The French Lieutenant
During the Victorian Era, what was expected from society differed greatly from what society expects today. During those times if one did not fit into what was expected, they were cast out of society, forever trapped in a world of alienation. Alienation can be accurately defined by Webster's Dictionary as an inclination of temperament or outlook. In other words it is a highly personal and unreasoned distortion of judgment. In most people's minds, alienation is looked upon with a negative aspect. In the case of John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman, alienation is what the author's protagonist, Sarah Woodruff, comes to loathe. While she is an outstanding and compassionate woman, she is unfairly judged by her peers, and falsely accused of being a whore. This conclusion not only causes her a substantial amount of emotional distress but it also casts an even larger shadow of doubt as to whether or not her French lieutenant will ever return for her.
Fowles' story confronts the issues of alienation and connectivity between people as a means to demonstrate how people adapt to uncomfortable situations. Sarah is a representation of a lost soul who is forever seeking for that one who may give her the sense of feeling like a part of society, rather than the lonesome individual she is shown to be. Sarah's life is considerably lacking of any social connectivity, which clearly establishes a pattern of alienation. Sarah does not wish to move up the social ladder by attending various social events, for she is aware of the fact that she is seen as a chaste woman among the townspeople. After she sleeps with a man she does not love, she becomes overwhelmed with the sense of guilt. At times Sarah feels " . . . as if I threw myself off a precipice or plunged a knife into my heart. It was a kind of suicide" (142). It is perceived that the only manner in which Sarah can connect with another person is to do so through her imagination, because only a few besides Charles is willing to be in her presence. Whether in reality or from within her mind, Sarah is a lonely and terribly misunderstood woman who is in dire need of love and compassion in her life.
At the same time in which Sarah addresses her alienation through...