The French Lieutenant's Woman

1996 Vintage paperback
Author	John Fowles
Cover artist	Fletcher Sibthorpe (1996 above)
Country	Great Britain
Language	English
Genre(s)	Romance novel, historical fiction
Publisher	Jonathan Cape Ltd
Released	1969
Pages	445 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-224-61654-4

The French Lieutenant's Woman is a 1969 novel by John Fowles. The book was inspired by the 1823 novel Ourika by Claire de Duras, which Fowles translated to English in 1977 (and revised in 1994). In 1981, the novel was adapted as a feature film. Fowles was a great fan of Thomas Hardy and in particular likened his own work to that of Tess Durbeyfield in Hardy's popular novel, Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... John Robert Fowles John Robert Fowles (March 31, 1926 – November 5, 2005) was an English novelist and essayist. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. ... A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, where the time the action takes place in predates the time of the first publication -- distinguish and contrast the genre of alternate history. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... John Robert Fowles John Robert Fowles (March 31, 1926 – November 5, 2005) was an English novelist and essayist. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Ourika is an 1823 novel by Claire de Duras, originally published anonymously. ... Claire, duchesse de Duras, was a reluctant writer. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The French Lieutenants Woman is a 1981 film directed by Karel Reisz and adapted by playwright Harold Pinter. ... Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy, OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) — an English novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement — delineated characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. ... A 2000 Wordsworth Classics paperback edition Tess of the dUrbervilles is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. ...

Plot summary

The novel's central character is Sarah Woodruff, the Woman of the book's title, also known by the nickname "Tragedy" and by the unfortunate nickname "The French Lieutenant's Whore." She lives in the town of Lyme Regis as a disgraced woman, supposedly ill-used by a French sailor who returned to France and married another woman. Throughout the story Sarah is portrayed in a negative light, and the question is raised: is she a genuine ill-used woman, the product of the French Lieutenant's lust? Or is she a sly, manipulative character who tries to get Charles to succumb to her, using her own self pity? Location within the British Isles The Cobb, with boats grounded in the harbour at low tide. ...

Sarah spends her limited time off from her domestic work on the Cobb [sea wall] at Lyme Regis, staring at the sea. One day, she is seen there by the gentleman Charles Smithson and his fiancée, Ernestina Freeman, the shallow daughter of a wealthy tradesman. Ernestina tells Charles something of Sarah's story, and he develops a strong curiosity about her. They end up having several clandestine meetings during which Sarah tells Charles her history and asks for his support, mostly emotional. Although Charles tries to remain distant, he ends up sending Sarah to Exeter, where he cannot resist stopping to see her during a journey. At the same time, Charles learns his projected inheritance from an older uncle is in jeopardy, as the uncle is now engaged to a woman young enough to bear him an heir.

From there, Fowles - who appears briefly as a character in the book - offers three different endings.

• In one, Charles marries Ernestina. Their marriage is not a happy one, and Sarah's fate is unknown. Charles tells Ernestina about an encounter with whom he implies is the "French Lieutenant's Whore", but apparently eliminating the worst details, and the matter is closed.
• In another, Charles has sex with Sarah and breaks his engagement to Ernestina, which brings unpleasant consequences of its own. He becomes disgraced, and his uncle marries and gets an heir. Sarah flees to London without telling Charles, who, very much in love with her, looks for her for several years before finding her again--she is living with several artists, likely the Rossettis, and enjoys an artistic, creative life. He then sees that he has a child. Their future as a family is left open, but there is an implication that they might reunite.
• In the third, Fowles appears as a minor character on the train, who "turns back the clock to see how events could have or should have been. Events are the same as in the second ending, but when Charles finds Sarah again in London, their reunion is a sour one. He realizes he has been used, but sees some benefit in the journey towards self-knowledge. Sarah does not tell him about the child, and expresses no interest in furthering their relationship. This raises the question: is Sarah a manipulating, lying woman with few morals, exploiting Charles' obvious love for her to get what she wants?

Along the way, Fowles discourses on the difficulties of controlling the characters one has created, and offers tangents on Victorian customs and class differences, the theories of Charles Darwin, and the poetry of Matthew Arnold and Lord Tennyson. He also calls upon the literature of Thomas Hardy to raise questions about Victorian conventions, attitudes and society. He questions the role of the author, such as the time he speaks of how Charles "disobeys" his orders, implying that the characters have a life of their own within the novel. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Rossetti may refer to: Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe Rossetti (1783-1854), a poet, scholar, and Italian emigré to England, father of Dante Gabriel, Christina Georgina, William Michael, and Maria Francesca Maria Francesca Rossetti (1827-1876), an English author Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882), an English poet, illustrator, painter, and translator, founder... For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... Matthew Arnold Caricature from Punch, 1881: Admit that Homer sometimes nods, That poets do write trash, Our Bard has written Balder Dead, And also Balder-dash Family tree Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic, who worked as an inspector of schools. ... Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (August 6, 1809 - October 6, 1892) is generally regarded as one of the greatest English poets. ... Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy, OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) — an English novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement — delineated characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. ...

External links

• Postmodern evolutionary theory in The French Lieutenant's Woman
• Genetic and cultural selection in The French Lieutenant's Woman
• 20th-Century American Bestsellers The French Lieutenant's Woman
• Details of the 2006 UK tour of Mark Healey's adaption of The French Lieutenant's Woman

ISBN

• ISBN 0-316-29116-1 (paperback)