The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

KEY LITERARY ELEMENTS

SETTING
The setting throughout the novel is predominantly Victorian. Most of the novels action takes
place at Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. Lyme Regis as one of many small villages in
southest England scattered along the coast. !t consisted largely of small houses surrounded
"y hills on one side and the sea on the other. The #o"" as "uilt along the shore and it is a
promenade here people could en$oy the sea air hile taking a alk. % section of the hills,
knon as the &are #ommons, as a meeting ground for most young couples and here
#harles and 'arah meet clandestinely. Lymes community as close(knit and provincial.
)nlike the larger metropolitan areas such as London, here people upheld the prevailing social
norms. )nconventional "ehavior is seen as an a"erration and often times a sign of mental
illness. The repressive norms and the peoples insensitive attitude toards 'arah succeed in
driving her to E*eter.
In the nineteenth century, Exeter served the same purpose as London does
today. Exeter was notorious or providin! all sorts o wic"ed entertainment.
#rothels, dance halls and !in palaces thrived there. It served as a haven or
$shamed$ !irls and women, namely unmarried mothers and mistresses who were
victims o sexual abuse or social re%ects. &ue to its scandalous reputation, many
upstandin! En!lish "ept their distance. 'ocial norms were virtually non(existent.
#ecause no one "nows her or intereres with her, 'arah eels ree, a pleasure that
was denied to her while in Lyme. It is in Exeter that )harles and 'arah
consummate their relationship, which is the turnin! point o the novel.
+or a "rief moment the action shifts to London here #harles signs his statement of guilt. !t is
also here that #harles and 'arah meet, after a to(year separation, at the Rossetti residence.
The action tends to move "ack and forth "eteen the Victorian and the modern age as +oles
tends to make intrusive comments a"out the past and the present. ,e has deli"erately
recreated a Victorian orld so that he can critici-e those aspects of the Victorian era that
ould seem alien to a modern reader. !t is interesting to note the different social conditions
prevalent in these places and their effects on individuals.
LIST OF CHARACTERS
Major Characters
Sarah Woodruff
The "earer of the "ooks title .The +rench Lieutenants &oman. 'he is also referred to as
/Tragedy/ or /The +rench Lootnnts Tenants ,ore./ 'he is the scarlet oman of Lyme, the
outcast dismissed "y society "ecause of her affair ith a +rench sailor. 'he is a figure of
intrigue due to rumors that circulate around her, most of them false. 'he is the protagonist of
the novel. ,er character is that of a mysterious or evil oman commonly found in a Victorian
novel.
Charles Smithson
Male protagonist of the novel. ,e is a ealthy Victorian gentlemen and heir to a title. ,e is
interested in Darin and paleontology and considers himself to "e intellectually superior to
other Victorian men, as he is one of the fe ho holds scientifically advanced ideas. ,e is
engaged to Ernestina +reeman "ut is attracted to the mysterious Miss &oodruff. ,e is
unhappy ith the ay his life is unfolding, yet he is e*tremely sensitive and intelligent. ,e is
an insecure man constantly analy-ing his life.
Ernestina Freeman
#harles fianc0e. 'he is pretty, coy and intelligent, "ut at times she tends to reveal her youth
and naivete. 'he likes to think of herself as a modern oman "ut her attitudes are similar to
most of the young Victorian omen ho "ehaved in a proper manner. 'he is %unt Tranters
niece and is vacationing in Lyme hen the story "egins.
Aunt Tranter
Ernestinas mothers sister. 'he is a kind oman ho is loved "y her domestic staff "ecause
she treats people ith respect. 'he offers to help 'arah hen the rest of the ton re$ects her.
%unt Tranter is an honest oman and lacks hypocrisy of any sort.
Mrs. Poulteney
% cruel old oman, she takes great delight in harassing her domestic staff. ,er temperament
is e*actly opposite to that of Mrs. Tranters. 'he "elieves herself to "e an upholder of
#hristian virtues yet in reality, she is a hypocrite ho reluctantly helps people only out of a
sho of charity. 'arah in employed "y her in the position of a companion. 'he succeeds in
making 'arahs life misera"le "y constantly reminding her that she is an outcast.
Mrs. Fairley
Mrs. 1oulteneys housekeeper. 'he pretends to "e virtuous "ut is a confirmed hypocrite like
her employer. 'he acts as Mrs. 1oulteneys spy reporting 'arahs movements "ack to her. 'he
is $ealous of 'arah and succeeds in getting 'arah dismissed from her $o".
