존 파울즈의 『프랑스 중위의 여자』--등장인물, 저자,독자의 관계

Abstract

The French Lieutenant's Woman is fascinating from a number of perspectives. It is well-illuminated by the links between sexuality and textuality that Fowles employs as central issues. It is certainly interesting to note that the mysteries of Sarah are closely related to the mysteries of the workings of texts. Just as Charles can never reach a final interpretation of Sarah, so readers can never reach an ultimate interpretation of the text. Also, paradox and indeterminacy are the central defining features of Fowles' book. Focused on ‘structure,’ this essay will first examine Sarah's role in leading Charles to authentic reality, and how readers are also drawn to reality by the author. In this context, Sarah is similar to Fowles. To Charles, Sarah is like a very different text, contradictory, unpredictable, and unfinished. Next, the numerous ‘techniques’ of the author will be examined, such as his exploitation of previous novel forms, authorial intrusion, and his personal appearance in the novel. This will be followed by a discussion of ‘critical’ perspective, noting the interactions between character, author, and text in terms of Jacques Lacan's gaze theory. Within this framework of interpretations, this study attempts to examine how Fowles engages in an interplay of forms, combining Victorian conventions, parody, and narrative indeterminacy. In this borrowing of novel forms, The French Lieutenant's Woman shows itself to be solidly in the postmodernist camp. Fowles' book succeeds in using both the old omniscient and intrusive point of view at the same time. Both authorial intrusions and his self-limited omniscience are important to his themes. The narrator's many ambiguous statements demonstrate an infinitely unstable oscillation of meanings. Fowles insists on a complex, sophisticated interaction with the text, giving readers the product while also involving them in the process of fictional creation. Ambiguity is the primary mode in which Fowles' text functions. I believe that the postmodern freeing of language and its subsequent challenge of ideological limitations in the text are of critical importance to the dynamics of Fowles' text.