woman in white essay questions

The Woman in White Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer..

• Do we know why Walter decides to tell this story? What clues can you find about his motives?
• What, if anything, is significant about Laura never getting to tell her own story in her own words?
• What makes this novel a detective novel?
• Time for a death match: who is the true villain in this book, Sir Percival or Count Fosco?
• How is the law used as a theme throughout the novel?
• Most of the mini-narratives we get emphasize the importance of facts. How does the novel reflect this concern with facts, particularly in style and tone?
• Can this novel be considered a morality tale? Does it have a strong moral message?
• How does travel function as a motif, or recurring theme, in the story? What does travel represent?

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The Woman in White Essay Topics & Writing Assignments

Essay Topic 1

The format of "The Woman in White" is unique. Examine the purpose of this format, using the following questions as prompts.

1) What is unique about the format of "The Woman in White"?

2) According to the Preamble, why is the story told in this fashion?

3) What does the reader gain from this format?

Essay Topic 2

The characters in "The Woman in White" portray society during the time period of the story. Write a brief essay comparing and contrasting the characters of privilege and the working class in "The Woman in White".

Essay Topic 3

It is said that the character Laura resembles Anne. Write an essay comparing and contrasting these two characters.

1) How are these characters similar?

2) How are they different?

3) Why is the comparison made?

Essay Topic 4

There are several factors that warn the Fairlie's against Laura's union with Sir Percival. Write an essay discussing the various...

(read more Essay Topics)

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The Woman In White, by Wilkie Collins Essay

The Woman In White, by Wilkie Collins, is a successful gothic novel of the 19th century. It is a 3-volume novel; each volume (epoch) finishing with the reader eagerly waiting to read the next one, therefore there are many unanswered questions, in or... The Woman In White, by Wilkie Collins, is a successful gothic novel of the 19th century. It is a 3-volume novel; each ‘volume’ (epoch) finishing with the reader eagerly waiting to read the next one, therefore there are many unanswered questions, in order for the reader to continue reading. There is a lot of mystery involved up until the very end of the whole story, where everything is then revealed; ‘The Woman In White’ is a good example of how mystery and suspense are used …show more content…

In ‘The Woman In White’, Laura is a prime example of this stereotypical role, as she needs to be saved by Walter, the hero, from Sir Percival, the villain. There is a sense of gloom and horror in gothic novels and ‘The Woman In White’ conveys this through the very dark and depressing section towards the end of the 2nd epoch, where Lady Glyde dies, and the many talks of death by Percival and Fosco. At Blackwater Park, some blood is witnessed; this can be seen as a foreshadowing of events to come later on in the story. Their conversation is of criminals and murderers, another foreshadowing, pg 205: “It looks just the place for murder, doesn’t it?” The setting is greatly influential in Gothic novels; it not only invokes the atmosphere of horror and dread, but also the deterioration of the world. The environment of Blackwater Park is very gloomy, dark and sinister and so this fits perfectly, not only with the Gothic style, but also with the conversation of murder. They talk of a perfect place for where a murder could take occur, Percival saying that the lake is a perfect location, count Fosco saying it isn’t and that wise men know better, and Laura saying that, Fosco’s statement is a contradiction, for, pg 206: “…heard that truly wise men are good men, and have a horror of crime.” Laura is basically saying that wise men are seen as good men, and a good man would find murder a horrific event therefore there’s

The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Within the novel, both Hawthorne and the Puritans bring up the idea and relevance of the black man and what he represents. Hawthorne and the Puritans of the society both have religious affiliations pertaining to the “Black Man.” The significance of the black man within the novel is immense because as the novel progresses the belief of who truly is the black man differentiates among individuals in the story. Through the eyes of the Puritans, the “Black Man” is a representation of the devil himself; however, in the novel the “Black Man” and his meaning changes. Hawthorne initially uses the “Black Man” to represent the devil, but later, he associates the “Black Man” with Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Mistress Hibbins. This is relevant because he is emphasizing the change in each individual to the point in which they are a spiritual representation of the devil to an extent. The “Black Man” essentially means evil. As a result, he uses the phrase to describe Dimmesdale and Chillingworth because of their neglection of their love ones, they are thus being evil. Chillingworth’s evil stems from his obsessive behavior towards his revenge against Dimmesdale for stealing his wife away. Therefore, his continuous envy and rage developed him into a man of pure evil, not caring what is good or bad but simply what he wants. In

How Does Shirley Jackson Use Foreshadowing In The Possibility Of Evil

In the first few pages of the story,there was a lot of foreshadowing for what was to come, predominantly using Miss Strangeworth’s famous roses and the frequent use of Pleasant Street. On the very first page of the story there was a long description of

The Woman In Black Analysis

How does the author make the first encounter with the Woman in Black particularly ominous?

Figurative Language In Devil In The White City

H. H. Holmes travels into the white city, leaving the bleak city frozen in place, Larson uses figurative language to reveal how Holmes starts to convert the white city into a kingdom of his own by seeing beauty and grace in some of the most disturbing scenarios. The comparison of Julia’s (Holmes’ mistress) murder to a “ballet” explains that Holmes sees death as a type of

The Devil In The White City Analysis

The Devil in the White City, written by Erik Larson, it is a book about the events of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 that happened in Chicago. It was the perfect opportunity to display the strength of America to the world. Larson recreates the Fair with an thrilling tone, allowing us to experience its magnificence as the visitors would have in 1893. Larson describes the fair as "perfect", a "fairest dream", and "beautiful.” At the same time, Larson uses a somber tone in his descriptions of Holmes and his castle. He recreates the macabre, choosing to put emphasis on words like "possessed", "woefully and gruesomely.” It is quite an obvious contrast from his cheery descriptions of the White City. Larson uses compare and contrast and irony throughout the story White and Black city.

Maxim Kills Rebecca

This novel of suspense had two twists to it, which makes it a very well thought-out story. The story begins in Manderley and sets an foreboding atmosphere, which is typical for gothic fashion literature. This is laid out before the flashback in the novel. Here, we begin to perceive a taste of how sinister and supernatural the atmosphere of Manderley is, once the flashbacks of the trip to Monte Carlo pass. The apparition of Rebecca and her living servant Mrs. Danvers try to ruin the marriage of the narrator and threaten to beat her.

The Eel Marsh House In Susan Hill's The Woman In Black

In Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, the story starts out in present day London England on Christmas Eve. Arthur Kipps, the main character and narrator is getting ready to tell his grandchildren a story from when he was young. The story makes for a great ghost story.

