During the Victorian Era, what was expected from society differed greatly from what society expects today. During those times if one did not fit into what was expected, they were cast out of society, forever trapped in a world of alienation. Alienation can be accurately defined by Webster’s Dictionary as an inclination of temperament or outlook. In other words it is a highly personal and unreasoned distortion of judgment. In most people’s minds, alienation is looked upon with a negative aspect. In the case of John Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman, alienation is what the author’s protagonist, Sarah Woodruff, comes to loathe. While she is an outstanding and compassionate woman, she is unfairly judged by her peers, and falsely accused of being a whore. This conclusion not only causes her a substantial amount of emotional distress but it also casts an even larger shadow of doubt as to whether or not her French lieutenant will ever return for her.
Fowles’ story confronts the issues of alienation and connectivity between people as a means to demonstrate how people adapt to uncomfortable situations. Sarah is a representation of a lost soul who is forever seeking for that one who may give her the sense of feeling like a part of society, rather than the lonesome individual she is shown to be. Sarah’s life is considerably lacking of any social connectivity, which clearly establishes a pattern of alienation. Sarah does not wish to move up the social ladder by attending various social events, for she is aware of the fact that she is seen as a chaste woman among the townspeople. After she sleeps with a man she does not love, she becomes overwhelmed with the sense of guilt. At times Sarah feels ” . . . as if I threw myself off a precipice or plunged a knife into my heart. It was a kind of suicide” (142).
The Essay on Frankenstein Alienation From Society
In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores a wide range of themes concerning human nature through the thoughts and actions of two main characters and a host of others. Two themes are at the heart of the story, the most important being creation, but emphasis is also placed on alienation from society. These two themes are relevant even in today's society as technology brings us ever closer to ...
It is perceived that the only manner in which Sarah can connect with another person is to do so through her imagination, because only a few besides Charles is willing to be in her presence. Whether in reality or from within her mind, Sarah is a lonely and terribly misunderstood woman who is in dire need of love and compassion in her life.
At the same time in which Sarah addresses her alienation through various incidents with other characters, the reader accompanies her on long and lonely waiting periods out on the rocks hoping that she finally finds the social connection she truly desires. “Not a man. A girl of nineteen or so, also asleep, her back to Sarah, yet very close to her, since the be, though large, is not meant for two people. A thought has swept into your mind; but you forget we are in the year 1867” (128).
It can be argued that the events Sarah experiences as a means to take her mind off of her alienation are far more undesirable than the actual reason she is pursuing them. The reader is then left with a feeling of sadness when the day comes to a close and Sarah is once again left in the darkness of the crashing waves of the ocean.
Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman follows the period of Sarah’s life in which she goes through a social transition. Sarah does not want to remain alone in a society full of hostile people, yet she is not quite bold enough to take on the challenges that stand before her. Sarah is left with being socially judged without a chance to defend herself, ultimately finding it nearly impossible to escape the alienation which she suffers. Sarah’s journey is one that seeks to uncover the key to truly being connected with society, while at the same time maintaining one’s personal privacy. Sarah is not quite sure how to go about obtaining this much desired connectedness, however, she was sure about wanting to escape from the suffocating aspects of alienation. “…He was almost three different men; and there may be others of him before we are finished. We may explain it biologically by Darwin’s phrase: cryptic coloration, survival by learning to blend with one’s surroundings- with the unquestioned assumptions of one’s age or social caste” (118-119).
The Essay on Social Inequalities Woman Suffrage
Social Inequality: Women suffrage in the United States 19 th century America was not a friendly place for women of all ages and colors. Laws in the U. S did not recognize women as equals to men. It was widely believed that women weren't capable to do the same things that men could do. In that sense women were not allowed to vote on the most important things going on in their country. Women were ...
The people who accept Sarah as the compassionate person that she is help show a pattern that positively depicts Sarah’s desire to shed the burden of the alienation that plagues her. It is also apparent that Sarah wants to embrace the comfort of connection with others. However, through Sarah’s encounters with other people, it is apparent that she also has a desire to break away from the mask of social conformity. So what if she had chosen to sleep with a man she did not love? Was she to be forever known as a whore for seeking comfort in the arms of a stranger? After being wrongfully judged, Sarah sees those members within society who are truly less kind and alienate her from the town. These are the people who take a disliking to those who are perceived to be threatening.
Fowles’ The French Lieutenant’s Woman is a perfect example of the lengths to which people will go to leave behind the confinement of alienation and seek out social connection. An individual’s journey may not always end up where one has intended it to go, it is the journey that often serves as the catalyst to defeating the paralyzing effects of social alienation. The alienation shown by the character, Sarah, in The French Lieutenant’s Woman contains many important components that, if considered in the direct context of the novel, and not seen for their true meanings, will be overlooked by the everyday reader. Without question, The French Lieutenant’s Woman provides a unique insight into the relationships among the society, expectations and the consequences of not living up to them.
