John Fowles The Collector

1. What role does class play in the novel? How do the class differences between
Miranda and Clegg prevent them from seeing eye to eye?
2. How is Miranda similar to the butterflies Clegg has collected, and how is she
different? Think about how these similarities and differences inform Clegg's
view of Miranda.
3. Do money and power corrupt Clegg, or has his personality been warped all
along?
4. What does Miranda hate about photographs and what does Clegg like about
them? How are their opinions indicative of their personality differences?
5. How does being imprisoned change Miranda's view of the world?
6. What effect does Miranda's death have on the narrative? Why might Fowles
have chosen to have Miranda die in the end, rather than escape?
7. Miranda considers herself an aesthete and often discusses her fondness for
beauty in her journals. Why do you think art and beauty are so important to
her?
8. Why do you think John Fowles decided to alternate between two narrators in
The Collector? How might the novel have been different if told from just one
point of view? Who do you think is a more reliable narrator, Frederick or
Miranda?
9. In reference to the kidnapping, Frederick says that a lot of people would do
the same thing, given the money and the opportunity (page 20). Do you think
this is true? Do you think that money can change the way a person behaves
within society? Or is Frederick delusional?
10.What do you think happened to Frederick to makehim the way he is? Do you
think he was born a sociopath? Is Frederick evil, or just misguided?
11.Clegg finds it easier to fantasize about Miranda when she is asleep or not in
front of him, and finds it especially difficult when she is talking to him.What
does this mean?
12.How do you think Cleggs experiences with women before he kidnaps Miranda
affect the way he treats her while she is his captive? Why do you think Clegg
is so confused about his sexuality?
13.Feminism was a burgeoning social issue at the time that John Fowles wrote
The Collector. How do you think it influenced him?
14.Clegg and Miranda are often struggling to gain power over each other, even
though she is his prisoner. What do you think this says about their respective
personalities?
15.Miranda is convinced that, should she escape, she should like to be
somebody and make something of herself in the world. Do you feel that this
makes her death ultimately more poignant?
16.Do you think Frederick will kidnap the girl he alludes to near the end of the
book? Were you upset that Miranda did not see her family again before she
died? If you could write a postscript to The Collector, what would it be?

Written essay: How does art change your life?