A Rose for Emily and The Yellow Wallpaper

• 1 Works Cited

The whole structure of this story suggests a sense of gloom and darkness. Look at how she is described, “…a small, fat women in black…her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal” (Faulkner 315). Her house was dark and dusty. Isolation is apparent from the beginning to end of the story.

Tension In Monkey's Paw

The first part of the story unfolds at the White’s house. The author W.W. Jacobs tells each story with a bit of mystery and tension. For example, Jacobs opens the scene with the wind howling and blowing against the house. This causes the reader to expect mystery because it gives an eerie vibe. Jacobs writes,“As I wished it twisted around in my hand.”, gave the reader a sense of mystery. It also leaves questions unanswered, like Why did it move? or Did it really move? Jacobs creates a lot of mystery and tension throughout the whole story.

Features of Gothic Horror Displayed in "The Yellow Wallpaper", "The Red Room" and "The Monkey’s Paw"

Once again the story feature high emotion when Mrs. White remembers that the monkeys paw can grant her any wish. She is described as speaking “wildly”, “hysterically” and feverishly”. These adverbs show that she is starting to loose control and is gradually going crazy, which was shameful in the Victorian era to even think off, with the big idea of bringing her son back to life after him being killed by machinery, “dead for ten days” and buried under ground. We are made to feel afraid by her lack of control and feel as if she might come and hurt the reader!

The Whiteness of the Veil: Color and the veil in Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil and The Blithedale Romance

In his essay “Color, Light and Shadow in Hawthorne’s Fiction” Walter Blair approaches an interpretation of Hawthorne’s work through the author’s manipulation of color and light to produce symbolic meaning. Blair addresses “The Minister’s Black Veil” and notes the repeated emphasis on the blackness of Father Hooper’s veil and the pallor as a reaction to it. “The design of this tale,” he asserts, “is one in which repeated patterns of light, then blackness, then whiteness meaningfully occur” (Blair 76). Similarly, Hawthorne’s novel The Blithedale Romance employs chiaroscuro for its characters, symbols and the veil motif in particular. Blair does not go further in his discussion of whiteness and blackness in “The Minister’s Black Veil” in relation to The Blithedale Romance. An analysis of the use of color, particularly regarding the veil symbol, in both texts can provide additional insights into Hawthorne’s often noted ambiguity.

Maximillian De Winter's Tale

2. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator says that she went to Manderley again in the dream again. It is shown as a haunted and gloomy mansion. The narrator said that

Comparing Collins And Chandler's The Lady In The Lake

Collins and Chandler keep secrets from the reader throughout their novels in order to build tension, mystery and atmosphere, however both use different styles to foreshadow this hidden information. Raymond Chandler’s Lady in the Lake was first published in 1943, one of many Phillip Marlowe detective novels which are generally based around the themes of murder and mystery, which directs the plot. Willkie Collins wrote The Woman in White in 1859 when sensation fiction was highly popular. Sensation fiction is based around themes of murder, money and identity, however this could also link The Woman in White to detective fiction, as it uses Marian and Walter as amateur detectives which allows Collins to keep secrets from the audience and reveal the truth at the end of the book. The Woman in White was also published in sections, so secrets were used to build tension and create cliff-hangers that would keep the audience buying the next section.

Explore how the theme of secrecy is presented in ‘The woman in white’

The theme secrecy is portrayed in both ‘The woman in white’ and ‘The lady in the lake’. The two extracts I have chosen to convey secrecy is the scene from ‘The woman in white’, when Marian climbs on the rooftop on pages 251-253. I also chose the scene from ‘The lady in the lake’, when Miss Fallbrook is first introduced inside Lavery’s house on pages 112-115. Both extracts convey secrecy as both extracts are set around a situation where there is either a secret being covered up or someone is close to uncovering a secret. The setting also sustains the secrecy in both extracts.

Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay

Hawthorne uses black to symbolize evil, the worst of someone and the darkness that conceals the truth. Hester describes the prison as ‘the black flower of the civilized society’, Pearl’s eyes as ‘small black mirrors’ and Satan as ‘The Black Man’ in the forest.

Related Topics

• Stephen King
• Frankenstein
• Gothic fiction

The Woman in White

By wilkie collins, the woman in white quiz 1.

• 1 What is Walter Hartright's profession? Hairdresser Italian language teacher Music Teacher Drawing teacher
• 2 How old is Walter at the start of the novel? Thirty eight Twenty one Twenty eight Thirty five
• 3 What is the name of Walter's sister? Laura Mary Anne Sarah
• 4 Where do Walter's sister and mother live? In Cumberland In Hampstead In Grosvenor Square In Italy
• 5 What is Professor Pesca's occupation? He teaches Italian He teaches dancing He is a celebrated opera singer He teaches drawing
• 6 Why is Pesca so devoted to Walter? Walter introduced him to his wife Walter saved him from drowning Walter lent him money when he was poor Walter reminds him of his deceased son
• 7 Why is the offer of employment by Frederick Fairlie attractive to Walter? He hopes it will put him in contact with wealthy women he can eventually marry It seems to be easy and to pay well He hopes it will lead to him being hired as Frederick's personal secretary It would allow him to travel abroad
• 8 Why does Walter take a winding route home after his farewell visit with his family? It is hot and he wants to stay in cooler temperatures He wants to observe the moon in preparation for some drawings He wants to put off departing for Cumberland He wants to save money by avoiding toll roads
• 9 What makes Walter stop in his tracks during his night time walk? The sound of a woman weeping The smell of something burning The sight of white fabric The touch of a hand on his shoulder
• 10 What does the woman in white ask him? Whether he has seen anyone else on the road Whether she is on the road to London Whether he can offer her somewhere to stay Whether he can give her any money
• 11 What does the woman in white insist on? That he will not tell anyone she has spoken with him That he will show her the way to Paddington Station That Walter extinguish his lamp as they walk That Walter will let her part ways whenever she decides to
• 12 What type of man does the woman question Walter about his knowledge of? Doctors Baronets Lawyers Dukes
• 13 What is the woman's reaction when Walter mentions Cumberland? She recalls having been happy there She reacts with horror and distress She has never heard of the place before She seems to be trying to conceal a deep sadness
• 14 As they enter central London, what does the woman get increasingly anxious to do? Go to a church and pray Stop and eat something Shut herself up in a cab Change her clothes so as to disguise herself
• 15 Whose conversation does Walter overhear after the woman in white has departed? A conversation between a Baronet and an Italian man A conversation between two policemen looking for a murder suspect A conversation between a policeman and two men looking for a missing woman A conversation between two women discussing how to help their friend
• 16 What does Walter come to suspect about the woman he spoke with? That she was trying to elope with her lover That she was fleeing an abusive husband That she has escaped from an asylum That she is wanted as a criminal
• 17 What delays Walter's journey to Cumberland? No one comes to meet him at the station He gets off at the wrong stop He oversleeps and misses his train The train breaks down
• 18 What surprises Walter when he first meets Marian? She has an attractive body and an ugly face She speaks with a heavy foreign accent She is very curt and rude She is wearing very revealing clothes
• 19 What is the relationship between Marian and Laura? They are stepsisters They are half sisters with the same mother They are half sisters with the same father They are cousins
• 20 What is the relationship between Laura and Frederick Fairlie He is her stepfather He is her father He is her grandfather He is her uncle
• 21 How does Marian propose to try and find out more information about the mysterious woman in white? By looking at old newspaper articles By talking to the village police force By looking through Mrs. Fairlie's old letters By questioning the local villagers
• 22 What is Walter's impression of Frederick Fairlie after their first meeting? Walter finds him brooding, charismatic, and threatening Walter finds him selfish, high-strung and effeminate Walter finds him interesting and well-informed and looks forward to spending more time with him Walter is sympathetic and saddened by his poor health and loneliness
• 23 What color are Laura's eyes? Green Brown Blue One is blue, the other brown
• 24 What is the name of the pupil who Marian finds being discussed in her mother's letters? Anne Kempe Sarah Catherick Anne Catherick Sarah Fairlie
• 25 What suggestion does Mrs. Fairlie make to the pupil? That she cut her hair hair short That she stop wearing flashy jewelry That she dress in white That she always wear a hat with a veil

