15. John Fowles, The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969)
-
Brooke Lenz
Abstract
The story of Charles Smithson, a Victorian gentleman who is seduced out of his conventional existence and propelled toward existential authenticity by the alluring Sarah Woodruff, John Fowles’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969) has attracted both critical acclaim and enduring popularity. Its seductive narrative energy; its provocative metafictional gestures, indeterminate ending, and postmodern complexity; its self-conscious twentieth-century examination of the Victorian era; and its profound explorations of the ways in which large-scale social movements impact specifically situated individuals have all worked to secure its status as both Fowles’s most important work and as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century.
Abstract
The story of Charles Smithson, a Victorian gentleman who is seduced out of his conventional existence and propelled toward existential authenticity by the alluring Sarah Woodruff, John Fowles’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969) has attracted both critical acclaim and enduring popularity. Its seductive narrative energy; its provocative metafictional gestures, indeterminate ending, and postmodern complexity; its self-conscious twentieth-century examination of the Victorian era; and its profound explorations of the ways in which large-scale social movements impact specifically situated individuals have all worked to secure its status as both Fowles’s most important work and as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0. Introduction 1
-
Part I. Systematic Questions
- 1. The English Novel as a Distinctly Modern Genre 23
- 2. The Novel in the Economy, 1900 to the Present 42
- 3. Genres: The Novel between Artistic Ambition and Popularity 64
- 4. Gender: Performing Politics in Prose? Performativity – Masculinity – Feminism – Queer 82
- 5. The Burden of Representation: Reflections on Class, Ethnicity and the Twentieth-Century British Novel 107
-
Part II. Close Readings
- 6. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1899/1902) 133
- 7. James Joyce, Ulysses (1922) 152
- 8. E. M. Forster, A Passage to India (1924) 175
- 9. Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1927) 195
- 10. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932) 213
- 11. Henry Green, Party Going (1939) 232
- 12. Samuel Beckett, Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable (1951–1958) 252
- 13. Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners (1956) 268
- 14. Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook (1962) 288
- 15. John Fowles, The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969) 303
- 16. B. S. Johnson, The Unfortunates (1969) 323
- 17. J. G. Farrell, The Empire Trilogy (1970–1978) 344
- 18. William Golding, Darkness Visible (1979) 365
- 19. Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus (1984) 384
- 20. Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses (1988) 403
- 21. Jeanette Winterson, Sexing the Cherry (1989) 424
- 22. A. S. Byatt, Possession (1990) 445
- 23. Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials (1995–2000) 461
- 24. Zadie Smith, White Teeth (2000) 481
- 25. David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas (2004) 498
- 26. China Miéville, Embassytown (2011) 518
- 27. Hilary Mantel, The Thomas Cromwell Trilogy (2009–) 536
- 28. Tom McCarthy, Satin Island (2015) 555
- Index of Subjects 575
- Index of Names 592
- List of Contributors 603
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Editors’ Preface V
- Contents VII
- 0. Introduction 1
-
Part I. Systematic Questions
- 1. The English Novel as a Distinctly Modern Genre 23
- 2. The Novel in the Economy, 1900 to the Present 42
- 3. Genres: The Novel between Artistic Ambition and Popularity 64
- 4. Gender: Performing Politics in Prose? Performativity – Masculinity – Feminism – Queer 82
- 5. The Burden of Representation: Reflections on Class, Ethnicity and the Twentieth-Century British Novel 107
-
Part II. Close Readings
- 6. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1899/1902) 133
- 7. James Joyce, Ulysses (1922) 152
- 8. E. M. Forster, A Passage to India (1924) 175
- 9. Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1927) 195
- 10. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932) 213
- 11. Henry Green, Party Going (1939) 232
- 12. Samuel Beckett, Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable (1951–1958) 252
- 13. Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners (1956) 268
- 14. Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook (1962) 288
- 15. John Fowles, The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969) 303
- 16. B. S. Johnson, The Unfortunates (1969) 323
- 17. J. G. Farrell, The Empire Trilogy (1970–1978) 344
- 18. William Golding, Darkness Visible (1979) 365
- 19. Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus (1984) 384
- 20. Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses (1988) 403
- 21. Jeanette Winterson, Sexing the Cherry (1989) 424
- 22. A. S. Byatt, Possession (1990) 445
- 23. Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials (1995–2000) 461
- 24. Zadie Smith, White Teeth (2000) 481
- 25. David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas (2004) 498
- 26. China Miéville, Embassytown (2011) 518
- 27. Hilary Mantel, The Thomas Cromwell Trilogy (2009–) 536
- 28. Tom McCarthy, Satin Island (2015) 555
- Index of Subjects 575
- Index of Names 592
- List of Contributors 603