Why Does John Fowles’ “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”?

The novel The French Lieutenants muliebrity was made possible because of the haunting image of a woman in John Fowles imagination at the dock looking to the sea. The main instance of the novel is Sarah Woodruff who is an impoverished former Victorian educator. Sarah was labeled in the territory as Tragedy or the French Lieutenants Whore because she was thought to loss her virginity to the departed sailor Varguennes. In the account, in that respect is a noble Englishman named Charles Smithson who happened to saw Sarah while he was walking on the shore with his fianc Ernestina Freeman.Ernestina was a daughter of a wealthy shop owner. In the long run, he has a ploy to help Sarah as shown in his manifold meetings with her. In due course, he became attracted to Sarah until he pursued her. unable to overcome his desires, they made know for the world-class clip in a hotel room and he was shocked to his discovery that she was still a virgin. The business relationship of her seduct ion on Varguennes as the one who got her virginity was at that placefore a lie. Charles became hoodwink to Sarah. He realized that this lie had alienated Sarah from the society where she belongs and which is of paltry ethical motive and fickle-minded that Sarah learned to detest.Charles then broke his engagement to Ernestina and offers marriage to Sarah instead. Sarah declined the offer and runs away. The lost of Charles engagement made him iso recentd and estranged from the Victorian society and Ernestinas affluence as well. He looked for Sarah and found her as a amaze for the pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti in London. From this, John Fowles offered multiple cultures.The multiple closings air presented by John Fowles in his novel is a capturing proficiency to the endorsers attention. He offers variable choices of finish to the reader because as we all exist all(prenominal) book has its own group of diverse readers. To pay this and to acknowledge the reader s of your work, whirl them a several stops is professional enough to recognize their patronization of your work. A nonher creator why John Fowles offered multiple endings is to develop critical thinking to readers and to know their selves better through and through knowing what they want. For readers who intend to develop their skills as author, Fowles fertilize different options of how to make an ending.Through the ending, the faade of the casefuls behind the tosh and the purpose of the baloney atomic number 18 being much defined and delineated. This to a fault gives us an mentation that a story is a story that in fact starts in the beginning and ends only(prenominal) in the ending. Sounds irony as it is, it means that the extremes of the story tells us of what to expect and how to supposedly read the novel. It tells us that story has its twists and turns and may still be straight ahead depending on the accent of the reader.The novel offered a blissful and joyful e nding and a nugatory and wasted ending. From these, I preferred the blissful and joyful ending as the whole course of the novel is full of tragedy and showing a dim case. The blessed ending affirms a reunion of Sarah and Charles together with their daughter. The promiseless ending is they decided to part forever after all the sacrifices. Also, the character of Sarah if this is the ending is being detested because she is portrayed as a unavailing and fraudulent woman and as a whore she really is though she was a virgin to Charles.As an affectionate satire under Victorian maculation and setting, the curiosity of the reader to the ending of the story essential be meet and sultry at the same time. The narrative manner of the story is self-referencing and the characters Sarah and Charles deport the reasoning and feat of a twentieth century which is one to a greater extent century advance than their time. They are expressive of what they want and do what they confirm to carry po p instead of behaving being under the dictates and morals being entailed to them by the society where they belong. Through sexual communication, the main characters had evolved and undergone picturel development.The first ending, wherein Charles marries Ernestina to follow the expected norms in the society to retain class spatial relation quo, showed the true lifestyle and ways of life at those time wherein the writer didnt deflect the ideals at those times. As usual, the consequence of such ending and pattern of plot directs a marriage that is non happy and successful.In this ending also, the fortune of Sarah was not elaborated but focuses on Charles part where he let Ernestina know that he had an affair before once to a woman he referred as a French Lieutenants Whore. He did not further detail the story and did not consume to include the mop particulars for the matter to be closed. This is a fine ending but not much causing reaction to the readers because this is common to p eople under a lifestyle where class is important. The ending is calm and does not offer much emotion and catastrophic sceneries.In another ending, Charles chose Sarah and broke his engagement to Ernestina. This is an ending where love is chosen against all odds and mind was overruled. As expected, this has lead to unsympathetic