The Woman in White Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Woman in White is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Wilkie Collins' "The Woman in White"

Do you mean Jane Catherick?

read again the first part of the source line 1-10 List four things from this part of the text about what the writer notices on the heath as he sets off on his walk

I'm sorry, you haven't provided the text in question. Please include all information in your posts.

What type of road junction had Walter Hartright reached at the start of the extract?

I'm sorry, you have not provided the extract in question.

Study Guide for The Woman in White

The Woman in White study guide contains a biography of Wilkie Collins, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of Through the Looking Glass.

• About The Woman in White
• The Woman in White Summary
• Character List

Essays for The Woman in White

The Woman in White essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

• The Masculine and Feminine Identity in Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White
• Foreign Devils and Funny Foreigners: Approaching The Woman in White
• 'Till Death Do Us Part

Lesson Plan for The Woman in White

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Woman in White
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Woman in White Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Woman in White

• Introduction
• Themes and influences
• Publication

Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

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What’s behind the growing gap between men and women in college completion?

The growing gender gap in higher education – both in enrollment and graduation rates – has been a topic of conversation and debate in recent months. Young women are more likely to be enrolled in college today than young men, and among those ages 25 and older, women are more likely than men to have a four-year college degree. The gap in college completion is even wider among younger adults ages 25 to 34.

Women’s educational gains have occurred alongside their growing labor force participation as well as structural changes in the economy . The implications of the growing gap in educational attainment for men are significant, as research has shown the strong correlation between college completion and lifetime earnings and wealth accumulation .

To explore the factors contributing to the growing gender gap in college completion, we surveyed 9,676 U.S. adults between Oct. 18-24, 2021. Everyone who took part is a member of Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Data on rates of college completion came from a Center analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (IPUMS). The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the data collection for the 2020 ASEC. The response rate for the March 2020 survey was  about 10 percentage points lower than in preceding months. Using administrative data, Census Bureau researchers have shown that nonresponding households were less similar to respondents than in earlier years. They also generated  entropy balance weights to account for this nonrandom nonresponse. The 2020 ASEC figures presented used these supplementary weights.

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

A majority (62%) of U.S. adults ages 25 and older don’t have a four-year college degree, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Current Population Survey data. But the reasons for not completing a four-year degree differ for men and women, according to a new Center survey of adults who do not have such a degree and are not currently enrolled in college.

Financial considerations are a key reason why many don’t attend or complete college. Among adults who do not have a bachelor’s degree and are not currently enrolled in school, roughly four-in-ten (42%) say a major reason why they have not received a four-year college degree is that they couldn’t afford college. Some 36% say needing to work to help support their family was a major reason they didn’t get their degree.

Overall, about three-in-ten adults who didn’t complete four years of college (29%) say a major reason for this is that they just didn’t want to, 23% say they didn’t need more education for the job or career they wanted, and 20% say they just didn’t consider getting a four-year degree. Relatively few (13%) adults without a bachelor’s degree say a major reason they didn’t pursue this level of education was that they didn’t think they’d get into a four-year college.

Men are more likely than women to point to factors that have more to do with personal choice. Roughly a third (34%) of men without a bachelor’s degree say a major reason they didn’t complete college is that they just didn’t want to. Only one-in-four women say the same. Non-college-educated men are also more likely than their female counterparts to say a major reason they don’t have a four-year degree is that they didn’t need more education for the job or career they wanted (26% of men say this vs. 20% of women).

Women (44%) are more likely than men (39%) to say not being able to afford college is a major reason they don’t have a bachelor’s degree. Men and women are about equally likely to say needing to work to help support their family was a major impediment.

The shares of men and women saying they didn’t consider going to college or they didn’t think they’d get into a four-year school are not significantly different.

The reasons people give for not completing college also differ across racial and ethnic groups. Among those without a bachelor’s degree, Hispanic adults (52%) are more likely than those who are White (39%) or Black (41%) to say a major reason they didn’t graduate from a four-year college is that they couldn’t afford it. Hispanic and Black adults without a four-year degree are more likely than their White counterparts to say needing to work to support their family was a major reason. There aren’t enough Asian adults without a bachelor’s degree in the sample to analyze this group separately.

While a third of White adults without a four-year degree say not wanting to go to school was a major reason they didn’t complete a four-year degree, smaller shares of Black (22%) and Hispanic (23%) adults say the same. White adults are also more likely to say not needing more education for the job or career they wanted is a major reason why they don’t have a bachelor’s degree.

In some instances, the gender gaps in the reasons for not completing college are more pronounced among White adults than among Black or Hispanic adults. About four-in-ten White men who didn’t complete four years of college (39%) say a major reason for this is that they just didn’t want to. This compares with 27% of White women without a degree. Views on this don’t differ significantly by gender for Black or Hispanic adults.

Similarly, while three-in-ten White men without a college degree say a major reason they didn’t complete college is that they didn’t need more education for the job or career they wanted, only 24% of White women say the same. Among Black and Hispanic non-college graduates, roughly similar shares of men and women say this was a major reason.

