A Victorian Cul-de-sac

"The French Lieutenant's Woman" didn't give Meryl Street her first Academy Award, but this was her first leading role. This was John Fowles's novel brought to the celluloid, about a doomed affair.

The book was released in 1969, which one literary critic thought was the decade when novelists were uncertain of how they would treat their stories and characters. Was it the tumultuous happenings? Fowler also wrote "The Collector" and "The Magus", which earned him notice. But it was Karel Reisz's adaptation of "The French Lieutenant's Woman" that brought him worldwide acclaim. The author, who was born on Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, would fascinate generations of literary aficionados. Was he a feminist? A misanthropist? Was the fictitious affair based from his dalliances?

First impressions last

Readers wouldn't forget the Cobb, which protected the inhabitants of Lyme Regis from storms. The image of a young woman, alone in the harbor wall and staring at the sea, was haunting and intriguing at the same time.

Sarah Woodruff was treated an outcast in this coastal town, as everyone knew her illicit affair with an injured French naval merchant. But Charles Smithson was drawn to her. Was it her forlorn expression? He had a sizable income and considerable education. He was engaged to Enerstina Freeman, daughter of the owner of a chain of stores in London. He had something to look forward to the future, but there was something missing.

The story took place during the middle of the nineteenth century, where Fowles's depiction of Victorian society exposed the importance of first impression. Enerstina thought she was a fine lady, but her conversation with Charles revealed an airhead. If her fiancé was a sensible man, then he wouldn't give Sarah a second look. But his glances, and then stares, showed how he dreaded the predictability of his life. He did got the chance to talk to Sarah, and once they became intimate, was surprised to learn that she wasn't the woman that the people of Lyme Regis thought of.

The great divide

The likes of Sarah, Charles, and Enerstina would exist a century later. The Charles of yesteryears was a Darwinist, while his modern counterpart would talk about drastic means of dealing with the financial crisis. The Enerstina of today could be a fan of reality TV shows, while the modern version of Sarah remained unchanged.

Sarah was a free soul, and it happened that the customs didn't give her many options. It won't be the case nowadays, but Fowles gave his readers different endings. (Reisz's treatment didn't differ from the book, as Streep and Jeremy Irons, as Sarah and Charles, also played actors in the big-screen version of the novel.) They would be confused, then picked an ending that was likely to happen. But the perceptive ones would figure out where these possibilities led to. The story of Sarah and Charles won't be the one for Valentine's Day.