Character Analysis In The French Lieutenant’’s Woman: A Perspective Of Freud’’s Personality Theory

John Fowles, one of the most important British writers after World War II, enjoys a high reputation in the world literature. His masterpieces like The Collector and The French Lieutenant’s Woman explore characters’ different states of existence and the themes of love, freedom and independence in order to show Fowles’ s affirmation of the modern human beings.This thesis sets out to analyze The French Lieutenant’s Woman from the perspective of Freud’s personality theory,and tries to combine this psychoanalysis theory with character analysis. Psychoanalyst Freud claims that personality as a whole includes Id, Ego and Superego that are related and interactive. This thesis, via analyzing the struggles of Charles and Sarah, their choices, and their states of existential predicament, argues that the conflicts of their Id, Ego, and Superego exemplify their personality conflicts and therefore, lead to multiple endings of the novel. By drawing a causal connection between the character’s personality conflicts and their existential predicament, the thesis concludes that the book is a daring experiment of Fowles probing in the theme of freedom and love.