Among college graduates, men and women have similar views on the value of their degree

Looking at those who have graduated from college, men and women are equally likely to see value in the experience. Overall, 49% of four-year college graduates say their college education was extremely useful in terms of helping them grow personally and intellectually. Roughly equal shares of men (47%) and women (50%) express this view.

Some 44% of college graduates – including 45% of men and 43% of women – say their college education was extremely useful to them in opening doors to job opportunities. A somewhat smaller share of bachelor’s degree holders (38%) say college was extremely useful in helping them develop specific skills and knowledge that could be used in the workplace (38% of men and 40% of women say this).

There are differences by age on each of these items, as younger college graduates are less likely than older ones to see value in their college education. For example, only a third of college graduates younger than 50, compared with 45% of those 50 and older, say their college experience was extremely useful in helping them develop skills and knowledge that could be used in the workplace.

Note: Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

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Primary in Pennsylvania is here: A 2024 election guide from ballot issues to House races

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have essentially clinched their party’s 2024 nominations for the White House. But Pennsylvania voters on Tuesday will cast their ballots in a slew of contentious and potentially decisive congressional and state races that are still sure to make waves as the campaign chugs toward November.

The primary results in this pivotal swing state are certain to reveal insights about the major issues shaping the general election, namely on abortion and the Israel-Hamas war.

All 17 members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation are running for re-election in 2024 and three of those incumbents are facing serious primary challengers. Several others are also watching to see who their opponent will be in the fall. And, in some cases, the outcome of Tuesday’s races could determine which way those seats swing on Election Day. 

While it's a far-flung possibility, which party has a majority in Pennsylvania's congressional delegation also could have major implications on the presidential race. If the 2024 White House election is contested or tied, each state’s congressional delegation will have a single vote in deciding the winner. Currently, Democrats have a 9-8 advantage — meaning one general election race in November could make all the difference.  

At the state level, Democrats are hoping to hold on to their majority in the state House and take control of the state Senate. Republicans currently hold a 28-22 majority in the Senate, and Democrats are hoping to flip at least three seats to make it 25-25, giving them the majority via a tie-breaking vote from Democratic Lieutenant Gov. Austin Davis.  

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Five Democrats and two Republicans are also battling for the open state attorney general position, once held by Democratic Gov.  Josh Shapiro . Michelle Henry, who is completing the remainder of Shapiro’s term since he was elected governor in 2022, is not running for the position.   

Candidates across these races are running on some of the biggest issues facing the country — from abortion to the war in Gaza to election integrity. And the candidates whom Democratic and Republican voters pick on Tuesday could give larger insights about their views on topics that appear central to this fall's general election.  

Here's a look at what to expect in Tuesday's primary. 

Abortion at play in Pennsylvania races  

Abortion has roiled down-ballot races across the country, and Pennsylvania is no exception. Reproductive rights have been a major topic in the attorney general’s race and in the Republican primary for the 1 st Congressional District.  

All five Democratic candidates for attorney general have committed to protecting the right to abortion and access to FDA-approved medications such as mifepristone . Meanwhile, the Republican candidates have said that they do not believe the state constitution guarantees the right to an abortion. As attorney general, both would leave the issue for the state legislature to decide. 

In Pennsylvania’s 1 st Congressional District, longtime Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is being challenged on his right flank by a candidate who believes abortions should be banned in nearly all circumstances — including in cases of rape and incest.  

Mark Houck, Fitzpatrick’s opponent, was acquitted of criminal charges stemming from an altercation at an abortion clinic.  The incident reportedly inspired him to run for public office. A devout Catholic, Houck co-founded the men's religious group The King's Men. He's worked as an author, motivational speaker and human resources manager.

Fitzpatrick is a moderate Republican. He is one of a handful of Republican representatives serving in districts that Biden won in 2020.  

The primary race could demonstrate just how important the issue of abortion is for the Republican Party’s base.  

Pennsylvania Democrats clash on Israel-Hamas war  

In Pennsylvania’s 12 th District, which includes Pittsburgh and some of its suburbs, first-term progressive Rep. Summer Lee, is facing a primary challenge over her opposition to the Israel-Hamas war. Bhavini Patel, a more moderate Democratic congressional candidate has tried to closely align herself with President Joe Biden. 

Lee, who is affiliated with the “squad,” was among the early advocates in Congress calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. She has been an outspoken opponent of providing U.S. military aid to Israel. 

Patel is a 29-year-old municipal council member who also describes herself as a progressive. She has framed the incumbent's criticism of Israel as detrimental to Biden’s re-election efforts and unrepresentative of a district that is home to a large Jewish community. 

The election on Tuesday could reveal just how salient the issue of the war is for Democratic voters — particularly in swing areas of the country. It may also forecast how other progressives facing similar challenges from moderate Democrats could fair in their races.  

What are the key Pennsylvania House races to watch? 

There are several other high-profile House primary races to watch in Pennsylvania.  

Six Democrats are competing for the chance to challenge GOP Rep. Scott Perry in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Harrisburg and Hershey.  

Perry was a former chair of the Freedom Caucus, one of the most conservative factions of the Republican Party, with members including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Perry was also a key figure in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

While the area leans Republican, Democrats say they can win over independents and moderate conservatives in the area with a message centered around protecting democracy. They plan to tie Perry to Trump and conservative extremism.  

Out of the six Democratic candidates running to unseat Perry, news anchor Janelle Stelson and former "Top Gun" fighter pilot Mike O’Brien appear to have the best shot. The other candidates include Harrisburg City Council member Shamaine Daniels, progressive businessman John Broadhurst and former radio executive Black Lynch.  

To the northeast of Harrisburg, in the Lehigh Valley, three Republicans are competing to take on Democratic Rep. Susan Wild. Her seat, in Pennsylvania’s 7th District, is a top target for Republicans in November.  

Wild barely eked out a victory against her Republican opponent, Lisa Scheller, in 2022. She won 51-49.  

Pennsylvania’s state legislature hangs in the balance  

If Pennsylvania Democrats hold their narrow majority in the state House and win the state Senate in November, it would give Gov. Shapiro enormous power to pass his agenda in the last two years of his term.  

It would also mark the first time in three decades that the party controlled the state Senate; Tuesday’s elections could determine whether that’s possible.  

Because the local districts tend to lean Democratic or Republican, the results of the primary elections can have a large sway on the race.  

Democrats currently hold a two-seat majority in the state House, and Republicans hold a five-seat majority in the state Senate.   

