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Home Middelbare School EN Uittreksels Uittreksel John Fowles - The Collector

Uittreksel John Fowles - The Collector

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Extracts English Literature
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John Fowles - The Collector

Cape London, (1963)

Title:

The title refers to Ferdinand who collects butterflies. He kills them and displays them in a glass box so he can always look at them. He starts to collect girls in the same way.

Author:

John Fowles became a teacher after studying French at Oxford University. His first novel was The Collector. He also wrote The Magus and The French Lieutenant's Woman.

The literary period:

The Twentieth century, second part (1945 to now).

The genre:

The Collector

Summary:

Ferdinand Clegg lives in London. His father dies, and his mother leaves with another man. He is in by his uncle and aunt. He grows up with Mabel, his spastic niece and his cousin who goes to Australia and who he never sees again. His uncle dies in 1950.

When Ferdinand wins the lottery, he buys a large house. He becomes obsessed with a twenty-one year old art tudent, Miranda. After two years he kidnaps her and keeps her in his own cellar. He looks after her very well. She is only supposed to stay for a month. They talk a lot and look at pictures of paintings, she paints and writes in her diary. Ferdinand isn't after sex, but he wants Miranda to love him. She misses her family and friends.

Miranda tries to escape several times. She pushes Ferdinand against the door, she writes a note and she tries to dig a tunnel. She tries to have sex with him so he would let her go, but he doesn't want to. When he refuses to let her go after a month, she starts fantasizing about killing him.

In December she becomes very ill, probably with pneumonia. She dies. He also wants to be die, but after reading her diary, in which she wrote that she never loved him, he doesn't want to commit suicide anymore. He buries her in his backyard. He sees a girl that lookes like Miranda, but is less beautiful. He finds out that her name is Marian, another M......

Time:

The story takes up about two months in the Sixties.

Setting:

The story is situated in Lewes, Sussex.

Characters and relationships:

Ferdinand Clegg:

Ferdinand Clegg is a psychopath who has only one interest: himself. He is a shallow person, filled with smug lower-middle-class prejudices. He is very self-conscious, which makes his behavior towards others very awkward, although he thinks he's always right. He doesn't understand that he can't take away someone's freedom. That's why he doesn't understand Miranda's feelings.

Miranda:

Miranda is a young, highly intelligent student, full of talent and moral courage. As an artist, she finds her captivity unacceptable. Her moods change swiftly in the cellar. Because she's open-minded she understands Ferdinand's feelings better than he does hers. Ferdinand also calls her Caliban, as in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Credibility:

….

Theme:

The basic theme is the contrast between a soul caged within itself and a free spirit, between the desire to possess and the urge to live. Politically it symbolizes the opposition between regimentation and individual liberty. The difference between Clegg, the collector or anti-life person, and Miranda the free spirit is unsurmountable.

Motto:

que fors aus ne le sot riens nee.

Linguistic usage:

The book is written in a simple manner. There are not too many difficult words or long sentences. The book is easy to read, so you can really follow the plot.

Dedication:

None.

Perspective:

Up to Miranda's illness Frederick tells us what happens from the first person point of view, and we get a convincing picture of a madman. The second part of the book consists of Miranda's diary, so that we read about the same events from a different point of view. We see Clegg through the eyes of the world. The final part is told by Clegg.

Construction:

The book has 260 pages. The book is divided into three parts. Clegg tells part I and III, Miranda tells part II.

Own opinion on the book:

Your opinion!

is a realistic psychological thriller. Although the events it describes are unusual, they are all quite possible. In fact, part of the effect of the novel depends on the author's skill in convincing the reader that his main character is a normal person.

 

The past is over... forget it. The future holds hope... reach for it.

Het verleden is voorbij... vergeet het. De toekomst heeft hoop... Reik er naar.

Charles R. Swindoll