The French Lieutenant's Woman

images of Victorian society in his novel The French Lieutenant's woman?

John Fowles

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Images of Victorian society can be found in the following

1) Victorian women were raised to keep their purity; in turn, Tina is afraid of intimacy and loses Charles to Sarah.

2) Charles epitomizes the Victorian gentleman. He is in control of his personal life (romantic relationships) and his chosen field of work (scientific experimentation). The only things he fears is loss of social status, something which could be possible due to his loss of inheritance or his dalliance with Sarah. Socially, his downfall begins with the end of his engagement to Tina, as society would stand by her.

3) Sarah has no place in Victorian society as her upbringing has ostracized her from both worlds; she belongs nowhere. Born into the working class, and yet raised and educated as a lady results in a form of social limbo. Her rumored affair with a French lieutenant cements this position.

Source(s)

The French Lieutenant's