The Woman in White

Wilkie collins, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Marriage is presented as a great risk for women in The Woman in White . Women in nineteenth-century Britain had fewer rights than men because of the societal belief that women were inferior to men. It was still very difficult for women to challenge their husband’s authority or to maintain control over their own assets once married. Throughout the novel, Collins is critical of marriage, as the female characters in the novel stand to lose everything by it, while the male characters stand to gain from marriage and use this to their own advantage. While marriage for love is still depicted as a favorable outcome when it is based on mutual love and respect—like Laura and Walter’s marriage at the end of the book—many of the marriages in The Woman in White highlight the unfair balance of power between men and women in the nineteenth century.

In the novel, marriage is presented as something that is potentially dangerous to women because it strips them of their rights, power, and individual freedoms. Laura’s marriage to Sir Percival Glyde threatens her identity, fortune, and even her life. Although Laura is a wealthy woman, she has had little say in the distribution of her inheritance; if Laura dies, her fortune will go to her husband and to her aunt, Madame Fosco , who is conveniently married to Sir Percival’s co-conspirator, Count Fosco . This situation seals Laura’s fate, as it gives her future husband a financial incentive to murder her. Furthermore, like many wealthy women in the period, Laura has no say over who she marries. Before his death, Laura’s father selected Sir Percival for her, and Laura feels that she must obey her father’s dying wish. This gives the reader the impression that Laura has no power over her situation and is emotionally pressured into marrying Sir Percival, whom she does not love (let alone even like), by nineteenth-century conventions, which stated that women must obey the wishes of their male relatives. Once Laura is married to Sir Percival, she loses whatever personal freedoms she previously enjoyed. She must ask Sir Percival’s permission for her sister, Marian , to live with her and must live in Sir Percival’s house at Blackwater. Sir Percival is also physically aggressive towards Laura and tries to keep her locked up against her will. Although Marian reminds Sir Percival that there are laws to protect women against brutal treatment, Laura is effectively powerless against the plots of her husband because of her lack of agency—a situation that firmly positions marriage as a severe danger to women.

The novel highlights that while women lose power through their marriages, men become more powerful through marriage. This increases the risk of marriage for women, as men are incentivized to marry women who are likely to receive a large inheritance; the husbands of these women will be able to control this inheritance, as they have more financial rights than their wives. Sir Percival stands to gain enormously from his marriage to Laura; if she dies, her will leaves 20,000 pounds and Limmeridge House to Sir Percival, who is heavily in debt. Although the novel presents an extreme scenario—that Sir Percival is willing to murder Laura in order to access her fortune—Collins suggests that marriage leaves women vulnerable to predatory forces because of their lack of rights in Victorian society, and incentivizes men to prey on wealthy women for their fortunes, which marriage gives them access to. Similarly, Count Fosco has benefitted from his marriage to Madame Fosco. Once an outspoken young woman who “advocated for the Rights of Women,” Madame Fosco has been transformed into an obedient and unquestioning accomplice for the Count. The Count has destroyed her independent spirit and sense of self to the point where she is like an extension of the Count with no will of her own. Count Fosco also stands to benefit financially through Sir Percival’s marriage as, if Laura dies, he will be in control of the 10,000 pounds that his wife, Laura’s aunt, is set to inherit. The descriptions of Madame Fosco as a young woman mirror Marian in her outspokenness and determination to be treated like a man. However, while Madame Fosco’s marriage quashes her spirit, Marian does not plan to marry and describes herself as a “confirmed spinster.” This supports Collins’ criticisms of marriage as an institution that stamps out the potential of bright, outspoken women who strive to be treated as equal to men.

However, the novel doesn’t present marriage as entirely bad. In certain cases, marriage can create a fulfilling bond between two people, like with Walter and Laura, as long as these people are equals and are committed to each other through love and respect. Walter’s marriage to Laura is the happy conclusion of The Woman in White . Although Walter, as a lower-middle-class man, stands to gain financially by marrying Laura, he proves that he is interested in her and not her wealth through his unwavering dedication to her throughout the novel. At one point in the novel, Walter leaves Limmeridge for Honduras, even though he is deeply in love with Laura, because he wants to give Laura the chance to be happy with her new husband and to forget Walter, even though she is in love with him too. When he returns from South America and finds that Laura is changed by her time in the asylum and that she has lost her fortune, Walter remains faithful to her and does not pressure her to marry him while she is emotionally fragile. Instead Walter supports Laura financially and works tirelessly to help restore her identity and fortune, even though he believes this effort will come to nothing. Ultimately Walter’s marriage to Laura supports the idea that marriage can be a happy occurrence when a man has earned the trust and respect of the woman he wants to marry. However, Walter’s devotion to Laura is treated as a rare occurrence in the novel and Collins suggests that, despite this one-off happy ending, most marriages are a dangerous trap for nineteenth-century women and often result in them losing what little financial, legal, and social power that they have.

Marriage and Gender ThemeTracker

Marriage and Gender Quotes in The Woman in White

This is the story of what a Woman’s patience can endure, and what a Man’s resolution can achieve.

To associate that forlorn, friendless, lost woman, even by an accidental likeness only, with Miss Fairlie, seems like casting a shadow on the future of the bright creature who stands looking at us now.

‘Crush it!’ she said. ‘Here, where you first saw her, crush it! Don’t shrink under it like a woman. Tear it out; trample it under foot like a man!’ The suppressed vehemence with which she spoke; the strength which her will concentrated in the look she fixed on me, and in the hold on my arm that she had not yet relinquished –communicated to mine, steadied me. We both waited for a minute, in silence. At the end of that time, I had justified her generous faith in my manhood; I had, outwardly at least, recovered my self-control.

As matters stood, my client – Miss Fairlie not having yet completed her twenty-first year – was her guardian, Mr. Frederick Fairlie. I wrote by that day’s post and put the case before him exactly as it stood; not only urging every argument I could think of to induce him to maintain the clause as I had drawn it, but stating to him plainly the mercenary motive which was at the bottom of the opposition to my settlement of the twenty thousand pounds. The knowledge of Sir Percival’s affairs which I had necessarily gained when the provisions of the deed on his side were submitted in due course to my examination, had but too plainly informed me that the debts on his estate were enormous, and that his income, though nominally a large one, was, virtually, for a man in his position, next to nothing.

I answered him – more because my tongue is a woman’s, and must answer, than because I had anything convincing to say. It was only too plain that the course Laura had adopted the day before, had offered him the advantage if he chose to take it – and that he had chosen to take it. I felt this at the time, and I feel it just as strongly now, while I write these lines, in my own room. The one hope left, is that his motives really spring, as he says they do, from the irresistible strength of his attachment to Laura.

