1. “ Freedoms in The French Lieutenant ’ s Woman ” By Richard P. Lynch Twentieth Century Literature 48.1 (Spring 2002): 50-76. Presented by Carol Chi Presented by Carol Chi

2. Three Kinds of Freedom (p.1) Social freedom For Fowles, these two are similar. Existential Freedom Narrative Freedom

3. Social Freedom for Sarah (p.2) Lynch cites the definition “ socialization ” defined by Berger and Luckmann to indicate how Sarah fails to fit into this ideal. * “ Socialization is the process by which the new individual internalizes that society, making it his or her reality, too. ” * The individual can obtain a coherent identity in this socialization which is accomplished through the mediation of important others and the world he identifies.

4. Sarah ’ s socialization is not perfect. Lynch continues to suggest that Sarah is also a victim in terms of the society constructed in Thomas Carlyle ’ s Past and Present. * Gruth in this book has no problem with his identity. * Sarah pretends to be “ the French lieutenant ’ s woman ” to reject socialization, but later she finds her own role in society.

5. Social Freedom for Charles (p. 3) In the beginning, Charles likes to think himself as different from his contemporaries, but, in fact, his behavior corresponds to that of a Victorian gentleman. For Lynch, this novel shows the features of bildungsroman identified by Jerome Buckley, so we can interpret Charles as “ starting over. ”

6. A. The loss of the father: Charles V.S. his uncle B. The flight from a small town to a city: Because the protagonist usually feels restricted in the country, he decides to go to a city like London, where liberate and corrupt him at the same time. C. The making of a gentleman: This part is parodied. Charles is forced by Mr. Freeman to sign a document stating that he loses the qualification to be a gentleman. D. The love trial: his love affair between Ernestina and Sarah.

7. At the end of the bildungsroman, the protagonist will progress toward the undefined destination, with a new identity still in the process of forming, and that is the best description of Charles. Another kind of social freedom

8. Narrative Freedom (Pp. 4-5) It happens through Sarah, believing in the possible world she imagines. According to Eriugena, a ninth-century Irish scholar, “ the truth of a parable rests in its clear identification of itself as fiction. ”

9. Sarah claims herself as a “ fiction, ” a work of art (a free character.) Her act of reducing herself to nothing is the only path to freedom. Charles ‘ s choice of nothingness differs from Sarah ’ s. Instead, his determination to become nothingness is similar to Pip educated to be nothing in Great Expectations.

10. Lynch does not think characters in this novel rebel against their author/narrator, for they are not aware of the existence of the narrator. (p. 6)

11. Double Endings (p. 7) Many critics relate Charles with existential freedom together. Charles is defined roles for himself and Sarah in the first ending. A. He needs Sarah to free himself. B. he still has false assumptions about her.