Commentary on The French Lieutenants Woman Essay

The End, or is it?

In John Fowles book The French Lieutenants Woman, we are told a story about Charles Smithson and Ernestina Freeman who are a couple engaged to be married. The setting of the story takes place mainly in Lyme Bay, England. Charles and Ernestina are two upper class individuals who feel like they are above most other Victorian people. Charles is an amateur pathologist who enjoys many of Darwins theories and Ernestina is an attractive, shy, and intelligent woman. The couple are one day walking along the Cobb which overlooks the sea making small talk when they notice a woman dressed in all black staring out into the distance. Ernestina tells Charles that the woman is nicknamed Tragedy and tells of the story about her being abandoned by French lover who went out to sea and never returned. The girl nicknamed Tragedy we later find out is Sarah Woodruff who is an unemployed governess and the scarlet woman of Lyme. Charles was intrigued by the story his fianc had told him and almost had a strange interest in the woman. Charles interest for Sarah began to become almost an obsession, and they met on several occasions. They began to form a relationship, and soon after Charles convinces Sarah to leave for Exeter where she can live her unusual way of life more freely. After Sarahs departure, things began to go badly for Charles. He realizes that he is marrying Ernestina only for her wealth, and also may lose his inheritance from his uncle Robert. He eventually pursues Sarah and they make love for the first time in a hotel room where Charles finds out that Sarah is actually a virgin and the story about her he thought to be true was fabricated.

When reading this book I was very confused and seemed to not follow the story line entirely. Fowles often narrates about the Victorian time period but then relates it to the twentieth century. The main thing that was confusing about this story was how the author gives the reader an option of three different endings. In the first ending Fowles provides, Charles ends up marrying Ernestina. Their marriage is not happy, and what happens to Sarah is left untold. Charles tells Ernestina about Sarah and his encounter but only mentions her as the French Lieutenants whore. He leaves out all of the details to their encounter, and the matter just goes away. This first ending that Fowles gives can be taken as a daydream to the reader. Later, Fowles provides the other two possible endings. He has the narrator of the story meet Charles on a train and flip a coin to tell the reader which ending will be told first. Fowles allows the reader to make the decision of which ending really happens. The first of these other two endings has Charles breaking his engagement with Ernestina and having Charles and Sarah intimate together again. Things go badly for Charles and he ends up losing his inheritance to his uncle. Sarah eventually runs away from Charles to London, and the two do not see each other for an extended period of time. When they reunite, we find Sarah working as a model for an artist, living a different sort of creative way of life. Charles learns that he has a child with Sarah, and their future is almost left open by Fowles. There is no definite answer to whether or not they start a family, and there is only a hint that they may reunite. The second ending Fowles provides leaves off at the end of the first. The narrator is outside the house and turns his stopwatch back in time and begins to tell the next possible ending. The story he tells is almost identical to the first one. Everything is the same as the previous ending, until Charles and Sarah meet in London. This time the meeting is a bitter one, and things to not go as well. Sarah tells Charles she is no longer interested in him, and also does not mention anything about a child to him. Charles realizes that he has been used, maybe only for his money he provided to Sarah. Charles decides to leave and return to America, and as he leaves the house he sees the carriage the narrator is leaving in.

This story is different from anything I had previously read up until this point. Though the themes of love and betrayal were prominent like many other stories read this semester, the way in which Fowles tells the story was something new. The author of The French Lieutenants Woman did two major things I have never experienced prior. Fowles tells the story from the Victorian time period, but also somehow related it and made it relevant to me. He tied the characters dress, feelings, and actions not only into the Victorian time era in which the story took place, but also to the twentieth century and present. Though at some points very confusing, it was also quite impressive that Fowles was talented enough to be able to relate to the year 2008 while telling a story that took place so long ago. Another major tactic Fowles used telling this story was the alternate endings he provided to the reader. I was left with the choice of what I wanted or thought should happen. I could choose a happy ending where everything worked out, or I could choose an almost more realistic ending where nothing works out. With his use of various endings, it also leaves the reader with more questions. A major question that will never be answered for me is about Sarah. Was Sarah an honest person who really loved Charles and only told lies to try to win him over? Or was Sarah a liar with no morals, who manipulated Charles only to get money and everything she wanted in life? Providing the reader with these questions and various endings was a very good way to keep things fresh and interesting. It really made me interested in the story, and almost made me want more. It is because of these simple ideas that make Fowles such an amazing author. So what is the real ending? That is for the reader to decide for themselves.