‘It will only involve us in more trouble and more confusion,’ she said. ‘It will set you and my uncle at variance, and bring Sir Percival here again with fresh causes of complaint— ’ ‘So much the better!’ I cried out, passionately. ‘Who cares for his causes of complaint? Are you to break your heart to set his mind at ease? No man under heaven deserves these sacrifices from us women. Men! They are the enemies of our innocence and our peace – they drag us away from our parents’ love and our sisters’ friendship – they take us body and soul to themselves, and fasten our helpless lives to theirs as they chain up a dog to his kennel. And what does the best of them give us in return?’

1 hate Sir Percival! I flatly deny his good looks. I consider him to be eminently ill-tempered and disagreeable, and totally wanting in kindness and good feeling. Last night, the cards for the married couple were sent home. Laura opened the packet, and saw her future name in print, for the first time. Sir Percival looked over her shoulder familiarly at the new card which had already transformed Miss Fairlie into Lady Glyde – smiled with the most odious self-complacency – and whispered something in her ear. I don’t know what it was – Laura has refused to tell me – but I saw her face turn to such a deadly whiteness that I thought she would have fainted. He took no notice of the change: he seemed to be barbarously unconscious that he had said anything to pain her.

The bare anticipation of seeing that dear face and hearing that well-known voice to-morrow, keeps me in a perpetual fever of excitement. If I only had the privileges of a man, I would order out Sir Percival’s best horse instantly, and tear away on a night-gallop, eastward, to meet the rising sun – a long, hard, heavy, ceaseless gallop of hours and hours, like the famous highwayman’s ride to York. Being, however, nothing but a woman, condemned to patience, propriety, and petticoats, for life, I must respect the housekeeper’s opinions, and try to compose myself in some feeble and feminine way.

Except in this one particular, she is always, morning, noon, and night, in-doors and out, fair weather or foul, as cold as a statue, and as impenetrable as the stone out of which it is cut. For the common purposes of society the extraordinary change thus produced in her, is, beyond all doubt, a change for the better, seeing that it has transformed her into a civil, silent, unobtrusive woman, who is never in the way. How far she is really reformed or deteriorated in her secret self, is another question. I have once or twice seen sudden changes of expression on her pinched lips, and heard sudden inflexions of tone in her calm voice, which have led me to suspect that her present state of suppression may have sealed up something dangerous in her nature, which used to evaporate harmlessly in the freedom of her former life.

And the magician who has wrought this wonderful transformation – the foreign husband who has tamed this once wayward Englishwoman till her own relations hardly know her again – the Count himself? What of the Count? This, in two words: He looks like a man who could tame anything. If he had married a tigress, instead of a woman, he would have tamed the tigress. If he had married me, I should have made his cigarettes as his wife does – I should have held my tongue when he looked at me, as she holds hers.

‘The fool’s crime is the crime that is found out; and the wise man’s crime is the crime that is not found out. If I could give you an instance, it would not be the instance of a wise man. Dear Lady Glyde, your sound English common sense has been too much for me. It is checkmate for me this time, Miss Halcombe –ha?’ ‘Stand to your guns, Laura,’ sneered Sir Percival, who had been listening in his place at the door. ‘Tell him, next, that crimes cause their own detection. There’s another bit of copy-book morality for you, Fosco. Crimes cause their own detection. What infernal humbug!’

“If I do build you a tomb,” he said, “it will be done with your own money. I wonder whether Cecilia Metella had a fortune, and paid for hers.” I made no reply — how could I, when I was crying behind my veil?

Human ingenuity, my friend, has hitherto only discovered two ways in which a man can manage a woman. One way is to knock her down – a method largely adopted by the brutal lower orders of the people, but utterly abhorrent to the refined and educated classes above them. The other way (much longer, much more difficult, but, in the end, not less certain) is never to accept a provocation at a woman’s hands. It holds with animals, it holds with children, and it holds with women, who are nothing but children grown up. Quiet resolution is the one quality the animals, the children, and the women all fail in. If they can once shake this superior quality in their master, they get the better of him.

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The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu

An unusual outbreak of the disease has spread to dairy herds in multiple u.s. states..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise, and this is “The Daily.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The outbreak of bird flu that is tearing through the nation’s poultry farms is the worst in US history. But scientists say it’s now starting to spread into places and species it’s never been before.

Today, my colleague, Emily Anthes, explains.

It’s Monday, April 22.

Emily, welcome back to the show.

Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.

So, Emily, we’ve been talking here on “The Daily” about prices of things and how they’ve gotten so high, mostly in the context of inflation episodes. And one of the items that keeps coming up is eggs. Egg prices were through the roof last year, and we learned it was related to this. Avian flu has been surging in the United States. You’ve been covering this. Tell us what’s happening.

Yes, so I have been covering this virus for the last few years. And the bird flu is absolutely tearing through poultry flocks, and that is affecting egg prices. That’s a concern for everyone, for me and for my family. But when it comes to scientists, egg prices are pretty low on their list of concerns. Because they see this bird flu virus behaving differently than previous versions have. And they’re getting nervous, in particular, about the fact that this virus is reaching places and species where it’s never been before.

OK, so bird flu, though, isn’t new. I mean I remember hearing about cases in Asia in the ‘90s. Remind us how it began.

Bird flu refers to a bunch of different viruses that are adapted to spread best in birds. Wild water birds, in particular, are known for carrying these viruses. And flu viruses are famous for also being shapeshifters. So they’re constantly swapping genes around and evolving into new strains. And as you mentioned back in the ‘90s, a new version of bird flu, a virus known as H5N1, emerged in Asia. And it has been spreading on and off around the world since then, causing periodic outbreaks.

And how are these outbreaks caused?

So wild birds are the reservoir for the virus, which means they carry it in their bodies with them around the world as they fly and travel and migrate. And most of the time, these wild birds, like ducks and geese, don’t even get very sick from this virus. But they shed it. So as they’re traveling over a poultry farm maybe, if they happen to go to the bathroom in a pond that the chickens on the farm are using or eat some of the feed that chickens on the farm are eating, they can leave the virus behind.

And the virus can get into chickens. In some cases, it causes mild illness. It’s what’s known as low pathogenic avian influenza. But sometimes the virus mutates and evolves, and it can become extremely contagious and extremely fatal in poultry.

OK, so the virus comes through wild birds, but gets into farms like this, as you’re describing. How have farms traditionally handled outbreaks, when they do happen?

Well, because this threat isn’t new, there is a pretty well-established playbook for containing outbreaks. It’s sometimes known as stamping out. And brutally, what it means is killing the birds. So the virus is so deadly in this highly pathogenic form that it’s sort of destined to kill all the birds on a farm anyway once it gets in. So the response has traditionally been to proactively depopulate or cull all the birds, so it doesn’t have a chance to spread.

