Different Aspects of Freedom in the French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities
Institute of English Studies
Aleksandra Wiwała
Student’s book no.: 22602
Different aspects of freedom in
The French Lieutenant 's Woman by John Fowles
Term Paper
First Cycle Degree Programme
English Philology, specialization: cultural studies
The paper written under the supervision of
Mikołaj Wiśniewski, PhD
Warsaw, January 2012
Introduction
“Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
― Virginia Woolf, A Room Of One 's Own (p.96)
Defining freedom as a concept that exists on the restricted field of the novel is most fascinating, as the concept of freedom itself has many layers. The philosophical approach towards freedom has been changing throughout history and consequently affecting diverse areas of life and art. The philosophical approach towards freedom dates back to ancient Greece and continues to develop, still inspiring further examination. Therefore, when it comes to literature, this multidimensional variety of freedom creates an opportunity for the author to experiment on form and inspires him to shape the realm of the novel more freely. John Fowles ' most famous novel "The French Lieutenant 's Woman" is a broad and multilayered exploration of the theme of freedom in the Victorian period. The study of liberty is presented from a modern perspective and refers to such highly important contexts as: social escapism, the character 's individual path to self-consciousness, nothingness, moral standards as well as novelistic codes. Furthermore, the complexity of both the abovementioned contexts and the concept of freedom itself, set in the particularly rigid times of Victorian England, require a multidimensional analysis. The explorations are to be crowned with the interesting and innovative achievement in the field of narration, since the
Institute of English Studies
Aleksandra Wiwała
Student’s book no.: 22602
Different aspects of freedom in
The French Lieutenant 's Woman by John Fowles
Term Paper
First Cycle Degree Programme
English Philology, specialization: cultural studies
The paper written under the supervision of
Mikołaj Wiśniewski, PhD
Warsaw, January 2012
Introduction
“Lock up your libraries if you like, but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
― Virginia Woolf, A Room Of One 's Own (p.96)
Defining freedom as a concept that exists on the restricted field of the novel is most fascinating, as the concept of freedom itself has many layers. The philosophical approach towards freedom has been changing throughout history and consequently affecting diverse areas of life and art. The philosophical approach towards freedom dates back to ancient Greece and continues to develop, still inspiring further examination. Therefore, when it comes to literature, this multidimensional variety of freedom creates an opportunity for the author to experiment on form and inspires him to shape the realm of the novel more freely. John Fowles ' most famous novel "The French Lieutenant 's Woman" is a broad and multilayered exploration of the theme of freedom in the Victorian period. The study of liberty is presented from a modern perspective and refers to such highly important contexts as: social escapism, the character 's individual path to self-consciousness, nothingness, moral standards as well as novelistic codes. Furthermore, the complexity of both the abovementioned contexts and the concept of freedom itself, set in the particularly rigid times of Victorian England, require a multidimensional analysis. The explorations are to be crowned with the interesting and innovative achievement in the field of narration, since the
Bibliography: • Black, Joseph Laurence. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Victorian era. Broadview Press, 2006. 23 Jan. 2004. Web. 18 June 2012. http://www.coursework.info/AS_and_A_Level/History/British_History__Monarchy___Politics/Intertextuality_in_John_Fowles__The_Fren_L50252.html • D 'hean, Theo • Fowles, John. The French Lieutenant 's Woman. London: Vintage Books. 2004, print • Gilbert, Sandra, Susan Gubar