Sarah-The Mysterious Other

As one of the greatest novels, John Fowles'The French Lieutenant's Woman is frequently debated by critics in the international literary circle. Numerous critical works approached its controversial narrative discourse and its profound themes as well from different aspects, such as those of traditional historicism, neo-historicism, existentialism, feminism, and postmodernism, etc. The present thesis attempts to approach The French Lieutenant's Woman from the aspect of feminism so as to reveal that it is undeniable that the issue of feminism or emancipation of woman has been presented in the novel, but as a male writer, Fowles'issue of feminism has some limitations.This thesis consists of five chapters.Chapter One is a general introduction to the whole thesis. It briefly introduces John Fowles's life and art, makes critical reviews of The French Lieutenant's Woman and feminist literary theories (especially Simon de Beauvoir's theories), and contains the overall structure of the thesis and the purpose of the thesis.Chapter Two aims to analyze John Fowles'purposeful presentation of Sarah as a symbol, a mystery and the other. Actually, in the process of his depicting Sarah, Fowles exhibits a masculine tendency.Chapter Three argues that in the process of depicting Sarah, Fowles only adopts the male perspective. Ultimately, Sarah is portrayed as the Mysterious Other. In the novel, the absence of Sarah's mind is a strategic move on Fowles'part. Everything about Sarah is mediated through the male perspective of Charles, the other characters, the narrator and ultimately Fowles himself. In fact, this chapter can justify that in The French Lieutenant's Woman Fowles depicts Sarah as a subordinate object in the masculine society.Chapter Four is intended to discuss that although in The French Lieutenant's Woman Fowles aims to depict Sarah as a symbol of seeking for the freedom, his choosing of use only male perspective makes him fail to discard the male myth.Chapter Five is the conclusion of the thesis. Firstly, in The French Lieutenant's Woman Fowles depicts Sarah as a mystery, a symbol, the Other, that is to say, a Mysterious Other. Secondly, in the process of depicting Sarah Fowles consistently use the male perspective. Thirdly, Fowles fails to discard the male myth due to his choosing to use only male perspective. And eventually, although the issue of feminism is central to the novel, it fails to be a feminist novel.