So that’s pretty costly for farmers.

It is. Although the US has a program where it will reimburse farmers for their losses. And the way these reimbursements work is they will reimburse farmers only for the birds that are proactively culled, and not for those who die naturally from the virus. And the thinking behind that is it’s a way to incentivize farmers to report outbreaks early.

So, OK, lots of chickens are killed in a way to manage these outbreaks. So we know how to deal with them. But what about now? Tell me about this new strain.

So this new version of the virus, it emerged in 2020.

After the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus, authorities have now confirmed an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of influenza, a kind of bird flu.

And pretty quickly it became clear that a couple things set it apart.

A bald eagle found dead at Carvins Cove has tested positive for the highly contagious bird flu.

This virus, for whatever reason, seemed very good at infecting all sorts of wild birds that we don’t normally associate with bird flu.

[BIRD CRYING]

He was kind of stepping, and then falling over, and using its wing to right itself.

Things like eagles and condors and pelicans.

We just lost a parliament of owls in Minneapolis.

Yeah, a couple of high profile nests.

And also in the past, wild birds have not traditionally gotten very sick from this virus. And this version of the virus not only spread widely through the wild bird population, but it proved to be devastating.

The washing up along the East Coast of the country from Scotland down to Suffolk.

We were hearing about mass die-offs of seabirds in Europe by the hundreds and the thousands.

And the bodies of the dead dot the island wherever you look.

Wow. OK. So then as we know, this strain, like previous ones, makes its way from wild animals to farmed animals, namely to chickens. But it’s even more deadly.

Absolutely. And in fact, it has already caused the worst bird flu outbreak in US history. So more than 90 million birds in the US have died as a result of this virus.

90 million birds.

Yes, and I should be clear that represents two things. So some of those birds are birds who naturally got infected and died from the virus. But the vast majority of them are birds that were proactively culled. What it adds up to is, is 90 million farmed birds in the US have died since this virus emerged. And it’s not just a chicken problem. Another thing that has been weird about this virus is it has jumped into other kinds of farms. It is the first time we’ve seen a bird flu virus jump into US livestock.

And it’s now been reported on a number of dairy farms across eight US states. And that’s just something that’s totally unprecedented.

So it’s showing up at Dairy farms now. You’re saying that bird flu has now spread to cows. How did that happen?

So we don’t know exactly how cows were first infected, but most scientists’ best guess is that maybe an infected wild bird that was migrating shed the virus into some cattle feed or a pasture or a pond, and cattle picked it up. The good news is they don’t seem to get nearly as sick as chickens do. They are generally making full recoveries on their own in a couple of weeks.

OK, so no mass culling of cows?

No, that doesn’t seem to be necessary at this point. But the bad news is that it’s starting to look like we’re seeing this virus spread from cow to cow. We don’t know exactly how that’s happening yet. But anytime you see cow-to-cow or mammal-to-mammal transmission, that’s a big concern.

And why is that exactly?

Well, there are a bunch of reasons. First, it could allow the outbreak to get much bigger, much faster, which might increase the risk to the food supply. And we might also expect it to increase the risk to farm workers, people who might be in contact with these sick cows.

Right now, the likelihood that a farmer who gets this virus passes it on is pretty low. But any time you see mammal-to-mammal transmission, it increases the chance that the virus will adapt and possibly, maybe one day get good at spreading between humans. To be clear, that’s not something that there’s any evidence happening in cows right now. But the fact that there’s any cow-to-cow transmission happening at all is enough to have scientists a bit concerned.

And then if we think more expansively beyond what’s happening on farms, there’s another big danger lurking out there. And that’s what happens when this virus gets into wild animals, vast populations that we can’t control.

We’ll be right back.

So, Emily, you said that another threat was the threat of flu in wild animal populations. Clearly, of course, it’s already in wild birds. Where else has it gone?

Well, the reason it’s become such a threat is because of how widespread it’s become in wild birds. So they keep reintroducing it to wild animal populations pretty much anywhere they go. So we’ve seen the virus repeatedly pop up in all sorts of animals that you might figure would eat a wild bird, so foxes, bobcats, bears. We actually saw it in a polar bear, raccoons. So a lot of carnivores and scavengers.

The thinking is that these animals might stumble across a sick or dead bird, eat it, and contract the virus that way. But we’re also seeing it show up in some more surprising places, too. We’ve seen the virus in a bottle-nosed dolphin, of all places.

And most devastatingly, we’ve seen enormous outbreaks in other sorts of marine mammals, especially sea lions and seals.

So elephant seals, in particular in South America, were just devastated by this virus last fall. My colleague Apoorva Mandavilli and I were talking to some scientists in South America who described to us what they called a scene from hell, of walking out onto a beach in Argentina that is normally crowded with chaotic, living, breathing, breeding, elephant seals — and the beach just being covered by carcass, after carcass, after carcass.

Mostly carcasses of young newborn pups. The virus seemed to have a mortality rate of 95 percent in these elephant seal pups, and they estimated that it might have killed more than 17,000 of the pups that were born last year. So almost the entire new generation of this colony. These are scientists that have studied these seals for decades. And they said they’ve never seen anything like it before.

And why is it so far reaching, Emily? I mean, what explains these mass die-offs?

There are probably a few explanations. One is just how much virus is out there in the environment being shed by wild birds into water and onto beaches. These are also places that viruses like this haven’t been before. So it’s reaching elephant seals and sea lions in South America that have no prior immunity.

There’s also the fact that these particular species, these sea lions and seals, tend to breed in these huge colonies all crowded together on beaches. And so what that means is if a virus makes its way into the colony, it’s very conducive conditions for it to spread. And scientists think that that’s actually what’s happening now. That it’s not just that all these seals are picking up the virus from individual birds, but that they’re actually passing it to each other.

So basically, this virus is spreading to places it’s never been before, kind of virgin snow territory, where animals just don’t have the immunity against it. And once it gets into a population packed on a beach, say, of elephant seals, it’s just like a knife through butter.

Absolutely. And an even more extreme example of that is what we’re starting to see happen in Antarctica, where there’s never been a bird flu outbreak before until last fall, for the first time, this virus reached the Antarctic mainland. And we are now seeing the virus move through colonies of not only seabirds and seals, but penguin colonies, which have not been exposed to these viruses before.

And it’s too soon to say what the toll will be. But penguins also, of course, are known for breeding in these large colonies.

Probably. don’t have many immune defenses against this virus, and of course, are facing all these other environmental threats. And so there’s a lot of fear that you add on the stress of a bird flu virus, and it could just be a tipping point for penguins.

