The French Lieutenant's Woman

The French Lieutenant's Woman (ISBN 0224616544) is a metafictional historical romance novel by the British author John Fowles. It was first published in 1969. It sold well on its publication and was generally well received by critics. It remains popular with the public and has received a great deal of attention from academics. It was named in the October 16, 2005 issue of Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels to have been written since the magazine's first publication in 1923.

The French Lieutenant's Woman both follows and critiques conventions of 19th century novels. John Fowles was an expert on 19th century literature but determined in writing the novel not to pretend he was a Victorian author telling a Victorian story, or at least to make it clear to the reader that it was a pretense. Each chapter of The French Lieutenant's Woman opens with at least one epigram related to the chapter's content. They are all taken from works published in the mid 19th century, both fiction and non-fiction, apart from the penultimate one which is a 1967 quote from Martin Gardner. The French Lieutenant's Woman also includes several footnotes, many of which reference 19th century non-fiction works, that provide historical context.

The novel takes place mainly in the English seaside town of Lyme Regis in the 1860s. Its title character is a woman named Sarah Woodruff, a former governess who is said to have had an illicit affair with a married French naval lieutenant. She is seen as wicked by many members of the society in which she leaves. She does, however, also elicit sympathy from people who believe she is constantly on the look out for a lover who has abandoned her and will never return. The novel's other main character is a young man named Charles Smithson, an amateur paleontologist from an upper class family. He is in Lyme Regis to visit his fiancée Ernestina Freeman, the daughter of the owner of one of London's most successful department stores. Charles finds Sarah mysterious and fascinating. He tries to help her and eventually falls in love with her. The novel has three different endings. The first one presents a happy ending for Charles with Ernestina, the second one presents a happy ending for Charles with Sarah and the third one presents a sad ending for Charles.

The French Lieutenant's Woman was adapted as a multiple award-winning film of the same name that was released in 1981.

Plot[]

The novel is related chiefly from the point of view of an all-knowing narrator who is a fictionalized version of author John Fowles. The narrator frequently reminds readers that they are reading about events that are supposed to have happened one hundred years earlier. He also reminds readers that the events did not really happen at all and that none of the characters in the story ever really existed. The narrator asserts that he is ultimately in control of the fictional world he has created, although he claims to sometimes be genuinely surprised by the decisions characters make that are beyond his control.

Charles Smithson comes from an aristocratic family. Although he does not have a title of nobility, he is expected to inherit one, along with a stately home, other property and increased wealth upon the death of his old bachelor uncle, his only living relative. Charles is already independently wealthy enough not to have to work for a living. He is a keen amateur scientist who is especially interested in fossils. He fully accepts Charles Darwin's controversial new theory of evolution. Charles Smithson is engaged to Ernestina Freeman, whose father is the wealthy owner of the Freeman's department store in London. Ernestina is visiting her aunt in Lyme Regis. Charles is also there to visit Ernestina. He is accompanied by his valet Sam Farrow. During his stay in Lyme Regis, Sam falls in love with Mary, a maid who works in Ernestina's aunt's house.

While walking with Ernestina one day, Charles notices a woman on her own who is looking out to sea. Ernestina tells Charles that the woman, whose real name is Sarah Woodruff, is known as "Tragedy" or "the French Lieutenant's Woman". (Sarah is really better known as "the French Lieutenant's Whore", which Ernestina cannot bring herself to say.) Sarah had been the governess to the children of a naval officer. A shipwrecked and wounded French naval lieutenant named Verguennes was brought to his house. As the only person in the house who could speak French, Sarah was responsible for communicating with Verguennes. She and Verguennes are also believed to have had an illicit affair. Sarah is now believed to be waiting vainly in the hope that Veguennes, who has gone back to his wife in France, will return to her and that is why she looks out to sea. After Veguennes left, Sarah chose to leave her position as a governess. She is currently employed as the companion to the wealthy and extremely pious widow Mrs. Poulteney. Her chief duty is to read aloud to Mrs. Poulteney from the Bible. Mrs. Poulteney considers French to be an immoral language. She believes that she is performing an act of Christian charity by allowing someone of dubious morals into her house, although she is is only doing it to be perceived as a good person and not out of any genuine love. She remains highly suspicious of Sarah and strictly forbids her from looking out to sea for her lover.

Charles sees Sarah again while he is looking for fossils and speaks to her. He sees her again on subsequent outings and she gradually opens up to him. She reveals that she never had sex with Verguennes and that she neither expects nor wants him to return. Sarah tries to avoid being seen with Charles, worried that somebody would report back about it to Mrs. Poulteney and cause her to lose her job. To get away from the miserable life that she leads at Mrs. Poulteney's house and as the center of malicious gossip in Lyme Regis, Charles tres to persuade Sarah to move away, promising to give her whatever financial support she needs. Sarah eventually agrees to leave for the nearby city of Exeter.

