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A Sartrean Reading of John Fowles's the Collector And A SARTREAN READING OF JOHN FOWLES’S THE COLLECTOR AND THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ZEHRA KARSLİ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE JULY 2019 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assist. Prof. Dr. Elif Öztabak Avcı (METU, ELIT) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı (METU, ELIT) Assist. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kırca (Çankaya Uni., TINS) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name : Zehra Karsli Signature : iii ABSTRACT A SARTREAN READING OF JOHN FOWLES’S THE COLLECTOR AND THE FRENCH LIEUTEANT’S WOMAN Karsli, Zehra MA., Department of English Literature Supervisor : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı July 2019, 163 pages This thesis is an attempt to explore how John Fowles’s protagonists in his two novels The Collector and The French Lieutenant’s Woman experience Sartrean existentialism and their striving for freedom and authenticity. This study aims at the portrayal of these characters as inauthentic according to the themes and concepts of Sartrean existentialism along with Fowles’s view of the acclaimed ideology. The study purposes to draw the similarities and differences between Sartrean and Fowlesian understanding of freedom and authenticity and by doing so, to analyze how these notions are reflected in the characterization of the protagonists in these novels. Keywords: Existentialism, John Fowles, authenticity iv ÖZ JOHN FOWLES’UN KOLEKSİYONCU VE FRANSIZ TEĞMENİN KADINI’NIN SARTRECA OKUNMASI Karsli, Zehra MA., İngiliz Edebiyatı Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı Temmuz 2019, 163 sayfa Bu tez John Fowles’un Koleksiyoncu ve Fransız Teğmen’in Kadını adlı romanlarında geçen ana karakterlerin Sartreca varoluşçuluğu nasıl deneyimlediklerini, ve sahihlik ve özgürlük için çabalarını inceleme çalışması yapmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Sartreca varoluşçuluk kavram ve unsurlar ve Fowles’un da bu ideolojiye ilişkin görüşlerine göre bu karakterlerin sahih olmadıklarının tasvirini amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma, Fowles ve Sartre’ın özgürlük ve sahihlik kavramlarına ilişkin anlayışlarının benzerlik ve farklılıklarını göstermek ve böylelikle bu görüşlerin, romanlardaki ana karakterlerin tasvirinde nasıl yansıtıldığını incelemeyi hedeflemektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Varoluşçuluk, John Fowles, sahihlik v To My Parents vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı, for her endless support, care, guidance, advice, criticism, encouragements and insight in the whole process of the production of this thesis. The benefits I got from Nil Korkut Naykı’s careful observations, wise decisions and personal experiences played great part in conducting a successful study. I also would like thank Assist. Prof. Dr. Elif Öztabak Avcı and Assist. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kırca for their guidance and support during the process of writing this thesis and in the thesis defence. My father, Adnan Karsli and my mother, Selma Karsli have been the most important encouragement for me during this difficult task and without their support; I would not have completed this thesis. I am also greatly indebted to Uğur Yolak who has always stood by me in my time of distress and who has endless faith in me. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM............................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... iv ÖZ .............................................................................................................................. v DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... viii CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 2. WHAT IS EXISTENTIALISM ........................................................................... 9 2.1. An Overview of Existential Thought .............................................................. 10 2.1.1. A Christian Understanding of Existentialism: Soren Kierkegaard .......... 10 2.1.2. The Death of God: Friederick Nietzsche.................................................. 13 2.1.3.Understandinh Dasein: Martin Heidegger ................................................ 15 2.1.4.Facing Absurdity: Albert Camus............................................................... 18 2.2. Jean-Paul Sartre and Existentialism ................................................................ 20 2.2.1. Abandonment ........................................................................................... 22 2.2.2. Anguish .................................................................................................... 23 2.2.3.Bad Faith ................................................................................................... 25 2.2.4.Authenticity ............................................................................................... 27 2.3. John Fowles and Existentialism ...................................................................... 34 3. THE COLLECTOR AND AUTHENTICITY .................................................... 42 viii 3.1. Frederick Clegg and Authenticity ................................................................... 46 3.2. Miranda Grey and Authenticity ....................................................................... 65 4. THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN AND AUTHENTICITY ................. 85 4.1. Charles Smithson and Authenticity ................................................................. 87 4.2. Sarah Woodruff and Authenticity ................................................................. 113 4.3. The Two Endings of The French Lieutenant’s Woman ................................ 131 5. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 140 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 146 APPENDICES A. TÜRKÇE ÖZET / TURKISH SUMMARY ................................................... 152 B. TEZ İZİN FORMU / THESIS PERMISSION FORM ................................... 163 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This thesis is an attempt to explore how John Fowles’s protagonists in his two novels The Collector (1963) and The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1969) experience Sartrean existentialism and their striving for freedom and authenticity. This study aims at the portrayal of these characters as inauthentic according to the themes and concepts of Sartrean existentialism along with Fowles’s view of the acclaimed ideology. The study purposes to draw the similarities and differences between Sartrean and Fowlesian understanding of freedom and authenticity and by doing so, to analyze how these notions are reflected in the characterization of the protagonists in these novels. Existentialism is an ideology and movement which draws attention to the individual’s existence. It has dealt with issues such as freedom, the freedom of choice and the individual’s search for meaning in a meaningless world. Starting from Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and reaching its peak with Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980), there have been many philosophers of this mode of thinking. Existentialism strives to remind and urge the individual who has been chained by so many limiting norms and notions to ask questions about his existence and freedom in the world. In the second half of the 19th century and in the 20th century, with new developments in science and in consequence of the two world wars along with the subsequent conflicts that the world faced, the individual began to lose his grip on the beliefs that provided an anchor and a ground to base his existence upon. Earlier, people had God to adhere their being to and justify their actions. Apart from God and faith, society also proved an anchorage for people to sustain their being and go for their survival. However, with the two world wars that caused a breakdown in the seemingly solid and stable structures, the idea of faith in a 1 divine entity and the progress of society towards civilization began to fade. In this world which had been wrecked and rebuilt after two world wars, the faith that people had began to disappear and society proved to be dispersed; the individual had nothing but himself to rely on. With the faith lost and the emergence of the new world, existentialism found its way as a novel and popular way of thinking. John Fowles
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