like Sigourney Weaver or Linda Hamilton, with strong faces.

It wasn't the tv series, it was the book Faulkes on Fiction (and I really hope I'm remembering accurately).

She still comes across as a very attractive person physically as well as in terms of character, just in an unconventional way.

Also, I have a soft spot for Count Fosco.

Ugh at Faulks. He is Mr Boring of Boringsville.

I have a soft spot for the mice! :)

Can't bear Faulkes, or John Sutherland either, who seems to me invariably as offensively wrong as one can be when talking about fiction.

And yes, M Halcombe is good!