Who was the Real Woman in White? | Historical Documentary

[@kelliryan464]

I read The Woman in White many years ago and to this day find it one of the most frightening stories ever written. As woman in my early 70s, I can remember with horror families hiding away inconvenient family members. This dear woman who inspired The Woman in White had no protectors. All who proclaimed themselves as her protector appear to me to be greedy and controlling. Very little could persuade me otherwise. Thank you for this fascinating series. Listening to a rational person telling a tale with dignity and grace is rare. Again, thank you.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Queen.AnneBoleyn]

You're an amazing professor, an excellent storyteller, and an educator. Isn't it crazy how the internet brings us all together so we can learn even more?! It's fascinating. Thank you.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@phyllislovelace8151]

One of my favourite novels, have read it many times & Wilkie Collins writing is captivating.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

It's a great book.

[@TM-yn4iu]

It's just as incredible in regard to women's rights. I fall back to my mother. In the US, in the 70s and prior, a woman who was married, didn't/did work throughout the marriage - taking care of children and home, was not entitled to husband's pension if he left her. This was devastating financially and morally. My father left mom, went on to a very comfortable life to say the least. Mom the most beautiful person ever, in life/caring went on trying to change it. She passed at 49(40 years ago) of cancer,I, her son at 28 held her and shared her last words. Those words contained nothing but peace for all. This was sincere, but the quiet tears i saw her cry were sincere as well. The segway here was the way women were treated then and....excellent video 23:00

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you for sharing this, although Caroline Norton might have been at the start of improving the rights of women, there is still much to be done.

[@TM-yn4iu]

@professorgraemeyorston agreed, realizing I strayed from the video/matter - it hit a nerve, which inspired my rant. Apologies

[@iveyao120]

Thank you for this video! I read the woman in white years ago, and I really enjoyed learning more about it.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad it's added to your enjoyment of a great book.

[@Rebecca_English]

The Woman in White is one of my favorite novels! It was fascinating to learn more about the inspirations behind the book.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@shahirahabib2947]

Thank you sooooo much 😊This fascinating novel was part of my English curriculum when I was 12 . I’m an old “Sacred Hearten “ . Back in the 80’s , I was absolutely privileged.. also blessed with such a mind opening education that totally changed my life and my views on life while I lived in a beautiful Egypt ❤ This literary education opened not only my mind but also my eyes to a reality that I would have missed had I not been exposed to literature. It helped me build a fascinating , yet challenging life in my new home country Canada . I was very young to understand the constricting society in a rapid changing country ,yet I did 🙏🏼 I’m very thankful for that. I raised my children to appreciate literature and think deeply and critically about life’s experiences and challenges. I am very grateful 🙏🏼😊🙏🏼

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

[@jilltagmorris]

That table top portable desk was the BEST. you have such wonderful visual content as well! ❤

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, it takes almost as long to find the content as it does to research and write the script.

[@jilltagmorris]

Thank you. Absolutely love this channel. ❤😊

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you're enjoying it!

[@cinven38]

In the United States women gained the right to apply for a loan without a father or husband to co-sign in 1988.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Wow, unbelievable.

[@OffRampTourist]

I was in high school when it became legal for my mother to open a checking account without my father co-signing.

[@1ACL]

It was earlier than that, and depended on where you lived and your circumstances. It was in the early/mid 70s for my Mother. Still late!

[@cinven38]

@@OffRampTourist I’m referring to The Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988.

[@cinven38]

Women were unable to apply for a business loan without a male co-signer before this act (WBOA) 1988

[@dolinaj1]

Dickens abandoned his wife, succumbing to his infatuation with actress Ellen Terry. Collin’s had a “legitimate” family, and another with his mistress. Each family became aware of the other at Collins’s funeral.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Yes, both had unconventional domestic lives!

[@lilyw.719]

Awful, absolutely awful. When people are despicable personally, I can't enjoy their work, so I've just lost all interest in Dickens and Collins.

[@LaFemme434]

One of my fave books of all time fell in love with it when i was about 13

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Advanced stuff for a 13 year old - I think I was still reading Thor comics!

[@tedollie8580]

Incredibly informative !

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@georgina3358]

I loved The Woman in white when I read it a few years ago. Thank you for your very informative presentation, I'm going to hop on to Netflix and watch the series

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@virginiafernandes336]

I am so happy i have found your channel

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Welcome aboard.