Dr. Grogan
%n intelligent, friendly man ho "efriends #harles. The younger man finds him to "e a
sympathetic listener. Dr. 2rogan empathi-es ith 'arah "ut finds her "ehavior too outrageous
to "e taken seriously. ,e is refreshingly unconventional in his vies for a Victorian although
he "elongs more to an earlier age that as more li"eral in many ays.
Sam Farrow
#harles 'mithsons valet. ,e is not content ith his present status and ants to clim" the
social ladder. ,e is am"itious and is determined to secure his future ith Mary even if he has
to "lackmail #harles.
Mr. Freeman
Ernestinas father. ,e is a ha"erdasher ho has succeeded in attaining a higher status in
society. %lthough he comes from a loer class, he is a"le to have his daughter marry into
no"ility.
Lieutenant arguennes
'arah &oodruffs alleged +rench lover. ,e as in$ured in a shipreck hen he first met
'arah and tried to flirt and seduce her. Later, 'arah found out that he as married.
!ohn Fowles
The author of the novel. +oles tends to intrude into the narrative to make his on critical
comments a"out the characters as ell as the relationship "eteen art and life. ,e comes in
the guise of a foppish theatrical director or as a "earded stranger.
Minor Characters
Mary
The maid in %unt Tranters house. 'he is a free(spirited, don(to(earth soul. 'am +arro,
#harles man(servant falls in love ith her and they marry.
Millie
The $unior maid in Mrs. 1oulteneys house. 'arah empathi-es ith the poor girl and "efriends
her.
The Dairy man and his wife
Represent the people of Lyme ith their rigid attitudes and insensitive treatment of 'arah.
Ca"tain and Mrs. Tal#ot
'arah had orked as a governess to their children hen she met the in$ured Varguennes.
Despite her involvement ith him, the Tal"ots are kind hearted and supportive of 'arah.
Sir $o#ert
#harles uncle. #harles as supposed to inherit his title and property after his death "ut this
prospect is drastically altered hen 'ir Ro"ert marries Mrs. Tomkins, an attractive ido.
Pro"rietress
The oner of /The +amily Endicott ,otel/
Montague
%n old friend of #harles and his solicitor.
%n old friend of #harles and his solicitor.
Sergeant Mur"hy and Mr. Au#rey
%cting as Mr. +reemans solicitors, they humiliate #harles and coerce him into signing the
statement of guilt.
Ga#riel and Christina $ossetti
They founded a school of art called the 1re(Raphaelite school hich as 3uite radical in its
heyday "ut "ecame more mainstream "y the time 'arah shoed up there to stay ith them.
CONFLICT
Protagonists
The novel has to protagonists, 'arah &oodruff and #harles 'mithson. 4oth of them are
character types commonly found in a nineteenth century romantic novel. These lovers are
doomed from the "eginning. 'arah is an outcast, re$ected "y Victorian society. #harles is an
aristocratic Victorian gentleman already engaged to "e married to someone else. #harles must
challenge the conventions he lives "y and esche them. ,e does this through the help of
'arah ho has already moved "eyond societys definition of ho she is. 4y Victorian
standards their union ould have "een seen as scandalous. Through their characters +oles is
attempting to understand ho peoples lives ere dictated "y hat the Victorian %ge thought
as true a"out the essential nature of men and omen and ho they relate to one another.
Antagonist
The novel*s anta!onist is the +ictorian society, which spurns women li"e 'arah
who do not conorm to normal !ender roles. I not or society*s strict deinitions o
what women should be and how they should act, 'arah would not be an outcast.
5our "roser does not support the !+R%ME tag.
Clia!
#harles "reaks his engagement ith Ernestina hen he reali-es that he loves 'arah "ut hen
he goes to E*eter to meet her, he does not find her. +inally, in despair he leaves England to try
and forget her. %fter to years of "eing separated, he learns of her herea"outs. During their
separation "oth had undergone a change. #harles has shrugged off his conventional layers and
'arah is representative of a 6e &oman of the %ge.
O"tcoe
They finally meet after a to(year separation period at the Rossettis. 'arah has changed
drastically and #harles cannot adapt himself to this ne version. To complicate matters
further, +oles gives to different endings to the novel. 7ne follos the conventional rule of
a happy ending, and the other attempts to "e a more unconventional "ut realistic ending.
