John Fowles and Conventional Victorian Society: Reverberations from the Novel the French Lieutenant’s Woman

Abstract

Victorian society is known for its strict moral and religious standards. It also faced increase in economic growth with technological development and industrial revolution. The government gained a steady economic status through the working class community who formed the majority of the Victorian population. Although Victorian society prioritized strict religious and moral values there were also radical thinking and questioning of religious norms that increased in the society thus the Victorian society faced double standards. Many writers criticised the conventions of the Victorian society and its double standards one such writer is John Fowles who dealt with the stereotypes of the Victorian society. John Fowles is a renowned English novelist popularly known for his works like The Collector, The Magus, The French Lieutenant’s woman. His works majorly surrounds the subject of love, society, philosophy.  One of his successful novels is The French Lieutenant’s Woman that appeared in 1969. In this novel the writer portrays the norms of the Victorian culture parodying and criticising it with the self reflexive narrative method. The novel won several awards and was made into a well-received film starring Meryl Streep in the title role. This paper analyses how John Fowles has challenged the conventional Victorian society through his famous novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman.