[sun surfer]

That's a great selection of quotes, astrangerhere, and the thought of relationships with two women at the same time throughout Collins' life give a twist to thinking about the female characters of the book. Though Laura was Hartright's love interest, maybe it could be said that Marian was his intellectual interest. I thought it almost risque for the time period that the book ended in a sort of threesome despite the chastity of Marian. Each couple's relationship in the three was deep and fulfilling in its own way.

While we're on the subject of the women in particular, after having finished the entire book, I do wish Marian hadn't been so sidelined after her illness. It is nice that she and Hartright both took turns working towards the truth of it all and helped each other at times, but Marian is such a great character and it was a little sad to see her fade to the background for the less interesting Hartright to return and save the day at the end.