AN EXISTENTIALIST STUDY OF THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN

Abstract：The French Lieutenants woman which was published in 1969 is a British writer John Fowless masterpiece. Since its publication， it aroused enthusiastic responses around the world. The novel， in the Victorian background， tells the story of the hero and heroine through continuous choices to get rid of the secular bias and eventually set foot on the path of freedom. The author Fowles was deeply influenced by French existentialism Sartre. Sartre believes that existence precedes essence， man is born to free， and has the right to choose. The French Lieutenants woman is the expression of authors existentialism. This paper uses the theory of existentialism to discuss Sartres view of existentialism and analyze the embodiment of existentialism in the theme and main characters of the novel. So as to draw the conclusion： people should be brave to fight for their freedom and make positive choice. At the same time people should take the corresponding responsibility for their own choices.

Key words：existentialism; choice; freedom

1. Introduction to the Background

With the prosperity of the Victorian era in the highly developed material civilization， it also has formed a relatively stable custom and fashion. These norms gradually became stereotyped dull and rigid as well as imprisoned peoples mind and behavior， which hindered the social progress and prosperity. Prosperity often means that the beginning of the conservation and backwardness. At the back of the prosperity in the era of Vitoria hided the stone which obstacles the advance of history. In short， this was an area that various of phenomenons conflicted with each other.

In that era， the system of criminal law was gradually pay attention to human nature， while the whip was very popular.

2. Definition of the Existentialism

2.1 The Development of Existentialism

Existentialism was emerged after the first World War. The first World War was the beginning of the end of the European bourgeois civilization. With the advent of the modern period， human entered the period of non-religious period. At this time， although people had unprecedented power， science， technology and civilization， but they also found they were homeless.

After World War II， existentialism occupied an important position in the ideological circle of France， which established the Christian existentialism. Some writers through the publicity of literary creation expanded the influence of existentialism. Sartres existentialism which the individual life， freedom and existence were given the priority was greatly welcomed and was considered as the most fashionable philosophy by bourgeois and intellectuals. It became Europes most popular philosophy in 1950s and 1960s.

2.2 Satres Concept of Existentialism

2.2.1 Existence Preceded Essence

The essence precedes existence is not an absolute and universal rule， it applies only to things， but not to people. Mans existence precedes his essence， which means he must exist first， and then to create himself.

Sartres theory of “existence precedes essence” refers to the people rather than object. Sartre believes that the essence of objects precede existence. With the explanation of the phenomenological ontology， it means object is the existence of non-consciousness， which is no meaning and value.

2.2.2 Free to Choose

Existence is accidental and absurd. For man， they need to exist first， and then through their own choice to determine their own essence. So man has absolute freedom， mans existence is inseparable with the choice they made as well as the responsibility for their choices. Sartre revised his theory of freedom. At this point Sartres “freedom” recognize the humans social nature， and realized the close relationship between human and others， and society. Sartre said it was the second world war that he had turned from the pure personal view to the society.

3. Existentialism Embodies in Characters

3.1 Free to Choose

3.1.1 Sarahs Choice

Sarah was born in a poor family but received a good education in her fathers expectation. Sarah who was gifted and talented did not satisfied with her living condition. However， her wisdom and received education were not enough to get her out of her class， and into the upper class as her father had expected. In the whole process， Sarah has been actively doing all kinds of choices for her own freedom and Charless awakening， and finally she got Charless understanding and love.

3.1.2 Charless Choice

Charles was a young nobleman with no ambition at all at first and didnt need to worry about his life for he would inherit his uncles legacy. After he met Sarah， he realized that what the innocent Sarah had done was to fight for her own freedom and what had driven her into hopeless situation was the hypocritical and ugly Victorian society. He thought for a long time in the church and repeatedly looked at his past life， Sarahs life and the state of the present society. Then Charles understood ：“He seemed as he stood there to see ll his age， its tumultuous life， its iron certainties and rigid conventions， its repressed emotion and facetious humor ， its cautious science and incautious religion， its corrupt politics and immutable castes， as the great hidden enemy of all his deepest yearnings.”

3.2 Undertaking Responsibility

3.2.1 Sarahs Responsibility

In some way， Sarah took responsibility on Charles. She helped Charles become more aware of the dark side of society and helped he decided to pursue his own freedom. But when Charles broke the engagement with Tina， Sarah has left in order to pursue freedom and independence and no longer rely on Charles. When Charles finally found her and asked her to marry him， she refused his engagement in order to take on her responsibility of pursuing independence. Through her choice， she took on the responsibility of bearing the pain of love and pursuing her freedom. At the same time， she made Charles realized he should control his fate and understand the meaning of existential freedom which is a kind of dynamic and relative on. He got a sense of spiritual rebirth. From this point， Sarah shoulders her responsibility to herself and Charles.

3.2.2 Charless Responsibility

Similarly， Charles also took responsible on himself and others. After falling in love with Sarah， in order to be responsible to Sarah， he chose to broke the engagement with Tina. At the same time， Charles also took responsibility on himself. As a noble youth， he lived in a superior living environment where made him could not completely get rid of all kinds of shackles and fetters brought by the social mechanism. Under the guidance of Sarah， Charles who had no ambitions and lived a boring life decided to abandoned his titles of nobility and social status and began to pursuit his freedom.

4. Conclusion

As an existentialist， Flowers is in the pursuit of freedom in his whole life. This novel presents the thematic concerns such as the freedom to choose， the act of freedom and the act of taking responsibility. In this novel， we can see that the heroes broke the traditional shackles and fight for freedom. Fowless existentialism embodied in the heroines self-selection： we live in an absurd world， so we must define our own future. We can do what we want to do because we are born free， and we can do free choice. At the same time， free choice is limited. People can only rely on themselves. But people are living in a community， which is related to others. Therefore， when he makes choice， he should not only think of others， and to bear the possible results. In the novel， Sarah and Charles have taken on their responsibilities. Similarly， in the real world， when we make choice， we should think of others， and take on the possible results.

It is full of great significance to explore the existential perspective which is embodied in the French Lieutenants woman. The world is full of absurdity and danger， but also full of opportunities. In the novel， Sarah was born in a poor family but had the courage to constantly resist social traditional prejudices and pursue the equality between men and women as well as freedom and independence. Charles under the guidance of Sarah from a idle young nobility gradually awakened and began to pursue his self value. When the protagonists were faced with the rotten society， they never gave up the right to seek freedom， even though they are suffering from the thorns and suffering. Sarah and Charless spirit of having the courage to pursue the real self and independence in the ugly reality still has a positive significance so far. Today， many young people complain that some restricted factors of the society hinder them to achieve their dreams. In fact， what we should do is to seize every opportunity to change our lives. We can choose our life freely and at the same time we should also take on the responsibility. Only in this way can we reach our goals and enjoy the pleasure of choice. We cant decide our birth. But we can become the person we wanted to be through our effort， which is entirely depends on our own. It indicates that on the road of reinventing yourself is full of temptations and choices， but it also indicates the infinite possibilities. This kind of thought is very great. That to say， through our own choice and pay the effort， I may become a English translator and may also become a part-time freelancer writer. Existentialism helped me to make sure that “I can be the person I want to be，” and that the sense of emptiness in life has gone away.Through the analysis of existentialism， I realized that one should cherish every opportunity to choose， be responsible for yourself and become the person you want to be.It gives me a strong sense of reality - I was born ordinary， but can be unique.

Bibliography

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作者簡介：鄭洪多（1995--），女，漢族，籍貫：江西九江修水，碩士研究生，單位：江西科技師范大學，研究方向：學科教學（英語）