!n the conventional ending, #harles meets his "a"y daughter and the couple reunite ith their
love is strengthened "y all that they have gone through.
!n the unconventional ending, #harles re$ects 'arah and feels disgusted ith himself for
alloing himself to fall for a oman like her. ,e leaves ithout meeting his child. Though he
is "itter and alienated, he does reali-e a strength ithin him that as dormant. 'ince deciding
to "reak off his engagement and shrug off his ages "urdensome conventions to follo his
heart, he can no take on the orld "y himself.
)nlike traditional gothic novels, +oles o"$ective is not to unite his protagonists, 'arah and
#harles, "ut to sho that every human "eing must face hurdles in life in order to "e a"le to
gro
SHORT PLOT#CHAPTER S$MMARY %S&no'sis(
%t the "eginning of the novel, #harles 'mithson and Ernestina +reeman are engaged to "e
married. #harles is an upper(class aristocrat and Ernestina is a ealthy heiress. They meet
'arah &oodruff, an unemployed governess and the scarlet oman of Lyme. #harles is struck
"y this oman ho /had "een dumped "y her +rench lover and no andered the shores in
the hope that he ould return someday./
'arah is employed as a ladys companion "y Mrs. 1oulteney of Mal"orough ,ouse. ,er stay
is misera"le due to Mrs. 1oulteney and the housekeeper, Mrs. +airley, ho keeps spying on
'arah. They attempt to restrict her freedom in the name of making her repent for her sins.
Meanhile, #harles is intrigued "y the outcast. ,is interest in her gros to "e an o"session.
%n amateur paleontologist, he meets her on several occasions at &are #ommons. ,e ants to
help her "ut his interest is routed in the fact that he finds her singularly different from other
Victorian oman. %s on outcast, 'arah does not follo societal norms yet she insists on
#harles help. Dr. 2rogan, #harles friend, sympathi-es ith her situation "ut "elieves that
'arah ants #harles constant attention. ,e diagnoses her condition as a mental illness called
melancholia and ants to get her institutionali-ed.
Meanhile, 'arah has come to depend on #harles ho is himself going through a change. ,e
is "eginning to 3uestion his ages conventions and 3uestioning himself. ,e urges 'arah to
leave Lyme and go to E*eter here she ill have more freedom to live an unconventional
life. 'arah takes his advice "ut #harles cannot forget her. %t the same time, he feels guilty for
even thinking a"out her. ,e does not love Ernestina and is marrying her solely for her ealth.
,e thinks their relationship is nothing more than a facade.
+oles constantly interrupts the narrative "y making authorial comments ith a tentieth
century perspective. The narrative action digresses "ack and forth from the Victorian %ge to
the tentieth century in time. +oles is riting a novel set in the nineteenth(century romantic
literary genre "ut ith a tentieth century perspective. #harles finds the prospect of living a
life as a dutiful hus"and and son(in(la unappealing. ,is uncle disinherits him, so he has no
money and title. ,e ants to have a more meaningful life, unrestricted "y traditions. ,e
makes the ultimate decision of his life "y "reaking his engagement to Ernestina and follos
'arah to E*eter, here they consummate their relationship. &hen he returns for her, after
informing Ernestina of the "reak(up, he learns that she has left ith no forarding address.
,is valet 'am "etrays him. !n despair, #harles reaches 'arah "ut to no avail. Ernestinas
father makes him sign a humiliating statement of guilt for "reaking the marriage contract and
#harles friend and solicitor prevails upon him to leave England for some time.
#harles travels the orld "ut prefers %merica, hich he finds refreshingly modern compared
to England. &hile touring %merica, he receives ord that 'arah has "een found. ,e hurries
"ack to England and finds 'arah living ith the Rossettis. 'he has changed drastically, and
#harles finds this difficult to accept. +oles gives to endings to the novel. !n the
conventional ending, #harles meets his "a"y daughter and 'arah and he reunite. They live
happily ever after like any other hero and heroine in a romantic novel. The other ending is
unconventional and more realistic, an ending more apt for a tentieth century novel. #harles
re$ects the ne 'arah, yet despite feeling "itter and alienated, he has found a ne aareness
and strength ithin himself. 4ecause of his involvement ith 'arah, #harles has changed
from his old conventional self, re$ecting the values that sought to confine him.
