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【Abstract】This paper gives a tentative analysis on John Fowles’ philosophical ideology embodied in The French Lieutenant’s Woman， and discusses the existence of God and its existence but not intervening of human affairs， the philosophical concept of existentialism and the characters’ freedom of choosing their own identity in this novel.

【Key words】God’s existence Existentialism Identity

【中圖分類號】H31【文獻標識碼】A【文章編號】1006－9682（2009）05－0061－01

The author John Fowles was immediately recognized as an outstanding writer with rich imagination. Being the most commercially successful novel， The French Lieutenant’s Woman tops Fowles’ subsequent works and confirms his status as a novelist par excellence.

Compared to be a novelist， John Fowles wishes more to be a philosopher， and he has his own opinion about the ideology of the world and the Godless situation.

Ⅰ、God existing but not-intervening

The chief concern of Fowles’ view to the world is the questions about God. Does God exist? If so， what are his nature and his relation to human beings? He affirms the idea that God exists in the world， but the nature of ‘God’ is quite unusual. God exists in the world， while the justice that ‘God’ does to mankind is his role as a non-intervener to their affairs. As soon as he intervenes in their conflicts， he is unable to make the fair judgments.

Embodied in the novel， it is the author who plays the role as God. John Fowles states in this novel that “the novelist is still a god”， since he creates the novel， the author is the God in his work， and the happening of the story is changeable once the observer， the author， changes the observed.

As God exists but never intervenes， so does the novelist. In metafiction-composing， the author no longer determines characters’ fates. He appears in the novel like the God， enters into the text sometimes. He disappears also， for he never intervenes the love affair among the characters.

Ⅱ、Existential freedom

The issue of human freedom has long been the concern in John Fowles’ philosophy. Existentialists have the opinion that human beings are condemned to be free when facing the Godless situation. As God does not define man’s essence， he is free to choose his essence during his existence in the world. Man’s essence is defined in the process of choosing， and he has the absolute freedom to choose his identity at whatever time and whatever place.

Since God disappears， man has to take the responsibility to choose his essence. Existentialists advocate that man should take active action to change his surroundings. Existentialists also support the idea that man should take active action to alter his fortune through selection. Man enjoys the freedom to choose， regardless of any conventions or standards. Life is full of choices， and the importance of life is endowed by man himself.

In this novel it is the fictional characters that have the freedom to determine their essence. Sarah Woodruff， the most important figure in this novel， achieves the freedom to define her identity.

Sarah’s choosing for the first time takes place at her first appearance. Despite the poor family background， Sarah never compromises with the tragic fate that life does to her. Disdained by the locals， Sarah makes no defense. Living in an incomprehensible way， Sarah feels at home to be an outcast of the society， thus enjoying the unconventional independence and freedom. The second time that Sarah controls her destiny happens after her acquaintance with Charles. Having developed an intimate relationship with Charles， Sarah abandons the opportunity of a promising marriage and disappears from Charles despite his intense emotion to her. Being found in an artist’s place， Sarah is proposed by Charles while she surrenders the identity to wifehood. She is satisfied with her status quo， for she enjoys the pleasure that work gives her. She reduces herself to the work of art， which seems to be her only path to freedom， the best choice of her essence. Sarah’s third choosing might be difficult to interpret， and she is quite clear with herself that she is the kind of person that cannot be understood， and her happiness depends on her not understanding. No matter what her destiny might be， the only principle that Sarah sticks to is freedom at her own will.

References

1 John Fowles. The Aristos［M］.New York: The New American Library，Inc， 1975

2 John Fowles. The French Lieutenant’s Woman［M］.New York: The New American Library，Inc， 1970