[@jaex9617]

Terrific video as always. Inspires me to read the book. 🙏🏻

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@annfisher3316]

Brilliant video Professor, thank you. 🏵️

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@feralbluee]

I’m binging on your videos :) always fascinating, respectful, and yet have an emotional quality and impact. I’m going to watch “Woman in White” as I do have Netflix. Yea!!! :)🌫️

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad your enjoying them.

[@MartiWilliams-r2z]

Painful, disturbing, important sensitive video. Thank you for your channel. Love to see what you can do with Dickens and painter Munk! NOT on Netifix, so no spoilers. :=) !

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I'm just researching Dickens and Munch will be following soon after.

[@MartiWilliams-r2z]

@@professorgraemeyorston Munch! Of course! Embarrassing. Thank you!

[@witekkulczycki]

Dear Professor, thanks so much for your absolutely unique videos and perspectives. Following your suggestion regarding possible topics, I'd love to see you cover the life of H.P.Lovecraft - one of my favourite authors, and definitely a personality to deconstruct (loving his writing, but I guess wouldn't like to meet him in person). Thanks so much again!

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Great suggestion! Thank you.

[@melissavancleave8686]

Thank you Sir, i enjoy your work and will be checking out this book this very week. I can only imagine the struggle it would be to determine now if she should of been hospitalized or not. In the past they were so sure of everything.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

A decision whether or not to admit someone to hospital against their will is always a difficult one, and never taken lightly.

[@chrish2277]

Excellent video. In Australia, Prime appears to be the streaming service to watch it.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks for the info.

[@ria1636]

I used to imagine The Woman in White roaming on Hampstead Heath when I lived there hoping for a less sad outcome. I've read Wilkie Collins' biography and I don't recall the inspiration for the character being mentioned. Really informative. Thank you.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@catpawrosales4265]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The woman in white during lockdown, unlike the Moonstone. I'll keep an eye out for it on netflix.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Definitely worth a watch.

[@kidmohair8151]

my ex's book club took up "The Woman in White" and when they had had their way with it, I read it. a very Victorian piece of writing, but interesting when put in its context. I have seen 2 of the adaptations. I think I will search out the 1948 one and see if it has a touch of Powell and Pressburger about it.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I like the sound of the 1940 version with Tod Slaughter - I thought it was a fake poster when I first saw it - what a name!

[@qassandraable]

Very fine. Thank you.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@saminshahi4180]

Thank you so much, your work is so precious one of the few very interesting channels on youtube

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@kathybrascher1910]

It sounds to me like she was involved in a cult. Deprogramming would have been helpful but they didn’t know about that back then. Pleased to hear that the cult died out.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I'd love to know what really went on behind those walls.

[@kathybrascher1910]

@@professorgraemeyorston absolutely 👍. It couldn’t have been good.

[@joyatodd]

On the other hand, she got to state and follow through on her choice. Given the restrictions on womens' choices, this would have been a very big deal for her and she would have argued ferociously to defend it.

[@sarahcourtney8066]

Just tried Netflix, no sign of it yet….. maybe the timing is different in Australia. Love your videos ! ❤

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, I'm sure it'll get there sooner or later!

[@neostratospey6946]

I still wait 4 the Howard Hughes story. I have read about him for 20 years now. So I am most intersted in what you are going to say sir.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

The first part will be out on Friday.

[@rosemaryfranzese317]

The woman in white in the novel is actually Anne Catherick. Laura Fairlie is not really the central character in the novel, both Walter Hartright and Marian Halcombe are more prominent and stronger characters.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Yes, you're right, I suppose I was thinking that Laura Fairlie was central to the issue of wrongful confinement.

[@sugarfalls1]

I'd like to add about women and their rights is that a woman up until the 1970s couldn't get a credit card unless she was married and it was nearly impossible for a single woman to own a home in that era. Women were known, even until the 1960s as Mrs. John Smith - their first name was never used - just Mrs.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

It is amazing how long it took for equality legislation to really get going!

[@sugarfalls1]

@@professorgraemeyorston Yes, it is! My mother told me that when they bought their house, which amazingly enough, was bought mostly by my mother, who had a Masters Degree and was earning more than my father, when they were going to sign the deed, they passed over my mother and she had to ask to sign the deed. We still have a disparity in equal wages but thanks to women like them, we have come a long way.

[@virginiasoskin9082]

Thanks for this interesting video. Interesting how Collins and Dickens knew each other.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Glad you enjoyed it. They were close friends, travelling and working together.

