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A review by beatrice_apetrei
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
4.0
The French Lieutenant’s Woman was published in 1969 and was written by British author, John Fowles, in a postmodern way, even though the action is set in the Victorian Era, during the 19th century. Stepping forward, this book is mistakenly described by many as a romance novel.
Wait, what? I often see the “love triangle” expression as being the commonly-used way to describe this novel and it is the reason I chose not to read this book until recently.
In my opinion, this novel is not about romance or love as much as it is about the Victorian man/human and how shackled in principles his mind is. The French Lieutenant’s Woman actually follows the change of mentality that occurs once our protagonist, Charles Smithson, has growing feelings for a shameful woman living in the village of Lyme Regis. There are a lot of steps one man has to take in order to approach his destination, and for Charles, his steps take him deeper into a dark place, filled with lies, shame and hypocrisy.
The writing. Incredibly well done, if you asked me. It is nothing like I was expecting it to be. We venture through the 19th century, so perhaps you’d expect a third person narration, with little to no involvement, and an omnipresent mind. I was surprised to find nothing like that here. This was told, in my opinion, as if the author was another character taking part in the development of actions and sometimes following the protagonists around, describing their expressions, their actions. We often are not told about what thoughts a sad face hides, because as he declares he doesn’t know.
The plot and characters. At the beginning we are introduced to Charles, a fine gentleman, who is in a continuous search of new things, territories, people, and his plain, spoiled, but enchanting and rich Ernestina, his bride-to-be. As they take one of their usual walks, they come by this mysterious, yet well-known woman, Sarah Woodruff, believed to have been tainted for life because of a love she supposedly felt for a French lieutenant, who consumed and then abandoned her.
I loved the few paragraphs that described his first impression of her. It was not a physical attraction, but rather his mind got instantly pulled towards hers like some force stronger than anything he ever felt. He didn’t even see her face or features. Just some gestures and how the air felt around her.
The hidden web is disguised as a forbidden or better said denigrated to-be relationship between a fine gentleman and a believed shameful woman. Personally, there was much more I’ve seen beneath all that. I didn’t see any romance. I couldn’t empathize or feel their love and I always wondered if it was real. A man trying to fight the constrictions of his time is a short summary that suits this novel better.
Something I loved about the plot development is that the author didn’t know how it would turn out. He was as new to everything that followed certain moments, as I was. He didn’t have the whole book planned from the start, he didn’t know the ending, or how the characters would evolve. He thought about the beginning and then let the path free for the story to walk any direction it felt right to walk. Then, somehow, the novel grew outside of his reach, on its own, following its own story and course of actions. It had a will of its own that had to be respected, and afterwards written.
I highly recommend it. Why? Because it’s worth it. Simple as that.
Wait, what? I often see the “love triangle” expression as being the commonly-used way to describe this novel and it is the reason I chose not to read this book until recently.
In my opinion, this novel is not about romance or love as much as it is about the Victorian man/human and how shackled in principles his mind is. The French Lieutenant’s Woman actually follows the change of mentality that occurs once our protagonist, Charles Smithson, has growing feelings for a shameful woman living in the village of Lyme Regis. There are a lot of steps one man has to take in order to approach his destination, and for Charles, his steps take him deeper into a dark place, filled with lies, shame and hypocrisy.
The writing. Incredibly well done, if you asked me. It is nothing like I was expecting it to be. We venture through the 19th century, so perhaps you’d expect a third person narration, with little to no involvement, and an omnipresent mind. I was surprised to find nothing like that here. This was told, in my opinion, as if the author was another character taking part in the development of actions and sometimes following the protagonists around, describing their expressions, their actions. We often are not told about what thoughts a sad face hides, because as he declares he doesn’t know.
The plot and characters. At the beginning we are introduced to Charles, a fine gentleman, who is in a continuous search of new things, territories, people, and his plain, spoiled, but enchanting and rich Ernestina, his bride-to-be. As they take one of their usual walks, they come by this mysterious, yet well-known woman, Sarah Woodruff, believed to have been tainted for life because of a love she supposedly felt for a French lieutenant, who consumed and then abandoned her.
I loved the few paragraphs that described his first impression of her. It was not a physical attraction, but rather his mind got instantly pulled towards hers like some force stronger than anything he ever felt. He didn’t even see her face or features. Just some gestures and how the air felt around her.
The hidden web is disguised as a forbidden or better said denigrated to-be relationship between a fine gentleman and a believed shameful woman. Personally, there was much more I’ve seen beneath all that. I didn’t see any romance. I couldn’t empathize or feel their love and I always wondered if it was real. A man trying to fight the constrictions of his time is a short summary that suits this novel better.
Something I loved about the plot development is that the author didn’t know how it would turn out. He was as new to everything that followed certain moments, as I was. He didn’t have the whole book planned from the start, he didn’t know the ending, or how the characters would evolve. He thought about the beginning and then let the path free for the story to walk any direction it felt right to walk. Then, somehow, the novel grew outside of his reach, on its own, following its own story and course of actions. It had a will of its own that had to be respected, and afterwards written.
I highly recommend it. Why? Because it’s worth it. Simple as that.