consequences because of the present society where they belong. Charles became dishonored, humiliated, and shamed for choosing Sarah who had an appalling status in the society. Consequently, Charles was also disinherited from his uncle who then remarries where he got an heir. Sarah left for London without the knowledge of Charles. Charles who had love Sarah so much did not stop finding her for several years.One time he found her in London where Sarah was a model. Charles found out that he had a child and the ending was left open where there is an inference of reconciliation and reunion as a family. This ending has so much to offer and the expected ending if i t has to be a happy ending. The spice in the ending is the notion that no matter how umteen typhoons passed your way there is an appropriate time that it will calm surmount in brief. It is like expecting a sunny day at the end of the rain. It gave our adult male nature a chance to get up and tells us that trials are just temporary. It gave readers an idea of the natural circle of life and giving them hope that their struggles and sacrifices are not wasted because in due time, the fruits of these will soon be reaped.In terms of character of Sarah, It tells the reader that what we think of us depends on what we concede others to think of us. In this world full of critics and prejudice, you re bm to be strong and be able to defend yourself because you alone knew yourself most and its l phonys that you must not allow others to treat you as inferior to them. The more you allow a person to treat you that way, the more you are giving them adept to invade your privacy and dignity unt il one day it is too late for you to realize that you lost everything. You lost what you should have defended, kept, cared, and guarded.In this multitude and variable persona and guise behind the character of Sarah, Fowles was able to offer to readers another ending. This ending has its plot same as the second ending where Charles found in London as a model for the pre-Raphaelite artists. Here, there is no reconciliation that happened and their reunion was unpleasant. He found out that he is only used by Sarah but in the process, he contemplated that it is for the better as he learned to reflect and became aware to return to his old self. On the other hand, Sarah had chosen to conceal the existence of their child to avoid extending their relationship.This example of ending further builds up on the real character of Sarah if is she onerous to hold true of what people think of her or is she really that kind of girl. Inquisitiveness and nosiness in a readers administration will be t riggered and the nature of a person of criticizing and judging surfaces. many an(prenominal) questions may parent such as does Sarah loves maneuvering people if she knows she could exploit them through their feelings like Charles who loves and respects her so much? Or is she a tyro liar and indeed with few morals that must not be given a chance or must not be loved at all?In the novel, it was reflected that Fowles has difficulty choosing what the ending should be, the truer and more preferred ending, by disguising in the novel as the man reflexion the man Charles in the train. He finally decided then to initially have the happy ending then the final as the tragic ending. Here it can be reflected that there is an author involvement and preventative in the novel. This technique is a landmark in literature because multiple endings and author involvement and intervention are truly unique and innovative. except is this accepted in the world of literature? Or is this innovative tec hnique acceptable and tolerable in literature?As we can see, these denigrations have been passed by Fowles successfully as most critics found this technique as more interesting and a demonstration of exceptional talent. Any imitation or adaptation of this technique will be judged and reviewed as not creative, inventive, imaginative, or original at all. The multiple endings technique is also a manipulative style of the author to his readers. He made them raise questions and arouse their curiosity. Others interpret that the author is anxious and thirst for a psychological need to control. But it must still not be ignored that individually reader has its own ability to analyze and understand what they read, thus, this aspect in readers being cannot be controlled by the author.While reading the novel not because of the story but due to evaluating why the author made several endings for the story, I can not help to think that maybe the author had taken too lightly or failed to apprecia te the ability of the readers for independent thinking and understanding. But looking positively, maybe the author just wanted to satisfy his readers in terms of a happy or sad ending. The ending they will choose will satisfy each type of reader with their expectations being met. Generally, Fowles had been a good puppet master unlikely to queer of his purpose behind the novel. What we knew is that he had made a remarkable move in the literature world.ReferenceWilliam Stephenson, Chester College of Higher Education. The French Lieutenants Woman. The literary Encyclopedia. 10 Oct. 2002. The Literary Dictionary Company. 23 July 2007. http//www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=trueUID=796