[@virginiasoskin9082]

@@professorgraemeyorston I think we often think of these ppl as working in a vacuum and being there were no phones or e-mails, that they had much smaller circles of friends. However Dickens, for one, traveled a LOT more than many of us today. And there was good old snail mail which was people's main method of communication. As a teen in the 1960s I recall how happy my Mom was when she was finally able to call her sister who lived 25 miles away without having to pay a toll for a "long distance" call (this was in Pennsylvania, USA). Prior to that they wrote letters unless there was some sort of emergency. To contrast that several years ago our daughter was on a music tour in China and she called home to us in Florida. She sounded so clear as if she were just down the street. That is hard to believe.

[@sylvias2062]

Admirable research and presentation Thank you Mr Yorston ( how is Leni coming?)

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you, Lenny might be a while, there are a few others higher up the queue!

[@sylvias2062]

@professorgraemeyorston Zahra Leander Unlike others she stayed but is a tough one to figure out . She is not popular enough for a video but but an interest case of ambiguity .

[@sylvias2062]

@@professorgraemeyorston Katharine Hepburn

[@noniesundstrom119]

In 1973, the Supreme Court of Canada in Murdoch v Murdoch ruled that the husband keep all cattle and land of their large ranch in Alberta when she filed for divorce after a marriage of 25 years that had become physically abusive. ( my mother took her in when she left him). Eventually she was awarded $65,000. In 1980 Canada gained a Charter of Rights, evening the equality field. I remember being incensed at not being able to get even a library card or credit card without my husbands ok in the 1970’s.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I too was shocked about how recent some of the equality legislation is.

[@lilyw.719]

The man should head the finances, so you shouldn't have a credit card now. :). Denying a library card is ridiculous, though.

[@gnostic268]

​@@lilyw.719Not everyone believes in religious based trad wife nonsense. There is therapy and deprogramming for internalized misogyny available tho'.

[@analauraaznar1552]

Thank you for professor Thank you Professor for the recommendation. It is important to mention the term traumatized, as something out of time. I don't think it's pedantic to mention it, on the contrary.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@gullsrus]

I very much enjoyed this one. Recently watched the woman in white on netflix. I have enjoyed this and the Dickens one.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@francesbernard2445]

I am interested in reading "The Woman in White" novel now. Since not everyone working as a caregiver in an asylum is going to be a skilled care giver with emotional intelligence there is no answer to that question. Only one of many questions with no answer some people sometimes offer as being more than just arbitrary title to attract attention to a video or whomever instead of them encouraging others to look deeper into things while continuing to be good listener too.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I'm glad it has inspired you to read the novel.

[@donnawaldron3261]

Brilliant

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@MariusVogel-j2e]

Please would you do an episode on Charles Dickens

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Yes, he's on the list - but it might a long one!

[@francescagillon2018]

So psychiatrists' role consists in assessing whether people are sane or mad, whether they should be confined in mental hospitals or left at liberty. Now I understand better your interest in Zelda Fitzgerald, the youngest child of the Montgomery's judge who was wild, had been spoilt as a child, lacked friends and common sense. She was borderline in my opinion, needing hospitalisation whenever she got depressed. Hospitalisation cost her husband a fortune. Now I understand better the meaning of "Tender is the night", F. Scot Fitzgerald's novel which was on the syllabus of the french Agregation d'anglais last year.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

The terminology has changed, but the issues are essentially the same.

[@denisetulloch727]

Enjoyable listen

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@donnawaldron3261]

I've worked at Bethlem in London as a medical secretary for the eating disorder department.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

You must have seen a few things then!

[@mrzigg6594]

Would you be up for potentially doing one on francis bacon artist?

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Great suggestion, he's on the list!

[@robertburnos7573]

Ty Sir

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks for watching.

[@deirdrenugent1887]

2:21 I wonder what are those marks on Dickens face

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Probably just a bad print, I don't think he had a skin condition.

[@edgregory1]

May I request a video on The Black Dahlia?

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Fascinating case, I'll look into it.

[@stephenclayton5129]

the 1982 series is a must see.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I'll see if I can track that one down.

[@acratone8300]

I agree, the 1982 version is by far the best. Eerie. Suspenseful. Can be seen right here on KZbin. Look for this exact title: The Woman in White BBC (5 episodes in 6 parts). The production values are not high, the images show their age. But unlike the latest series on Netflix and Prime, it keeps faith with Collins' original text and the culture of those times. And does not try to instruct the viewer about modern issues.

