Chapter 21 The French Lieutenant’s Woman
Plot –
Continues from previous chapter with Sarah and Charles in the undercliff. She
continues with the story of Vargueness, who had promised to return to her,
Sarah knew instinctively that he was lying, but this didn’t upset her greatly. A
month after their meeting she discovered that Vargueness was married and
decided that she didn’t want to see him again. Sarah said that she wanted to be
an outcast and tell Charles there are many outcasts in society, but they are
scared to be so. Charles sees something male in Sarah and feels like a female.
Charles suggests that she leave Lyme, but Sarah suggests that would only be for
other people’s convenience. Charles suggests that she be looked after by Mrs.
Tranter, with Charles covering the costs, besides being charitable Charles sees
this as a way of spying on Sarah, he’s only a little concerned by Ernestina’s
possible reaction. They hear a couple in the undercliff, it is Sam and Mary
(wearing Ernestina’s dress) Charles is fascinated. Sarah smiles which brings
excitement to Charles, he feels that Sarah would allow him to kiss her, but
instead tells her that they must never meet alone again. He sets off half an hour
after Sarah so they won’t be seen together.
Epigraph –
A Matthew Arnold poem – ‘Parting’ Tells the story of lovers parting, the male
reaches for the woman but there is a gulf between them, as with Charles wanting
to reach out to Sarah.
Allusion –
‘Paul and Virginia”(186) characters in an 1787 French novel. It tells the story of a
boy and a girl who have been friends since birth and then fall in love. The
suggestion is that that’s what happens when Charles sees Sarah smile, he’s seen
her in a different way and falls in love.
Authorial intrusion
(181) Giving a 20th century perspective
(186) Interprets Sarah’s smile
Foreshadowing
None really, when Charles says at the end of the chapter that we must never
meet alone again, we know what that means!
Phrases
(185) in flagrente delicto (Means literally ,blazing offence- we’d say, ‘red
handed’) When they hear Sam and Mary, Charles moves towards Sarah, to
remain hidden, this phrase is used. The phrase has a sexual undertone as well,
meaning to be caught having sexual intercourse.
Characters
Sarah- She is in total control of Charles. She is in her element in the undercliff.
She knows that Charles wants to ‘save’ her and asks for his forgiveness – an
existentialist notion. He says that only god can forgive- an objective, Victorian
notion. She is displaying the differences between them, which is a challenge to
Charles, there can’t be a relationship with his Victorian attitudes. She smiles
once, he falls in love.
Charles
Sarah is a type of woman he has never come across, she is not from the Victorian
age. He tries to play the lead role as a male, but feels very unsure. She does the
leading and he reacts. He wants to act on his instincts, but doesn’t allow himself
to do so due to his rational mind of what is proper. This rationalism is reflected
in his love of science.