An authentic character as described by John Fowles is one who “does not run away from the nauseas (the fear and hatred of things, the anxieties and pressures of life), but [solves] them in some way.” The two characters in Fowles novel The Collector, Clegg and Miranda represent the two types of people in the world: the Few and the Many. Fowels describes the Few and the Many in an interview. He uses the ideas of Heracleitus, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, who claims “the Few were the good, the intelligent, the independent; the Many were the stupid, the ignorant, and the easily molded … the proper attitude of the Few to the Many is pity, not arrogance”. Fowles novel describes the events that they undergo and the way character either overcomes
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Clegg fails to learn and change and become an authentic one of the Many, Miranda does change indicating she is in the process of becoming an authentic individual as one of the Few. Miranda positively changes her views on class, and sex; while Clegg, if anything remains the same, if not worse. Neither Clegg nor Miranda’s life was perfect growing up, they both had challenges and it is because challenges that become hazards that lead them to becoming the characters that they are now. Miranda describes Clegg’s childhood as, “[h]e has never had any parents, he’s been brought up by an aunt” (127). His father dies when he is two, his mother abandons him, and he lives with his Aunt Annie and Uncle Dick. Clegg spends lots of time with his Uncle Dick before he passes away. His Uncle was his protector, “Uncle Dick would always stick up for [him]” (6), …show more content…
Uncle Dick also gave him a practical education and this allowed “[him] to do odd jobs for Aunt Annie” (19). Through this experience, Clegg was able to fix up the house he buys and it particularly helps him to prepare the room for Miranda. When Uncle Dick passes away Clegg is fifteen and Clegg feels that no one would understand him the same as Uncle Dick did, so “the lone wolf” (6) for the rest of his life. Aunt Annie shows no support towards Clegg when he is collecting butterflies. Aunt Annie also applies the foundation for Clegg’s opinion of his mother, when Mabel tells Clegg that his mother was “a woman of the streets who went off with a foreigner” (5), Aunt Annie did “any covering-up” (5) that need to be done. “Aunt Annie’s always said good riddance in so many words, and [he] agree[s]” (5) with her about his mother. Through his Aunt Annie’s miseducated notion of sex, Clegg learns that sex is dirty and should not be practiced by properly good women outside of love. Clegg receives information about woman from Aunt Annie that is not true but Clegg believes it to be true; “Aunt Annie called strips of nothing on. (She said it was why more women got cancer). Like [a
Clegg fails to learn and change and become an authentic one of the Many, Miranda does change indicating she is in the process of becoming an authentic individual as one of the Few. Miranda positively changes her views on class, and sex; while Clegg, if anything remains the same, if not worse. Neither Clegg nor Miranda’s life was perfect growing up, they both had challenges and it is because challenges that become hazards that lead them to becoming the characters that they are now. Miranda describes Clegg’s childhood as, “[h]e has never had any parents, he’s been brought up by an aunt” (127). His father dies when he is two, his mother abandons him, and he lives with his Aunt Annie and Uncle Dick. Clegg spends lots of time with his Uncle Dick before he passes away. His Uncle was his protector, “Uncle Dick would always stick up for [him]” (6), …show more content…
Uncle Dick also gave him a practical education and this allowed “[him] to do odd jobs for Aunt Annie” (19). Through this experience, Clegg was able to fix up the house he buys and it particularly helps him to prepare the room for Miranda. When Uncle Dick passes away Clegg is fifteen and Clegg feels that no one would understand him the same as Uncle Dick did, so “the lone wolf” (6) for the rest of his life. Aunt Annie shows no support towards Clegg when he is collecting butterflies. Aunt Annie also applies the foundation for Clegg’s opinion of his mother, when Mabel tells Clegg that his mother was “a woman of the streets who went off with a foreigner” (5), Aunt Annie did “any covering-up” (5) that need to be done. “Aunt Annie’s always said good riddance in so many words, and [he] agree[s]” (5) with her about his mother. Through his Aunt Annie’s miseducated notion of sex, Clegg learns that sex is dirty and should not be practiced by properly good women outside of love. Clegg receives information about woman from Aunt Annie that is not true but Clegg believes it to be true; “Aunt Annie called strips of nothing on. (She said it was why more women got cancer). Like [a