The French Lieutenants Woman John Fowles

A lot of Victorian features are represented by Fowles manner of highlighting some aspects of the society, but also the way he described nature. In this novel we can easily see a landscape covered by the towns of Lyme and Exeter, which was called the Undercliff, a place full of vegetation. It is also mentioned the Ware Commons forest and the Alley for secret lovers a place which was hidden from the world. Mrs. Poulteney said about that it was a place of sin. Lyme and Exeter are also very well described. Lyme is described as a common city, a place where people used to gossip at other peoples expense and everything seemed to be in a deep sleep. On the other hand, the city of Exeter was described as a bohemian city, with a lot of public houses. It is also presented in the novel the story of Emile de la Roncire, who was accused of rape by Marie, a 16 year old girl. He was thrown in prison, but for him, Doctor Karl Matthaei made an appeal to prove his innocence. The doctor wanted to highlight Emiles innocence with conclusive facts: for example, how was it impossible for anybody to hear the girls screams? Or how was it possible for the girl to go to the ball after 2 days, if she was raped by Emile? Also, when referring to the obscure world we can emphasize the romance between Charles and Sarah, the prostitute. When Charles knew the womans name was Sarah, he was unable to make love to her and he threw up. In the Victorian society, even the moments spent with the prostitutes were unusual, because a very rigorous moral code had to be respected. Sarah Woodruff is a character of the Victorian society, because she is able to defy the world, she proves strength, ability and courage. The 19th century was the century in which the woman was sacred, the century in which a lot of churches were built and the women pretended to be Christians and honest, like Mrs. Poulteney did.

The marriage was holy, the engagement had the value of a juridical contract, and maybe this is the reason why Charles Smithson was disapproved of by everyone when he broke his engagement to Ernestina. His attitude was seen as irreverence by everyone and the actions performed by Ernestinas father were a lesson for Charles because, when he signed the papers in which he admitted his guilt, he proved bravery. The gesture made by Ernestinas father, to keep the paper and to show Charless future father-in-law (in case Charles decided to get married one day), represents a strong attitude from a man who tried to protect his child and to wash away his daughters shame. Mr. Freeman was a man who tried to be a gentleman,and he really loved his child and he wanted Ernestina to be happy. The Victorians never spoke about sex and this can be a reason why Sarah was seen in such a bad light, because apparently, she had sex with a man before marriage. Sam and Mary alsowanted to make love, but they didnt because the mentality, the society, their own moral code didnt allow that. At the beginning of the book Fowles didnt describe Sarah physically, but he highlighted her clothes. We know about Sarah that she had red hair and tanned complexion, but regarding her clothes we have much more information: we know that she was wearing a black coat and a hood on her head. Her childhood was spent in Exeter and her father was obsessed with money. He was also disappointed by Sarah because she returned home after she finished school. He died in an asylum, and from that moment Sarah started to manage on her own. Here we can mention the theme of the orphan because Sarah was forced to make decisions on her own. From that point of view she is a victim of life because she found herself alone and without money. Sarah went to the Talbots to work as a governess. Her profession was a respectable one for the woman of that age, and in this case, we can say about Sarah that she was an intelligent woman she spoke French, she had an exquisite spelling. Sarah was a special woman, an intuitive one. Here we can mention the episode regarding Millie, another servant of Mrs. Poulteney. The girl forgot to water the flowers and her master intended to dismiss her, but Sarah saw that Millie started to feel bad and called the doctor, who said that she suffered from chlorosis. At that moment, Mrs. Poulteney did something surprising: she asked Sarah what to do. Later, she decided that Millie would remain to work there.

However, with this episode, we realize that Sarah was a strong character, one of her qualities was that she was able to help people, without asking for anything in exchange. But Sarah was not only intuitive, but she was also ambitious, because she always made things happen the way she wanted: for example, Mrs. Poulteney allowed Sarah to have only one free day per week. Of course, Sarah started to feel bad, and she received two free days per week, because the doctor told her master that she was deprived of her freedom. Sarah is brave too; for example, we can point her masters prohibition not to walk alone in the forest, and Sarahs disobedience regarding this thing. Also, the bravery is emphasized by her refusal to marry a farmer. She is also brave when she told Mrs. Poulteney to keep her money and use it in order to buy an instrument of torture. Sarah was apparently sincere, but actually she was a liar, the most skillful liar in the book, because she hadnt slept with the Frenchman Varguennes and she hadnt sprained her ankle. Sarah Woodruff defied the age in which she lived, because she never contested the gossip according to which she had slept with the Frenchman and that she had been his whore. If we analyze the relationship between Sarah and Charles, we can say that she manipulated Charles from the beginning to the end. He was a man who chose a common life until he met Sarah and fell in love. He was able to break his engagement to Ernestina and to defy the world for his love. When he discovered that Sarah was a virgin he realized that Sarah was a liar. But he shows his pure love from his symbolic gesture: he washed her clothes. Charles called Sarah his sweet enigma. Even if he was abandoned by Sarah, he never stopped loving her. After their separation, Charles became melancholic, obsessed to find Sarah. At the moment when he knew his love was in London, he went there. Unfortunately, we found that Sarah changed her name (now is Sarah Roughwood). If at the beginning of the book Sarah was dressed in dark clothes, now we have the opportunity to discover another Sarah, a bohemian one, who wore a blue skirt and a silk blouse, she was the assistant of a famous painter. Sarah has again a surprising behavior when she refuse to marry Charles. She said to him that she didnt love him enough to marry him and she had a relationship with somebody else. If at the beginning of the book Sarah was a victim,now she she was able to deceive a man, who truly loved her.

This book had three endings: I would have loved that Charles, Sarah and Lalage to remain together, but, the surprising character of Sarah destroyed everything. The two lovers would stay together even when Charles went to Exeter, but then again, Sarahs disappearance destroyed everything. However, Sarah Woodruff represented an enigmatic character she was a woman who was able to break the stencils. Sarah was brave enough to defy the world and the mentality of that age, without caring about the appearances, thus being herself from all the points of view. She comes out of the patterns of the society and she is not a chaste girl (for example, if we look at Mary, we can say that she is a normal servant, who married Sam). But, if we look at Sam, we can say that he was special because he surpassed his condition from a simple butler he became a reliable employee in Mr. Freemans team. Or if we look at Mrs. Freeman, we can say that she was a rich and common girl. She embodied the perfect picture of the Victorian society together with Charles, when they read a book in front on the fireplace. Maybe the only character who broke the patterns (but not like Sarah) was doctor Grogan, because he saw the society like an age of the irrational. He was an intelligent man, who had read a lot of books and he had more knowledge than others. He was able to see things more in depth. For example, if we look at his advice regarding Sarah, we can say he was right. Doctor Grogan said to Charles that Sarahs only salvation was the confession, and he was right. The moment when Sarah told everything to Charles, she didnt go to her usual route, which was far away from the eyes of the others, and she went to the main path. However, Sarahs behaviour comes out of patterns from all the points of view: by her attitude, by her gestures, and also by her voice: even her voice was special and loved by Mrs. Poulteney, a woman hard to be contented. If we look at the old woman, we can say that she is also a special character, she symbolizes a parody of the Victorian society (apparently, she was a Christian woman, obsessed with purity and honesty). This woman, who is called Poor Tragedy, or The French lieutenants woman, is a victim of but also a victim of the society, a consensual victim, by her own accord. Her behaviour turned everything upside down. The peace was interrupted by a volcano, a storm, which was called Sarah Woodruff!