The Collector

The novel tell the story of a kidnap and of its stages seen from two viewpoints – that
of the kidnapper and of the victim. Perhaps this is Fowles’ originality. And even more
original, from my standing-point is the fact that the narrator impersonates, in turn, a male and
a female.
In the first part of the story, he recounts everything as seen by a common clerk ,
Frederick Clegg, who wins at the pools and becomes rich out of the blue. An orphan and
nephew of a very strict, obtuse aunt, with a crippled cousin, his intellectual condition is far
from a brilliant one and he admits it. Neither do his looks help him too much. The only thing
he his fond of is collecting butterflies. And the only thing he has an obsession for is a
neighbour girl called Miranda.
He comes to think that the money enabled him to carry out his plan of getting the girl
and he does it. After sending away his aunt, he buys a secluded house and a van and he
arranges everything for the kidnap. Then, he manages to trap the adolescent. He previously
follows her closely to learn about her tastes, her group of friends, he clothing and so on. He
notes down every purchase, always bearing in mind that he choosing everything for a
superiour being and for her sake and what he buys it actually beyond any of his preferences.
He just complies to her presumptuously tastes.
Afterwards, he takes down each of his precautious methods of preventing her to
escape and to keep her locked, the efforts he went through (intellectually speaking) to make it
a safe ground for her in case the prisoner wanted to get out – one might say that he even takes
pride in his means although they fail him a few times.
Most of the events appear in his diary, each day being referred to separately and
mainly focused on Miranda’s reactions and actions, on their dialogues ( which will be later
revealed in her diary as well), on her requests, on his reactions towards all these factors. He
admits being a puppet in her hands and at the same time he regrets his lack of inner fortitude.
Frederick does not have an eye for neither for observing the situations in their depths, nor to
examine them superficially. He relies on facts and sometimes on his instinct and on believing
in her. And each time he succeeds in achieving a new dimension of their relationship, he feels
happy. For instance, when he guesses Miranda’s false alarm for being striken with
appendicitis and he catches her lying, or when she tries to slip a note intro the envelope. Most
of the times, these incidents only infuriate him, but he manages to get trough.
Materially speaking, he is prepared to take any effort to please her, and much as he
would strive, he does not succeed ( as revealed in her notes). He takes every step of her with a
pinch of salt, her means of convincing him of her real illness fall apart. Overwhelmed by the
situation, he does not know how to react, or at least he claims not to be aware of the true facts
at the time, and he lets her wither in agony.
Towards the end of the novel, he blames his suspicious mind and his ignorance for his
failure. Yet, after repenting wistfully, he comes across Miranda’s diary and on finding out her
hatred against him, he braces himself and apparently finds salvation in a forthcoming kidnap.
A the other side of the story, there is Miranda’s diary, in a much more different note than
Frederic’s one. Bearing more the features of a real diary, it gives vent to a brilliant and pure
personality, confined in a cellar, cu off from all its hopes of expressing itself naturally. One
can even say that what leads to her death is this privation from all means which an artistic
mind would need – air, light, exercise/nature, something in which to believe and values.
Therefore, she turns inside herself, admitting that isolation encourages her to reflect upon her
life, her past attitude towards some of her friends, her opinions, and views upon art and the
artistic object. Only rarely does she make some comments on her kidnapper, and only to
analyze him better. It is her strive to understand him and later on, realizing that it is neither his
money nor other obscure, promiscuous, perverse thought of his, she tries to help him out of
sheer innocence and solitude. Her diary is a counter-reply t Frederick’s one; almost all of the
events are also taken down here, only from another perspective. This time we get a critical
eye upon Frederick’s efforts of pleasing her, a twisted meaning of what he considered so
perfectly planned (regarding her preferences). Consequently, we are introduced in the artist’s
mind, mashing out each and every ordinary, bogus means that he uses to achieve Miranda’s
sympathy. At the same time, the reader gets a glimpse of the cellar and its construction from
the inside. And finally, we come to see the feminine personality up to a certain extent and her
feebleness compared to the masculine power over her body (yet not over her soul).
