Intertextuality in John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman.

This essay hasn't yet been marked by one of our teachers

You can view 18 essays on British History: Monarchy & Politics that have been Marked by Teachers

The first 200 words of this essay...

Intertextuality in John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman

Intertextuality in various forms is a device which is frequently used in John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman. Most commonly however it appears throughout the novel in the form of an epigraph in the beginning of each chapter. In these small passages, Fowles quotes famous literary works and authors, thus setting the theme and tone of each chapter. The focal point of this speech will revolve around the way Fowles uses science and scientists such as Charles Darwin and the evolutionary theory as an intertextual device. Furthermore, the discussion will be linked to the themes of freedom, existentialism and social evolution which are utterly important aspects of the novel.

John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman has been read, with reason, as a testament to existentialism: Sarah functions as the moral drive that propels Charles into an existential freedom. The nature of freedom is an important theme running through all of Fowles's works, and his main female character Sarah Woodruff is one of the major advocates of freedom and social escapism. In fact it is Fowles' intention to investigate whether or not there is such a thing as free will,