THEMES
Major Thee
!n this novel, +oles is interested in the literary genre of the nineteenth(century romantic or
gothic novel and succeeds in reproducing typical Victorian characters, situations and
dialogue. 4ut +oles perception of the genre is touched ith typical tentieth(century irony.
,is thematic concerns range from the relationship "eteen life and art and the artist and his
creation to the isolation that results from an individual struggling for selfhood.
Minor Thee
+oles aim is to "ring to light those aspects of Victorian society that ould appear most
foreign to contemporary readers. Victorian attitudes toards omen, economics, science and
philosophy are tackled as minor themes ithin the main plot. 4oth omen and the orking(
class are to groups that are revealed as "eing oppressed "oth economically and socially in a
society that inhi"its mo"ility for anyone ho is not middle or upper(class and male. These are
the social issues that +oles e*plores ithin the guise of a traditional romance.
MOO)
The general mood throughout the novel is som"er and tur"ulent. +rom the initial chapter, the
mood is set. % strong easterly ind is "loing and a storm is coming in. !t is in such a setting
that #harles and 'arah meet. The atmosphere suits 'arahs enigmatic personality. Throughout
the novel, she is presented as a dark, mysterious and intriguing figure. The reader are
unconsciously aare that the lovers, #harles and 'arah, are doomed from the "eginning. !n
several sections, the mood changes to one of irony and realistic recording of details. +oles
tends to comment on several unknon aspects of the Victorian era 8e.g. prostitution9 in an
ironically realistic manner
*OHN FO+LES
*ohn Ro,ert Fo-les 8:;<=9, novelist, as educated at 4edford 'chool and 6e #ollege,
7*ford, here he read +rench. %fter serving in the Royal Marines, he orked as a
schoolteacher "efore em"arking on a career as a full(time riter. ,e spent some time on the
2reek island of 'petsai "efore the success of his first novel, The Collector, ena"led him to
rite full(time.
The Collector is a psychological thriller in hich a girl, Miranda, is kidnapped "y a
psychologically possessive repressed clerk and "utterfly(collector ho keeps her as one of the
many specimens of his "utterfly collection. The novel ends ith her death and his plans to add
another specimen to his collection.
This novel as folloed "y Aristos 8:;=>9, an idiosyncratic collection of notes and aphorisms
aimed at a .personal philosophy. !t is a self(portrait, revised in :;?@, on ideas that set forth
the personal version of e*istentialism hich underlies his novels. +oles concern ith the
strategies of fictional narrative and the implications of conventional ays of riting fiction is
e*plicated in the valua"le notes on an unfinished novel in The Novel Today edited "y
Malcolm 4rad"ury 8:;AA9.
The Magus ,-.//, revised -.001, is a lon!, compulsive mas2uerade o sexual
enticement and historical manipulation set on the 3ree" island o 4hraxos. 5
#ritish schoolmaster, 6icholas &*ure, hal(!uest and hal(victim is sub%ected to a
series o mysterious apparitions and tableaux which, despite their naturalistic
explanations, !ive the novel a narrative complexity and mytholo!ical dimension
aintly su!!estive o 7a!ic 8ealism.
5our "roser does not support the !+R%ME tag.
The French Lieutenants Woman 8:;=;9, is a careful pastiche of a Victorian novel undercut "y
tentieth century literary and social insight. !ts heroine, the governess 'arah &oodruff, is one
version of the elusive, inscruta"le oman ho appears throughout +oles fiction, nota"ly in
the titular novella of The Ebony Tower 8:;AB9, a collection of shorter fictions. The novel is
nota"le for the authors intrusive commentary and suggestion of alternative endings, an aspect
represented in 1inters screenplay "y a dou"le action of FilmwithinFilm!
"aniel Martin 8:;AA9 is a dense, realistic novel rooted in post(ar 4ritain and e*pounding an
unfashiona"le philosophy and humanism. !t is a long self(searching, semi(naturalistic, semi(
e*perimental account of screen(riter Daniel Martin and his relationship ith ,ollyood,
capitalism, art and his sister(in(la, set in a ide variety of locations, ranging from opening
se3uences in Devon and 7*ford to a closing se3uence in the ruins of 1almyra.
Mantissa 8:;?C9 is a se*ual $eu desprit and satire of contemporary structuralist ideology. !t
consists largely of an e*tended erotic fantasy on the su"$ect of la #emine ins$iratrice, ith
mythological undertones and A Maggot %:;?>9 is a murder mystery set in the eighteenth
century and ritten as a transcript of the su"se3uent interrogations of the murderer.