[@neostratospey6946]

Thanks for the video. About the woman right to vote. I'm born in Finland. And we are the first country in Europe to get to vote, men and woman. You have to understand that the Finish language is so different from the rest of Scandinavia. And the woman has always been strong in Finland. So the "Woman in White" would not hardly appeared here as a fact or fiction. The hierarchy-system man and woman was not quite the same. What I want to point out that it is strange to read stuff that can amaze you. And that is the power of the word, the knowledge of be able to read. Maybe as a case for the medical professionals, but hardly here in that timeframe. Very interesting video however. / Neo, currently in Sweden.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Interesting, thank you.

[@zero_bs_tolerance8646]

Thank you.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

You're welcome!

[@SMtWalkerS]

Yes, Louisa was crazier than an outhouse rat and her family was right in trying to protect her and her money. She obviously had little thinking skills and no good sense and was very easily manipulated. There are always new religious con men or women popping up, ready to shear the sheep. Collins' friendship with Dickens is interesting. I have always loved Dicken's novels and stories, and he is always pointing out the terrible conditions in which many people existed. Ironic that he treated his own wife so cruelly and horribly. Great geniuses often seem to be monsters in their personal lives.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Great artists don't seem to make great partners.

[@SMtWalkerS]

@@professorgraemeyorston True - Frank Lloyd Wright, Picasso, the list goes on and on. Perhaps, to be a great artist, one must have talent, but also be so self-obsessed that nothing else matters. Even Einstein, a nice man, was rotten to his wife.

[@merakitra]

Thank you for the educational video. I enjoy your videos very much. Women’s fight for equal rights has come a long way but it wasn’t all that long ago that the laws were changed, the inequality still exists, even in developed countries. There still a lot of mindset that women are inferior.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Sadly, yes, you're right.

[@sylvias2062]

" Ten days in a Mad-House " Nellie Bly

[@professorgraemeyorston]

She would be a good subject - it was her world tour that is said to have prompted Mark Twain to embark on his own.

[@francescagillon2018]

How very interesting! If I got it right, in victorian England, married women could dispose of the money they earned but single women could do whatever they liked with money they had inherited, they could even finance a sect leader. That seems very strange and unwise. There lies the lunacy in my opinion.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

That's why the law was changed.

[@jobloggs4128]

Thank you for explaining the monomania. I have read it in many books and just thought it was a general term for madness. It's a shame it's use died out as I think it describes many people's views on both sides of politics today. Maybe we should bring it back.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

It still exists, more or less, as delusional disorder.

[@auntkami]

It is interesting to understand the perspectives of upstart religions in England during that time period. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have ancestors from the UK who joined our church ~two hundred years ago and left there to come to the US so that they could enjoy certain religious rights and freedoms. One of the family stories I’ve read had to do with a family who had gotten their passage to the US paid for by a wealthy benefactor who was emigrating with them. Shorty before they were set to depart they had a young child die. Since they didn’t have the funds to delay their travel the benefactor paid for the burial arrangements and they all departed as scheduled. Of course the story goes on and now I sit as an American very grateful for the heritage of faith handed down to me. But at the time their local newspaper judged them very harshly as religious fanatics who couldn’t be bothered to bury their own children. It’s not that I sympathize with Prince or the Agepamony(?). But, this context makes more sense to me why the newspapers of the day would be so cruel about the actions influenced by the religious beliefs of others.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Abuse of power within religious cults is such a common phenomenon, it demonstrates the dangers of giving too much power to any individual.

[@shellyirby9828]

Poor Louisa and her sisters! I hope my family would come and get me if i was in cult though! The way they took her with no shoes or anything is what I'd do too lol.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Although apparently motivated by good intentions, the rescuers were still kidnapping Louisa.

[@G.L.McCarthy-vr1oe]

And yet the reforming Mr Dickens had a woman on the side! Wifely rights, not on your life!🙄

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Both Dickens and Collins had unconventional domestic arrangements.

[@ErsatzMcGuffin]

Religious values, while their actual influence (which was very powerful socially) is often absent from literature of this genre, seems to be the driving force of liberally applied government rules & regulations tamping down the rights of mums, daughters, sisters and women of all sorts by those in power, the sons, fathers, uncles and brothers of the oppressed. Ironically women had much power in real life over others but apparently weren't properly appreciated by the creators & enforcers of social standards. Perhaps if women were equals all along, becoming landlords and so on we'd live in some sort of utopian world...perhaps not, but awareness of social injustice forever lights our path forward. Such timely, solid storytelling in times diverse as these should enjoy more exposure and understanding. Well done Teach! Thank You

[@bobtaylor170]

"Religious values" were also instrumental in the reforms instituted principally under Gladstone in the late 19th century. Here's a little project for you: look into how early Christianity astonished and offended the Roman mind because it insisted on the dignity of women. Also, who do you think invented hospitals? Early Christians.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thank you.

