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Sarah’s Journey to Freedom

Author: WuBin
Tutor: ZhaoXiuFu
School: Shandong University
Course: English Language and Literature
Keywords: Existentialism Freedom Dilemma Rebellion Self-Construction
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Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2010
Downloads: 209
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Abstract

John Fowles, an outstanding novelist in the history of British literature, established his fame in the 1960s. The French Lieutenant’s Woman, his representative work written in 1969, has been widely praised by many critics since its publication and has even been put on the screen. In the preface of this novel, John Fowles declares, "Actually, the theme of my novel is how a humble woman obtains her freedom in a completely unfree society". In the novel, the construction of the theme is embodied in the never-ending pursuit of freedom by the protagonist-Sarah and the several choices she has made in order to pursue freedom. As known to all, freedom is a key concept in Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist philosophy. Being an existentialist novelist, John Fowles is greatly influenced by the French existentialism, especially that of Jean-Paul Sartre. Accordingly, the core concept of the existentialist philosophy-freedom-has become the typical theme of his novels.Though Fowles’s view on freedom is influenced by the French existentialism, especially that of Sartre, he reinterprets Sartre’s ideas and forms his own concept of "relative freedom", which is shaped by his early life experiences, later education, and knowledge of social inequality. This "relative freedom" also becomes the basic contents of his creation. In Fowles’s eyes, human beings can make choices and take actions within a certain range so as to obtain "relative freedom"; meanwhile the pursuit of freedom is an ever-changing and ever-going process.In the past few decades, this novel has been constantly interpreted by many scholars from different perspectives, from initial double-ending, metafictional techniques, feminism to the later ones such as freedom, Evolutionism, New Historicism and even homosexuality. As for the theme of freedom, western critics have done a considerable amount of researches on it. However, monographs are rare. Many critics combine the freedom of the theme with the freedom of the narrative techniques. For example, Richard P. Lynch divides freedom in The French Lieutenant’s Woman into existential freedom, social freedom and narrative freedom, while some others interpret freedom as simple inheritance from Sartre’s existentialism and ignore the understanding of John Fowles himself. Starting with Fowles’s view on freedom and based on Sartre’s existentialism, this thesis explores the journey to freedom of the protagonist of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Sarah Woodruff-her anxiety for freedom, dilemma of freedom and constant pursuit for freedom. The Introduction gives a brief account of the main works of John Fowles and the background of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and then discusses the connotation of freedom, its embodiment in the novel, the influence of Sartre’s existentialism on Fowles and Fowles’s interpretation of freedom himself. The first chapter explores Sarah’s anxiety for freedom and her attempt to be free from three kinds of constraints:social constraints, human constraints and moral constraints. The second chapter illustrates Sarah’s rebellion against Victorian conventions by comparing Sarah with Ernestina from their appearances and settings. The third chapter analyses several choices Sarah has made for self-construction. In order to pursue her freedom, Sarah constantly constructs and then deconstructs her identity through various ways. At first, she fabricates her illicit intercourse with a French lieutenant, which results in a limited freedom; then her falling in love with Charles, leaving him and refusing his proposal make Sarah further realize the meaning of freedom; at last, she becomes the assistant of Rossetti, a Pre-Raphaelite artist. Sarah finally succeeds in constructing for herself an image of "a new woman" and adds meaning to her own existence. In the process of pursuing, Sarah is always in the initiative, she even adopts some immoral ways to pursue freedom, and her understanding of freedom is also improved constantly. However, owing to the social constraints in the Victorian age, Sarah still has to be alone and can never exist in her own right. In this sense, the freedom Sarah has obtained is merely what Isaiah Berlin calls a "negative freedom" and a freedom of mind at best, rather than an absolute freedom which she will never enjoy. And this point is discussed in detail in the fourth chapter. The Conclusion restates the major points presented. By analyzing Sarah’s journey to freedom, it is discovered that the pursuit of freedom is actually a forward cycle, which embodies Fowles’s philosophical idea that the value of human life lies in continuous pursuit of freedom and truth. Meanwhile, Sarah’s incessant quest for freedom tells us that the meaning of one’s life lies in the constant process of improving and surpassing oneself.

Sarah’s Journey to Freedom

Abstract

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