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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not enjoy the way this book was written, unfortunately.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Collector is a fantastic book that has many underlying themes and psychological complexities. One theme that re lly stuck out to me was that of power and control. I think the novel adds appropriate nuance to the "captor/captive" dynamic. At times, it feels as if Frederick is the captive party and as if Miranda holds all the power.
Fowles is masterful in his destabilsation of the expected dynamics between the two. While on the surface Fredrick has total control, deciding when Miranda eats, bathes and has time outside her prison, in actuality Miranda is the one who has the true power. She is able to resist Fredrick intellectually and morally. Like his butterflies, he can keep her body enclosed but he is unable to possess her essence. Ultimately, it is Fredrick and not Miranda who is trapped - powerless in his own obsessions and in his inability to connect.
In this way, Fowles presents Fredrick as both a monstrous kidnapper and also a stunted, broken child. His inability to connect with those around him casts him as a pitiful person and we see that he isn't a malevolent force of pure evil but a person who was never taught how to love in a healthy way. The novel takes care to explain this. Fredrick mother dies when he is young and is taken in by his aunt and uncle but they fail in providing him with emotional warmth. As an adult, this manifests itself as obsessive desires to "possess" love rather than risk losing it again. He craves closeness but fears rejection, therefore he rejects and avoids real intimatcy and replaces it with control and collecting.
Miranda, on the other hand, is the total opposite to Fredrick. She has led a privileged life and has had a secure upbringing and a strong sense of self, something that aids her to resist Fredrick's dominance and allows her to still be powerful whilst confined. Upon her abduction, we would expect Miranda to be frightened and submissive towards Fredrick, yet straightaway she is able to see through him and remain calm and collective. Miranda is truly a strong person. Yet, she can be arrogant and condescending, embodying the stereotype of the upper-class, highly educated snob while claiming to reject them.
I think this may be one of the main reasons why I liked this book so much. It would have been very easy to paint a picture of a dominant, black hearted villain and a powerless, pure white victim. Yet Fowels steers clear from this. Instead he paints a picture of two fully fleshed-out people who both have their nuances. With this, Fowels demostrates a fundamental truth about human beings: we are not black or white, but exist in different shades of grey.
Fowles is masterful in his destabilsation of the expected dynamics between the two. While on the surface Fredrick has total control, deciding when Miranda eats, bathes and has time outside her prison, in actuality Miranda is the one who has the true power. She is able to resist Fredrick intellectually and morally. Like his butterflies, he can keep her body enclosed but he is unable to possess her essence. Ultimately, it is Fredrick and not Miranda who is trapped - powerless in his own obsessions and in his inability to connect.
In this way, Fowles presents Fredrick as both a monstrous kidnapper and also a stunted, broken child. His inability to connect with those around him casts him as a pitiful person and we see that he isn't a malevolent force of pure evil but a person who was never taught how to love in a healthy way. The novel takes care to explain this. Fredrick mother dies when he is young and is taken in by his aunt and uncle but they fail in providing him with emotional warmth. As an adult, this manifests itself as obsessive desires to "possess" love rather than risk losing it again. He craves closeness but fears rejection, therefore he rejects and avoids real intimatcy and replaces it with control and collecting.
Miranda, on the other hand, is the total opposite to Fredrick. She has led a privileged life and has had a secure upbringing and a strong sense of self, something that aids her to resist Fredrick's dominance and allows her to still be powerful whilst confined. Upon her abduction, we would expect Miranda to be frightened and submissive towards Fredrick, yet straightaway she is able to see through him and remain calm and collective. Miranda is truly a strong person. Yet, she can be arrogant and condescending, embodying the stereotype of the upper-class, highly educated snob while claiming to reject them.
I think this may be one of the main reasons why I liked this book so much. It would have been very easy to paint a picture of a dominant, black hearted villain and a powerless, pure white victim. Yet Fowels steers clear from this. Instead he paints a picture of two fully fleshed-out people who both have their nuances. With this, Fowels demostrates a fundamental truth about human beings: we are not black or white, but exist in different shades of grey.
“I think we are just insects, we live a bit and then die and that’s the lot. There’s no mercy in things. There’s not even a Great Beyond. There’s nothing.”
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked the first half but in the second half they lost me a bit :/
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Anyone who for whatever reason is sympathetic for the main character should not be trusted...
good little book to get me back into reading this year :)
good little book to get me back into reading this year :)
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes