French Lieutenant's Woman.pdf （Cliffs Notes English 原典英语小说学习笔记）

www.cliffs.com Cliffs Notes on The French Lieutenant's Woman © 1979 1 THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN Notes including • Life and Background of the Author • Introduction to the Novel • List of Characters • Critical Commentaries • Critical Essay • Essay Topics and Review Questions • Selected Bibliography by James F. Bellman, Ph.D. and Kathryn Bellman, D.J., Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68501 1-800-228-4078 www.CLIFFS.com ISBN 0-8220-7076-6 © Copyright 1979 by Cliffs Notes, Inc. All Rights Reserved www.cliffs.com Cliffs Notes on The French Lieutenant's Woman © 1979 2 LIFE AND BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR John Fowles was born in 1926 in Bedford, England. After graduation from Oxford University, where he studied French, he taught in France and also for several years on a Greek island, then returned to England and worked on his first novel, The Collector, published in 1963. After its publication, and the good reviews which it received, he gave up teaching to pursue writing full time. Fowles' next work was The Aristos, a collection of philosophical aphorisms, published in 1965. The Magus, his next novel, was published in 1966, and in 1978, he published a revision of it. The French Lieutenant's Woman appeared in 1969. The Ebony Tower, a collection of short stories, was published in 1974. His later novels include Daniel Martin (1978), Mantissa (1982), and A Maggot (1985). INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL This novel is based on the nineteenth-century romantic or gothic novel, a literary genre which can trace its origins back to the eighteenth century. Although Fowles perfectly reproduces typical characters, situations, and even dialogue, the reader should always be aware of the irony inherent in Fowles' perception; for his perspective, however cleverly disguised, is that of the twentieth century. We see this both in the authorial intrusions, which comment on the mores of people in Victorian England, and in his choice of opening quotations, which are drawn from the writings of people whose observations belie the assumptions that most Victorians held about their world. Fowles is concerned in this novel with the effects of society on the individual's awareness of himself or herself and how that awareness dominates and distorts his or her entire life, including relationships with other people. All the main characters in this novel are molded by what they believe to be true about themselves and others. In this case, their lives are governed by what the Victorian Age thought was true about the nature of men and women and their relationships to each other. The French Lieutenant's Woman of the title, for example, is the dark, mysterious woman of the typical Victorian romantic novel. Sometimes the villainess, sometimes the heroine, such a woman was a symbol of what was forbidden. It is this aura of strangeness about Sarah Woodruff that first attracts Charles Smithson's attention. The story that develops around this pair echoes other romantic novels of a similar type, wherein a man falls in love with a strange and sometimes evil woman. Charles' relationship with Ernestina Freeman creates another sort of romantic story, one that formed the basis of many Victorian novels. In the present story, the romantic situation which develops around the pair of aristocratic young people is not allowed to prevail over the forces, including the dark lady, that would normally keep Charles and Ernestina apart. Thus Fowles uses the popularity of the comedy of manners and combines it with the drama and sensationalism of the gothic novel and, using several stylistic conventions, creates a masterful, many-layered mystery that is one of the finest pieces of modern literature. www.cliffs.com Cliffs Notes on The French Lieutenant's Woman © 1979 3 LIST OF CHARACTERS Sarah Woodruff She is an educated but impoverished young woman. She is called "the French Lieutenant's Woman" or "Tragedy" or the "French lieutenant's whore" because it is believed that she had an affair with a shipwrecked French sailor. It is also believed that she is half-mad with grief and that she stares out to sea, vainly hoping for the day he will return to her. Because of her reputation she can no longer gain any employment until Mrs. Poulteney hires her as a paid companion. Sarah is a mysterious figure. No one knows much about her, and later we find that much of what people believe about her is untrue. Charles Smithson He is a wealthy gentleman and is heir to a minor title. His hobby is collecting fossils and he considers himself to be something of a naturalist. He is an admirer of the controversial Darwin and he is rather pleased with himself that he is one of a minority in the 1860s to hold scientifically advanced ideas, such as the theories espoused by Darwin and others. He is both sensitive and intelligent, but he is unsure of himself. He is bored and dissatisfied with the course his life is taking. His fiancée is Ernestina Freeman, but that relationship is changed when he meets Sarah Woodruff. Ernestina Freeman Ernestina is Charles' fiancée. She is attractive and clever but also very young and naive. Although she considers herself to be a modern young woman, her attitudes are similar, for the most part, to those of most proper young ladies. She is vacationing in Lyme when the story opens, staying with Aunt Tranter. Aunt Tranter Ernestina's aunt is a kindly woman whose temperament contrasts greatly with that of the sharp-tongued Mrs. Poulteney. Aunt Tranter's honesty and lack of hypocrisy seem to present a welcome bright spot in the small town governed by the malicious gossip of less charitable souls. Mrs. Poulteney The vicar convinces the wealthy widow to take in Sarah Woodruff and give her employment. Mrs. Poulteney's main motive in doing so is to show how charitable she is, and it does not stem from any real feelings of compassion for Sarah. Mrs. Poulteney is a stereotype, a conglomerate of all the malicious old villainesses who have appeared in numerous Victorian novels. Dr. Grogan He is a friendly man whom Charles finds to be a sympathetic listener. Although he feels sorry for Sarah Woodruff, unlike Charles, he cannot take her seriously. He tries to convince Charles that she really is ill. Dr. Grogan, like Aunt Tranter, represents a type of Victorian character who seems more understanding and less hampered by convention than most people. Part of the reason for this is that both of the older people actually belong to the generation before Victoria's, an era somewhat less repressive in certain respects. Captain and Mrs. Talbot Sarah was the governess for the Talbot's children when she met the French lieutenant. Even after she told them of her experience with him, they did not condemn her for it. www.cliffs.com Cliffs Notes on The French Lieutenant's Woman © 1979 4 Lieutenant Varguennes Caught in a shipwreck, his leg was injured, and Varguennes was nursed at the home of the Talbots, mostly by Sarah. Although he flirted with Sarah, and wished to seduce her, he was married, as she later found out. Mrs. Fairley She is Mrs. Poulteney's housekeeper and is as unkind as her mistress. She delights in spying on Sarah and reporting her activities to Mrs. Poulteney. Millie Mrs. Poulteney's young maid who is befriended by Sarah. Mary Aunt Tranter's maid whose life is considerably more pleasant than Millie's. She eventually marries Charles' man-servant, Sam Farrow. Sam Farrow While Sam is often the object of Charles' teasing, he is not merely a humorous figure as was Dickens' Sam Weller. He takes himself seriously and is an ambitious member of the working class. He is determined to wed Mary and make a good life for the two of them. Sir Robert Charles Smithson's uncle. It is his title that Charles hopes to inherit, although that prospect is altered when Sir Robert marries Mrs. Tomkins, an attractive widow. Lieutenant de la Roncière and Marie de Morell These are two individuals in a case history given to Charles by Dr. Grogan for him to read. The doctor hopes that reading about how the neurotic young woman convinced the French courts that she had been assaulted and her family sent poison-pen letters by the officer would convince Charles that Sarah possibly had similar intentions regarding him. While Charles conceded that the story might be true, he did not believe it applied to Sarah. Mr. Freeman He was a haberdasher who became very successful. One sign of his success was that he, a member of the middle class, could have his daughter marry one of the nobility. Gabriel and Christina Rosseti They were the founders of a school of art called the Pre-Raphaelite school. In their day they were considered as radical as Mr. Freeman was conservative. However, by the time Sarah came to stay with them, their work, while still shocking to some, was coming to be more accepted. John Fowles He is the bearded man who enters the novel several times as an observer and sometimes as a sort of theatrical director. He comments on the actions of his characters and discusses the relationship between the art of the novel and life. www.cliffs.com Cliffs Notes on The French Lieutenant's Woman © 1979 5 CRITICAL COMMENTARIES Chapters 1-8 The initial chapter of the novel opens with an excerpt from Thomas Hardy's poem "The Riddle," which seems to describe the French Lieutenant's Woman as she is first seen by both the reader and by other characters in the story. She appears as an anonymous figure on the seashore, tragic and full of mystery. She is dressed in black and is staring intently at the sea; she appears to be the typical woman driven mad with grief by a lover who has left her. In addition to the French Lieutenant's Woman, this chapter also introduces us to Ernestina Freeman, a lively, though somewhat conventional young woman. In a romantic novel, a girl such as Ernestina might play one of several roles. She could be the heroine, who proves to be more unconventional and adventuresome than she first appears. But if she is not destined to become the heroine herself, as is the case in this story, she becomes the bright and pretty rich girl who is a foil for the poor but intense young woman who is the actual heroine. This is the role which we suspect Ernestina will play in contrast to the dark intensity of the woman whose only name thus far is "Tragedy." Charles Smithson is also quite traditional, though he would like to think that he isn't. He quotes Darwin and dabbles in paleontology. He represents the fashionable young man of his day, who rebels against what he sees as the stuffiness of his society, but who never rebels "too much." The narrator, who is the persona of Fowles himself, is present at several points in the story. He both observes and manipulates his characters, as we shall see later in the novel. In keeping with the style of his tale, the narrator observes the couple and the lone figure on the beach. This device allows the author to introduce and describe his main characters, as well as allowing us a look at the setting where much of the action will take place. The chapter closes with a brief glimpse of the French Lieutenant's Woman herself. Lyme Regis is a small English town set on a rocky shore. It was something of a resort or health retreat, as were many such villages at this time. The seaside was considered to be a healthy place to vacation because of its popular mineral springs. The larger cities were often smoke-filled, and people who could afford to travel were probably wise to go to smaller towns to breathe the fresh air. Like many similar villages, Lyme Regis has not changed much in a hundred years, and even today one might find similar villages in some parts of the country, hardly changed except for the advent of electricity, automobiles, and television antennas. It is in just such a town that provincial attitudes might have lingered on, even at a time when many were experiencing change and upheaval in the cities. It is odd that Sarah, the French Lieutenant's Woman, chose Lyme Regis for her home, when she could have gone anywhere, for in Lyme Regis she would likely be designated as a fallen woman, whereas in London, she would have been fairly anonymous. To introduce the second chapter, Fowles uses a quotation which states that there were at this time in England more women than men; this provides an implied commentary on the Victorian ideal of marriage as an appropriate goal for all women. If one assumes that the proper place of a woman is at a man's side, then some women will inevitably never reach that goal. Thus the character of the French Lieutenant's Woman must be defined in terms other than those defining her relationship to a man. Yet note how even her nickname, the "French Lieutenant's Woman," describes her in terms of her relationship with a, thus far, invisible man. The irony here is intentional. This chapter delineates the interrelationships of the characters as they appear at the beginning of the story. The first focus is on the rather trite conversation between Charles and Ernestina. As they walk to the end www.cliffs.com Cliffs Notes on The French Lieutenant's Woman © 1979 6 of the Cobb, Charles sees the French Lieutenant's Woman, and Ernestina decides that she wants to turn back. In saying so, she gives Charles a brief account of the story of the "fallen woman," who, some say, is mad. Charles, who thinks of himself as a scientist, is more tolerant and more curious than Ernestina. Charles is both disturbed and fascinated by the mystery and romance that he perceives in the woman, though he will not admit that his curiosity goes beyond what he considers to be merely scientific. Chapter 3 is largely a portrait of Charles, focusing on his relationship to his era. The author takes the opportunity to digress in a discussion of time. He compares the bustle of the twentieth century to the crawling pace of the previous century. Charles feels the ennui created by the slower pace of his century, though it should be noted that his boredom with life derives in part from the few demands which life makes upon him because of his favored social position. Charles is dissatisfied for reasons he cannot explain and, as a result, will prove to be easily attracted by that which is not only different or unusual, but which also has a hint of rarity about it. We see this already in his attraction to the mysterious woman, who represents that part of life not governed by the conventions he has unwillingly come to accept. Charles is a rather typical romantic hero, a superficially cynical and a slightly tarnished yet inwardly idealistic Victorian gentleman. By Victorian standards he is somewhat jaded, but were he not so, he could not function as the typical romantic, rather Byronic hero. Love will rescue him. Charles' feelings