Blind love

Wilkie Collins, ever the architect of intricate plots and moral quandaries, delivers in "Blind Love" a narrative steeped in the melodramatic conventions he so expertly refined throughout his career. Published posthumously, this novel, completed by Walter Besant, plunges readers into a world where love, loyalty, and deception are inextricably intertwined, often with devastating consequences. The central enigma revolves around the enigmatic Lady Mountsorrel and her seemingly boundless affection for the manipulative Sir Arthur Holsworthy, whose true character remains obscured by a veil of social niceties and carefully constructed appearances. Collins’s signature style—a meticulous unfolding of events through varied perspectives, letters, and diary entries—is present, though perhaps less polished than in his earlier masterpieces, still drawing the reader into a web of secrets and moral ambiguities that define the Victorian sensational novel.

The novel’s strength lies in its profound psychological penetration of its characters, particularly Lady Mountsorrel, whose titular 'blind love' is explored with both sympathy and a certain critical distance. Collins skillfully dissects the nature of devotion, questioning its limits and the ethical compromises it can compel. We observe her unwavering faith in Holsworthy, even as evidence of his perfidy mounts, a narrative choice that forces the reader to confront the complexities of human attachment and self-delusion. The prose, while not always as taut as in "The Woman in White" or "The Moonstone," maintains a compelling rhythm, carefully pacing the revelations and allowing the reader to inhabit the characters' internal struggles and the societal pressures that shape their decisions. The depiction of Victorian society, with its rigid class structures and expectations, forms a rich backdrop against which these personal dramas unfold.

Collins’s narrative structure, even in this unfinished state, demonstrates his enduring mastery of suspense. The plot twists and turns with a deliberate momentum, revealing layers of deceit and hidden motives that keep the reader engaged. The introduction of characters like the shrewd lawyer Mr. Newboy provides welcome moments of detached observation, counterpointing the emotional intensity of the main storyline. The novel also touches upon themes of social justice, albeit subtly, as it examines the vulnerabilities of women within a patriarchal legal system and the ease with which reputation can be manipulated. While the resolution, completed by Besant, may lack some of Collins’s characteristic ingenuity, the journey to that point is undeniably a testament to his unique storytelling prowess.

My primary reservation, however, concerns the pacing and occasional structural looseness that becomes more pronounced in the latter half of the novel. While Besant’s completion is admirable in its attempt to honor Collins’s vision, there are moments where the plot feels overly convoluted, almost as if the threads were being tied together with a less practiced hand. The secondary characters, while serving their purpose in advancing the plot, sometimes lack the vivid depth that Collins granted even his minor players in earlier works. This leads to a slight diffusion of focus, diminishing the cumulative impact of the central emotional drama. One wishes that Collins himself had been able to apply his final editorial touch, tightening the narrative screws and ensuring every character resonated with his usual intensity.

Despite these minor unevennesses, "Blind Love" remains a significant work, not merely as a curio from a literary giant’s final output, but as a rich, if autumnal, example of the sensational novel. It asks enduring questions about the nature of love, the limits of human perception, and the societal forces that shape our moral choices. For those who appreciate the intricate plotting and psychological depth of Victorian fiction, this novel offers a rewarding, albeit melancholic, reading experience. It serves as a poignant reminder of Collins's considerable talent and his lasting influence on the development of the genre, even as his final narrative gestures towards the complexities of life’s unfinished symphonies.