Mary Barton is not as dependent on plot as it is on theme. Plot in both novels is carefully constructed to give added emphasis to the theme. Both The Woman in White and Mary Barton have highly developed themes that are a product of the progress of the characters and the plot. The theme of a novel, when used in conjunction with highly stylized character and plot construction, forms the framework of the narrative.

Starting with an analysis of character one must first give it a literary definition. According to The Norton Introduction to Literature character is a fict

together" (Shrivastava 93). The organic plot brings the details together into a seamlessly woven fabric. The plot creates the pattern of confusion which must be sorted through in order to resolve the conflict and bring closure to the novel. Mary Barton has been accused of having a loose plot and being poorly constructed. This is in severe contrast with the intricate design of the plot structure in The Woman in White. The loose plot in Mary Barton affects the coherence and unity of the novel and seriously distracts the reader causing them to lose interest. Half chapters describing useless events, and pointless sea stories are digressions which do nothing to further develop the plot; on closer examination they only distract the reader from the true course of the story. The plot of The Woman in White is highly complex. Formed around the organic model mentioned previously, this novel is intricately designed. The plot can be initially ". . . seen as the comforting design for life on which the protagonists submissively rely" (Thoms 56). When the strict path the characters are forced to follow is reveled they attempt to escape ". . . the plots which entrap them, and then proceed to create their own story by exercising a freedom controlled by personal morality" (Thoms 56). This concept of breaking free from the constraints placed on the characters by others and society is a prevalent theme in the plot structures of both novels.

ional person, or "a combination of a person's qualities, especially moral qualities, so that terms such as ‘good' and ‘bad,' ‘strong' and ‘weak,' often apply" (139). With this in mind readers are able to take a close look at the characters in the two novels, their development and their contribution to plot and theme. The story begins from the perspective of Walter Hartright, an unemployed drawing master, who is given the chance to move to the country to tutor two young ladies. Walter, along with Marian Halcombe and Laura Fairlie, is constantly struggling to acquire identity and freedom. Peter Thoms writes: "The quest for the literal solutions to mysteries becomes a structure in which the psychological growth of the protagonist is depicted" (55). Walter's inner turmoil regarding his strange encounter with the woman in white becomes more apparent the harder he works to unravel her mystery. The growth of a character is crucial to the structure of a novel. Without character growth there is no expansion of the novel's plot. T

Some topics in this essay:
Mary Barton, Woman White, Mary's Gaskell, Peter Thoms, John Barton, Introduction Literature, , Laura Marion, KC Shrivastava, White Character, woman white, mary barton, plot theme, loose plot, character plot, plot mary barton, character growth, plot structure, organic plot, novel character, plot mary, character plot theme, mary barton novels, characters woman white, white highly complex,