How do Laura and her female counterparts exhibit rebellion in The Woman in White?

This story was published in early 1860s. At that time, the idea of the “new woman” was yet to be formed. Most middle- and upper-class women in the 1860s were still confined to the domestic sphere, their main activities consisting of bearing child, educating children, organizing the household, and socializing with friends. Women at that time were denied the chance to have a higher education. The New Woman was an unconventional figure who emerged at the end of the 19th century, and who defied the oppressive patriarchal world order. The new woman challenged the conventional gender expectation and embraced many activities and characteristics that were previously reserved for men. Marian Halcombe is thus a proto-feminist who perfectly embodies the characteristics which later would become the definition of the “New Woman.” She is acutely conscious of the injustice of patriarchy. She cares deeply about women’s rights and uses her courage, resolution and wit to protect women’s interests. Her masculine facial features, her “piercing and resolute” eyes and her “bright, frank, intelligent” expression challenge the characteristics of the conventional Victorian women. In short, she is a woman who possesses agency and power. Marian is not daunted by the rigid restrictions of the patriarchal system. She believes that a woman in possession of courage and strength could not be easily awed and oppressed by the men around them.