To Charles' great surprise, his uncle suddenly marries a woman young enough to have children. This puts Charles in danger of losing his long expected inheritance. He goes to London to tell Ernestina's father about his change in circumstances. Ernestina's father is till happy to have Charles as a future son-in-law. Since Charles is no longer guaranteed to inherit a fortune, Ernestina's father suggests he might like to join him in working in the department store business. On the way back from London to Lyme Regis, Charles stops at Exeter.

First ending[]

Charles decides not to see Sarah in Exeter. He returns to Lyme Regis where Ernestina is delighted to see him. He confesses to Ernestina that he had some feelings for Sarah but is forgiven. Charles never sees Sarah again and does not know what becomes of her. Charles loses his inheritance when his uncle has twins. He joins Ernestina's father in the department store business and he and Ernestina live reasonably happily ever after. The story ends happily for all of the other characters too, apart from Mrs. Poulteney who dies soon after Sarah leaves Lyme Regis and is surprised to be denied entry into Heaven.

The narrator reveals that this first ending has just been Charles' daydream.

Second ending[]

Charles is traveling from London to Exeter by train. He is alone in the train carriage apart from a bearded man. The author/narrator says that he is the bearded man. He can think of two possible endings for the novel and has no real preference for either. He tosses a coin to decide which ending to tell first.

Charles finds Sarah at the hotel where she is staying in Exeter. They make love. Charles realizes that Sarah was a virgin. Admitting to himself that he loves Sarah and does not love Ernestina, Charles decides to break off his engagement. He writes a letter to Sarah, asking her to marry him, and gives it to Sam to deliver. Sam reads the letter. Fearful that he will not see Mary again if Charles does not marry Ernestina, Sam does not deliver the letter. When Charles returns to the hotel, he finds that Sarah has gone and not left a forwarding address. Charles breaks off his engagement to Ernestina anyway. Sam leaves his employment and goes to work for Ernestina's aunt. He marries Mary. They move to London where Sam becomes one of the most valued employees at Freeman's department store.

Ernestina's father sues Charles for breaking his marriage contract with Ernestina and promises to destroy the young man's reputation. Although Charles' uncle does not have twins, he does have a son, causing Charles to lose his expected inheritance. Charles hires detectives to look for Sarah, without success. Unhappy in England, Charles leaves for an extended tour of Europe and the Middle East. He then travels around the United States, half expecting to find Sarah there, and considers staying in the country.

On return to England, Charles places advertisements in newspapers requesting information about Sarah Woodruff. After Mary happens to see Sarah one day, that information is anonymously provided by Sam, who had long felt somewhat guilty about not delivering Charles' letter to Sarah. Charles finds Sarah, happier than she has ever been in her life, as one of a community of people living at the home of the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Sarah says that she has no interest in leaving to be with Charles. After Charles is introduced to the infant daughter he has a result of his liaison with Sarah, however, Sarah hints there is a good chance that she and Charles will be reunited after all.

Third ending[]

The narrator is standing outside the house of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He turns his watch back fifteen minutes.

Events play out as before until the point where Sarah tells Charles she does not want to be with him. Charles angrily leaves the house. He hears a child as he leaves but never finds out that child is the daughter he shares with Sarah. Charles decides to go back to the United States. He wonders if he has been lied to and manipulated by Sarah all along.

Film adaptation[]

The French Lieutenant's Woman was adapted as a 1981 British film of the same name directed by the Czech-born filmmaker Karel Reisz. The screenplay was written by the Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter. In the movie, the events of the novel are presented as a "film-within-the-film" with a modern day film crew making a movie about the Victorian story The French Lieutenant's Woman. Jeremy Irons stars in the dual roles of Charles Smithson and Mike, the British actor who plays him. Meryl Streep stars in the dual roles of Sarah Woodruff and Anna, the American actress who plays her. Mike and Anna, who are both married to other people, have an affair while making their film. Echoing the multiple endings of the novel, the film The French Lieutenant's Woman ends with Charles finding love with Sarah but Mike being rejected by Anna. The French Lieutenant's Woman was the second highest grossing British film of 1981, following Chariots of Fire. It won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Film and a David di Donatello Award (considered the Italian equivalent of the Oscars) for Best Screenplay for a Foreign Film. The French Lieutenant's Woman also won three British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, including Best Actress for Meryl Streep. Streep also won a Golden Globe and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for her performance in the film.