LITERARY# HISTORICAL INFORMATION
!n this novel, +oles is interested in the genre of the nineteenth( century romantic or gothic
novel and successfully recreates typical characters, situations and even dialogue. 5et his
perspective is that of the tentieth century as can "e noted in the authorial intrusions and
opening 3uotations dran from the orks of Victorian riters hose o"servations ere
uni3uely different from the assumptions that most Victorians held a"out their orld. !n this
ay, he attempts to criti3ue those values that Victorians most heralded.
)ntil today, the Victorian %ge as seen to "e a 2olden %ge here Reason and Rationality
ere proclaimed as dogma and faith. 1eople ere "eginning to 3uestion the claims that
religion made a"out the e*istence of 2od and the "eginning of man. %nything that could not
"e proven through e*perimentation and science as immediately treated ith suspicion. &ith
#harles Darins The &rigin o# '$ecies 8:?>;9 the "i"lical myth of %dam and Eve and the
origins of man ere shattered. Darins ork created 3uite an uproar as it succeeded it in
shattering the Victorian peoples un3uestioning religious faith.
The Victorian society imposed a great deal of repressive conventions and norms on its people,
especially omen and the orking class. Victorian omen ere socially conditioned to
"elieve that their rightful place as at home ith their hus"ands and children. % Victorian
oman as e*pected to accept the patriarchal norm unhesitatingly. ,er duty as to her
hus"and and children. 7nly if she toed this social line ould she "e deemed a proper young
Victorian lady. The institution of marriage as often a contract agreement. Money often
married into a titled family as in #harles and Ernestinas case, there"y reinforcing the
dominant societys poer. Money and no"ility ere often the main criteria for a Victorian
marriage.
The practice of prostitution as a topic that Victorian archivists rarely touched upon. Most
historians up until recently thought that the Victorian age as knon for its virtuous and pure
3ualities yet +oles novel reveals that even during the %ge of 1ropriety prostitution
flourished and conse3uently omen ere often victims of se*ual a"use or social re$ects. 4y
giving prostitutes a mention in his novel, +oles is attempting to "e realistic a"out their
situation. ,e is o"viously concerned a"out the role of omen in Victorian England and
societys treatment of them. %s is apparent omen of all classes right from the aristocracy to
the prostitutes ere e*ploited "y society hich as largely patriarchal and this practice
continues even today.
The aristocrats ere a dominant class once upon a time in England yet it is during Dueen
Victorias time that the class hierarchy "egan to dismantle. The no"ility ere no longer all
poerful. The rising middle(class as a ne class coming into e*istence and successful
"usinessmen in the trade and commerce industry ere no socially prominent leaders of
society. London as the place here all ur"an activity took place partly due to its reputation
as an industrial capital. The orking classes in industrial London consisted of the loer
classes that had migrated from the countryside to "etter their prospects. The middle class had
the largest population. #lass structure as "ased more on money than "reeding in the
changing Victorian social scene. 'uccessful mem"ers of the trade and commerce industry
no held the upper rungs of the social ladder although there as still some resistance in terms
of acceptance into certain social circles.
% Victorian gentleman as e*pected to have a sense of duty and propriety. ,e as e*pected
to stick to his commitments, "e they legal or marital. They ere e*pected to keep up the
facade of a proper gentleman. 4ut +oles informs the reader that very often the norm as
flouted to the advantage of men. !n a telling chapter, +oles comments on upper class men
patroni-ing the prostitution dens. There ere one set of social rules for men and one for
omen. Rules of propriety ere started "y the middle classes in order to keep their mem"ers
from straying from the .proper pathay. The upper classes and the loer classes had no
hang(ups a"out pre(marital se* yet the middle classes treated this as a ta"oo su"$ect.
+oles is interested in societys effects on its mem"ers and the concerns that arise from it.
Much of the novel is geared toards analy-ing particular roles that various mem"ers of
society had to play due to societal pressure to conform to a particular "ehavior. ,is characters
often act and react to ho they are supposed to "e "ehaving rather than to any individual
agency. +oles is also interested in tentieth century novel conventions and the Victorian
romantic novel conditions and their treatment of realism. The Victorians ere trying to rite
in a realistic manner hereas their modern counterparts ere attempting to clearly define the
meaning of realism through their ritings.