THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN by JOHN FOWLES (1969)

Third reading


I remember being very impressed with this novel when I first read it, and also when I read it a second time. Somehow, however, I seem to have lost my taste for postmodern literature. I now find that it seems pretentious and annoys me in its self-conscious cleverness.

The French Lieutenant's Woman starts out appearing to follow the conventions of a Victorian novel of the realist school, written much in the style of Thomas Hardy. A wealthy English man who is in line for a title is engaged to a very young and beautiful (but shallow) girl, even more wealthy than he, though from the merchant class. As the two are out walking, they observe a striking woman staring out to sea. The girl tells her fiance' that it is a French Lieutenant's Woman (a polite word for whore) who is hoping in vain for the return of her absent lover. Despite himself, the man becomes fascinated with the woman's tragic demeanor, and manages to "accidentally" come into contact with her in out-of-the-way places.

Clearly, complications are looming, but then Fowles intrudes himself, speaking as the author, letting readers know that this is a made-up story written in the 1960s. Any drama from the love triangle plot is then sucked away, at least for me. I am pulled away from the characters and can no longer live inside their story. The final insult to my enjoyment comes when Fowles provides three endings: one where the man marries the young girl anyway, despite his desire for the woman; one where he breaks his engagement and runs away with the woman; and one where he ends up without either, continuing as a bachelor.

The plot of this reminds me very much of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, with the three central characters also having many similarities and the time frame being approximately the same, although in different countries. But whereas The Age of Innocence is one of my favorite books, because of its poignancy and conflict between love and duty, this novel, because of its metafiction gimmicks, almost seems pointless.

I don't know whether to recommend this book or not. I liked it when I was much younger. Now not so much.