Emily, at this point, I’m kind of wondering why more people aren’t talking about this. I mean, I didn’t know any of this before having this conversation with you, and it feels pretty worrying.

Well, a lot of experts and scientists are talking about this with rising alarm and in terms that are quite stark. They’re talking about the virus spreading through wild animal populations so quickly and so ferociously that they’re calling it an ecological disaster.

But that’s a disaster that sometimes seems distant from us, both geographically, we’re talking about things that are happening maybe at the tip of Argentina or in Antarctica. And also from our concerns of our everyday lives, what’s happening in Penguins might not seem like it has a lot to do with the price of a carton of eggs at the grocery store. But I think that we should be paying a lot of attention to how this virus is moving through animal populations, how quickly it’s moving through animal populations, and the opportunities that it is giving the virus to evolve into something that poses a much bigger threat to human health.

So the way it’s spreading in wild animals, even in remote places like Antarctica, that’s important to watch, at least in part because there’s a real danger to people here.

So we know that the virus can infect humans, and that generally it’s not very good at spreading between humans. But the concern all along has been that if this virus has more opportunities to spread between mammals, it will get better at spreading between them. And that seems to be what is happening in seals and sea lions. Scientists are already seeing evidence that the virus is adapting as it passes from marine mammal to marine mammal. And that could turn it into a virus that’s also better at spreading between people.

And if somebody walks out onto a beach and touches a dead sea lion, if their dog starts playing with a sea lion carcass, you could imagine that this virus could make its way out of marine mammals and into the human population. And if it’s this mammalian adapted version of the virus that makes its way out, that could be a bigger threat to human health.

So the sheer number of hosts that this disease has, the more opportunity it has to mutate, and the more chance it has to mutate in a way that would actually be dangerous for people.

Yes, and in particular, the more mammalian hosts. So that gives the virus many more opportunities to become a specialist in mammals instead of a specialist in birds, which is what it is right now.

Right. I like that, a specialist in mammals. So what can we do to contain this virus?

Well, scientists are exploring new options. There’s been a lot of discussion about whether we should start vaccinating chickens in the US. The government, USDA labs, have been testing some poultry vaccines. It’s probably scientifically feasible. There are challenges there, both in terms of logistics — just how would you go about vaccinating billions of chickens every year. There are also trade questions. Traditionally, a lot of countries have not been willing to accept poultry products from countries that vaccinate their poultry.

And there’s concern about whether the virus might spread undetected in flocks that are vaccinated. So as we saw with COVID, the vaccine can sometimes stop you from getting sick, but it doesn’t necessarily stop infection. And so countries are worried they might unknowingly import products that are harboring the virus.

And what about among wild animals? I mean, how do you even begin to get your head around that?

Yeah, I mean, thinking about vaccinating wild animals maybe makes vaccinating all the chickens in the US look easy. There has been some discussion of limited vaccination campaigns, but that’s not feasible on a global scale. So unfortunately, the bottom line is there isn’t a good way to stop spread in wild animals. We can try to protect some vulnerable populations, but we’re not going to stop the circulation of this virus.

So, Emily, we started this conversation with a kind of curiosity that “The Daily” had about the price of eggs. And then you explained the bird flu to us. And then somehow we ended up learning about an ecological disaster that’s unfolding all around us, and potentially the source of the next human pandemic. That is pretty scary.

It is scary, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by it. And I feel like I should take a step back and say none of this is inevitable. None of this is necessarily happening tomorrow. But this is why scientists are concerned and why they think it’s really important to keep a very close eye on what’s happening both on farms and off farms, as this virus spreads through all sorts of animal populations.

One thing that comes up again and again and again in my interviews with people who have been studying bird flu for decades, is how this virus never stops surprising them. And sometimes those are bad surprises, like these elephant seal die-offs, the incursions into dairy cattle. But there are some encouraging signs that have emerged recently. We’re starting to see some early evidence that some of the bird populations that survived early brushes with this virus might be developing some immunity. So that’s something that maybe could help slow the spread of this virus in animal populations.

We just don’t entirely know how this is going to play out. Flu is a very difficult, wily foe. And so that’s one reason scientists are trying to keep such a close, attentive eye on what’s happening.

Emily, thank you.

Thanks for having me.

Here’s what else you should know today.

On this vote, the yeas are 366 and the nays are 58. The bill is passed.

On Saturday, in four back-to-back votes, the House voted resoundingly to approve a long-stalled package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and other American allies, delivering a major victory to President Biden, who made aid to Ukraine one of his top priorities.

On this vote, the yeas are 385, and the no’s are 34 with one answering present. The bill is passed without objection.

The House passed the component parts of the $95 billion package, which included a bill that could result in a nationwide ban of TikTok.

On this vote, the yeas are 311 and the nays are 112. The bill is passed.

Oh, one voting present. I missed it, but thank you.

In a remarkable breach of custom, Democrats stepped in to supply the crucial votes to push the legislation past hard-line Republican opposition and bring it to the floor.

The House will be in order.

The Senate is expected to pass the legislation as early as Tuesday.

Today’s episode was produced by Rikki Novetsky, Nina Feldman, Eric Krupke, and Alex Stern. It was edited by Lisa Chow and Patricia Willens; contains original music by Marion Lozano, Dan Powell, Rowan Niemisto, and Sophia Lanman; and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Andrew Jacobs.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you tomorrow.

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• April 23, 2024   •   30:30 A Salacious Conspiracy or Just 34 Pieces of Paper?
• April 22, 2024   •   24:30 The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu
• April 19, 2024   •   30:42 The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness
• April 18, 2024   •   30:07 The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial
• April 17, 2024   •   24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
• April 16, 2024   •   29:29 A.I.’s Original Sin
• April 15, 2024   •   24:07 Iran’s Unprecedented Attack on Israel
• April 14, 2024   •   46:17 The Sunday Read: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’
• April 12, 2024   •   34:23 How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam
• April 11, 2024   •   28:39 The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics
• April 10, 2024   •   22:49 Trump’s Abortion Dilemma

Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Produced by Rikki Novetsky ,  Nina Feldman ,  Eric Krupke and Alex Stern

Edited by Lisa Chow and Patricia Willens

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Dan Powell ,  Rowan Niemisto and Sophia Lanman

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

The outbreak of bird flu currently tearing through the nation’s poultry is the worst in U.S. history. Scientists say it is now spreading beyond farms into places and species it has never been before.

Emily Anthes, a science reporter for The Times, explains.

On today’s episode

Emily Anthes , a science reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading

Scientists have faulted the federal response to bird flu outbreaks on dairy farms .

Here’s what to know about the outbreak.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Special thanks to Andrew Jacobs .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

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