about his sexuality are reminiscent of the struggles that the hero in Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man undergoes when he is repulsed by his first sexual experiences. Charles' society has trained him to think that sex is evil, but then discourages him from giving it up. His father curses him when Charles desires to take Holy Orders; he sends him to Paris. There, Charles' youthful idealism finally gives way to a more cynical attitude that at least appears to accept the double standard that allows him his freedom, yet would ruin the reputation of a young woman not unlike "poor Tragedy." The narrator then introduces us to two characters who are examples of the sort of hypocrisy that could, and sometimes did, flourish in Victorian society. Mrs. Poulteney calculates the arithmetical advantage of saving her soul by doing the not too inconvenient good deed of taking in a poor but refined gentlewoman. Mrs. Fairley, the housekeeper, is her "spy," who succeeds in making Sarah Woodruff's life miserable after she agrees to come and live with Mrs. Poulteney. Both characters represent types that appear often in Victorian novels; they were the sort of person that the author's social criticism was frequently directed towards. Both Mrs. Poulteney and Mrs. Fairley are self- righteous and quite malicious. Although they profess to be good and moral Christians, they possess few Christian virtues. Instead, they believe themselves superior to someone such as Sarah, whose sins, real or imagined, have not warped her nature into a parody of morality. Whether there were many real Victorian women who were as rigid and unthinking as this pair are is something to speculate about, but such characters were often present in the popular novels read by many women who probably had suffered at one time or another from the sharp tongues of their neighbors. The quotation that prefaces Chapter 5 is from In Memoriam, which, according to the narrator, states that love can only be lust if there is no hope for immortality. In this chapter, which is largely a portrait of Ernestina, the narrator comments briefly on Victorian attitudes towards sexuality and duty, and the problems resulting therefrom. Charles and Ernestina part, and Charles leaves for his hotel, while Ernestina returns to her room. There she contemplates herself in the mirror while undressing, until a stray thought of sex (about which she knows virtually nothing) occurs to her and, embarrassingly, she ceases admiring herself. Not only are the descriptions and the dialogue couched in a style suitable for a Victorian novel, but even www.cliffs.com Cliffs Notes on The French Lieutenant's Woman © 1979 7 the narrator's interruptions, referring clearly to twentieth-century events, are also written in the formal English of a Victorian stylist such as George Eliot. Returning to Mrs. Poulteney and the vicar, who is encouraging her to help Sarah Woodruff, we receive a more detailed description of Sarah and her encounter with the shipwrecked French lieutenant during the time when she was a governess for the children of Mr. and Mrs. Talbot of Charmouth. Mrs. Poulteney decides to interview the girl in order to decide if she is a fitting object for the lady's dubious charity. She interprets Sarah's silence and habitual sad expression as an indication of feelings of remorse and takes her in. Although Sarah has earlier refused such charitable offers of employment from other people, she is destitute now and must accept the position. One of her reasons for accepting, which would have enraged Mrs. Poulteney had she suspected, was that Marlborough House possessed a good view of Lyme Bay, enabling Sarah to maintain her vigilant watch for the French Lieutenant who promised to return to her. Fowles gives us a closer look in Chapter 7 at the relationships between the two main social classes that appear in the novel: the well-to-do middle class and their servants. The focus here is underscored by a quotation from one of the works of Karl Marx, in which he discusses the role of the servant class in an industrial society and its exploitation by the ruling classes. As the chapter opens, it is the next morning and Charles is with his valet, Sam Farrow. Here, Sam is compared with Charles Dickens' character Sam Weller, a low-comedy servant whose image Sam Farrow tries to rise above. Whereas the servants of the 1 830s seemed relatively content with their lot, the servants of the late 1 860s began to sense and to demand a participation in the struggle referred to today as "upward mobility." The relationship between Charles and Sam is friendly, although to the reader Charles often appears patronizing in his condescending remarks to Sam. However, the narrator comments that this teasing relationship is probably preferable to the excessive formality of the nouveau riche, themselves the wealthy descendants of a working class. In Chapter 8, Charles examines the seashore for fossils after having c