Books matching: social customs and sexual taboos
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In "The French Lieutenant's Woman," John Fowles masterfully plunges readers into 19th century Victorian England, exploring social customs, sexual taboos, and moral attitudes through the characters of Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff. The novel is a blend of historical dramatic fiction set in the late 19th century in England, written with touches of 20th-century metafiction, where the author cleverly critiques his Victorian protagonists from a modern perspective. Fowles presents a complex narrative with multiple possible endings, challenging the reader's perception of free will, evolution, and societal norms.
The story follows Charles Smithson, a Victorian gentleman engaged to Ernestina, who becomes fascinated with Sarah Woodruff, a mysterious woman rumored to be the spurned ex-mistress of a French naval officer. Through Fowles' unique narrative style, which combines elements of the Victorian era with 20th-century commentary, readers are taken on a journey of love, betrayal, societal expectations, and personal identity, all set against the backdrop of a changing world and conflicting values.
AN EASTERLY IS the most disagreeable wind in Lyme Bay – Lyme Bay being that largest bite from the underside of England’s outstretched south-western leg – and a person of curiosity could at once have d...