[@monika717]

@@bobtaylor170Christianity just as all the other abrahamic religions, has done NOTHING but strip women of their inherent rights. Don’t believe me? read your bible. Both the Old as well as the New Testament views women as men’s possessions.

[@lilyw.719]

​​@@bobtaylor170 100%. Western civilization was entirely built by Christianity. And now that we've kicked God out of public life and gotten rid of traditional values and roles, and pushed women into the workforce and allowed them to be involved in public decision-making and in leadership and management roles, society has completely degenerated. Women's leadership has been absolutely awful for society, as it's been the driving force behind so much of the destruction of what made society strong, cohesive, and prosperous. Women's decision-making is simply bad for society. It's based on individualistic empathy instead of logic and the common good. I would absolutely give back my right to vote if we could step back socially into more conservative times. The sexual revolution and pushing us all into the workforce as a matter of survival necessity have made us all deeply unhappy, and granting additional rights has simply not been a good trade-off. I would much, much rather step back in time 100 to 150 years.

[@bobtaylor170]

@@lilyw.719 it's rare to encounter a person of either sex who has such wisdom. It's enriched my day. Similarly ( maybe ), I think men need to be resistant to the temptation to sexual immorality and to concentrate on finding a wife and building a family. Such a man runs the risk of being termed a soyboy or a Beta male, but it's intrinsic to genuine men not to give a flying **** about insults from true losers. Not everyone is called to be married, but the Zeitgeist of our society has made marriage seem a foolish choice, and the societal changes we both deplore have created economic conditions which make it increasingly difficult for people to be married. It's a terrible cul de sac we have wandered into. ( There's something like a "conceptual pun" in that sentence, I suppose, and I may be the only one whom it rather charms. )

[@TuckerSP2011]

It definitely sounds like she was in a cult and thoroughly brainwashed. This story reminds me of Lori Vallow. Did she have a right to believe whatever lunacy she wanted to believe in? Yes, but she was a mortal danger to her minor children. That was all I could think about as you told this story. Thank you for tell this story so well.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Thanks for watching.

[@reinadegrillos]

As usual, a very interesting piece. Thank you very much, I watched the Woman in white many years ago. As for the asylum part, even when I think that she was deluded by Mr. Prince, she gave him HER money and lived with his sect joyfully, so, why restrict her for that, it was her money and her life. I bet the brother wanted to do with her money the same thing that Mr. Prince did.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

That's what makes it such an interesting case - I don't think she would be detained today as she was not a danger to herself or others.

[@missingpiece2071]

well we are kinda seeing that today with Brittany Spears, we let Johny Depp go broke and destroy his life with drugs but not Brittany. Seems like same thing to me

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Addiction is a whole other can of worms.

[@SKOMonster]

That was a great twist, speaking as someone who didn't know the story before (and actually still doesn't). I was ready to be indignant at women's treatment in the law, but then I found myself thinking: oh, just lock her up! She's not compos mentis. Two great fears clashed: the fear of being treated like a second class citizen and a slave and worse, on the grounds of gender, and the fear of cult brainwashing... I am thankful my family is as sceptical as it is, for whatever flaws it may have, blind trust and religious obsession is not amongst them

[@professorgraemeyorston]

There was a lot wrong with 19th century psychiatry, but they were wrestling with complex issues.

[@rabbitsrule9437]

Also the sister is very modern. She is acting more like a man it’s like his saying you would be better single she has the respect of the man. I often think that marriage is a very old fashioned concept. .yet a man can take a women’s pension

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Collins himself thought marriage was outdated.

[@claudiabothma]

''Mad doctors"- yup.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Doctors for the mad - just in case you were thinking of any other interpretation!

[@MrsBlackPhoenix]

It is fasicinating to realize how little rtrights women had, not so long ago, and not only in Britain, but also in other countries around the world. Western women have achieved a lot in the last 150 years. We should also remember that in other countries, women still have hardly any legal rights.

[@professorgraemeyorston]

I was shocked to find out how recent some of the equality legislation is, even in the western world.

[@pmajudge]

I HAVE THE BOOK BY WILKIE COLLINS " THE WOMAN IN WHITE" 1950's FROM , U.K. (2024).

[@professorgraemeyorston]

It's a great book.

[@DeusVoltt]

Feminist propaganda….

[@professorgraemeyorston]

Is it better that women don't have rights then?