“The Collector” can be analyzed from various viewpoints and it brigs to the front
several issues concerning Fowles’ world. Mainly, there is a social, a cultural and a narrative
aspect.
First of all, the book reiterates the already common opposition male/female and the
male dominance, still with no misogynistic hints. On the contrary, it appears that Frederick
dominantes Miranda only by way of force, whereas intellectually, intuitively and morally he is
way below her. The girls (only a teenager) and her critical objective eye upon the world come
to beat every grain of power inside him. She is even conscient of her strength, compared to his
sham declarations and insecurity. Miranda is clever, witty, spontaneous, aspiring at a
phylantrpopical personality, socially responsible – thus far more brilliant than Frederick. She
challenges him to certain debates but only for the sake of conversation, knowing that he does
not share her opinions and does not even stand an opinion of his own. She comes up with
purposeful questions about art and the H-bomb, but finding no sensible chord in him, she
turns to more ignominious matters, and she even tries to act out instinctively (as when she
smashes his china). Out of pure dignity perhaps, she does not try to smother Frederick with
his ignorance and insensibility. Nevertheless, she keeps to her beliefs, which she writes down
in her diary.
Another social issue outlined by the novel and by the position of the two characters is
the social status. The problem of the “new people” versus the “few” ones and GP and lately
Miranda calls them. Namely, common people versus the artists. The latter are aware of their
intellectual superiority, some do not step back from boasting about it like GP, whereas others
are fancying the idea of sharing such views like Miranda. Although the girl opposes such a
confrontation, she finally comes to stick to it, under the circumstance, under Frederick’s
despicable manners and obtuse way of thinking. Up to a certain extent, she has every good
intention of holding out a hand for him, of enabling him, but he refuses and she resumes her
superior position. Frederick proves unworthy of his “love” and of her sympathy and Miranda
is trapped between some man’s incapacity of outcoming his fears and he impossibility of
fighting disease.
Frederick’s “love” or the general idea o f love is questioned throughout the entire
novel. Frederick believes in his feelings for Miranda, while the girl continuously questions her
position towards GP. If the kidnap would have been made out of sheer love, it could have bore
something noble about it. However, it is solely out of mere obsession, out of an extreme way
of understanding love. Frederick’s akwardness in dealing with his feelings becomes obvious
when he ca not find reasonable explanations to his deeds, when he thinks that money can buy
anything and when he finds himself incapable of responding to Miranda’s compassionate
gestures (tough fake ones). Even his point of view upon the future – his naïve belief in
Miranda’s understanding and promising love – is equally a proof on his instability. His love is
also outlined by his anger and revolt at her unfriendly words and attitude and most of all in his
final gesture of putting an end to her story and beginning another one. Thus, one can think
that Miranda’s opinion about his love is justified – it is not love, but a collector’s obsession
with a particular thing. An induced love.
 From a cultural point of view, the reader is confronted with the idea of originality
versus artificiality. We can make out Fowles’ appreciation of the classical lines – of the
Renaissance. And afterwards, his remarks on modernistic wry lines and indistinctive forms, a
blending of various influences. The very idea of collecting is a tricky one because every artist
is a collector in himself. Every artist should have a collection of the works he cherishes, still,
the problem is what he actually does with that collection, instead of sucking out the life of it
(like Frederick does with the butterflies) or keeping it for the sake of its beauty, a true artist
learns and carries it forward like a value, thus making his collection alive, a vibrating one.
Most of all, “The Collector” is a modernistic dystopia, namely a counter-novel, which
opposes many of the values of the traditional novel, especially those of the Victorian one.
Perhaps the most prominent characteristic of the author’s writing style is his irony, a
dissimulated irony which transpires at every level of the novel. The main character himself is
an anti-hero, typical of the current age, with its psychological and moral reversed values.

MIHALACHE SINZIANA,
MTTLC, 1st year, gr. 4