Abstract John Fowles is one of the most famous contemporary novelists. In his writing years of more than forty years, he wrote six novels and many non-fictions, many of which are a big success. Many of his great works like The French Lieutenant's Woman and The Collector stand out, showing his writing talent out of the ordinary.43383

When he was in Oxford University, he read a lot about French literature and especially was deeply attracted by Sartre’s works, thus imposed much existential thoughts on many works. The Collector, the first novel by John Fowles is a best embodiment of his existential opinions. No matter from the aspect of characters, the theme or its narrative strategies, this novel shows us a world of absurdity and odiousness and expresses Fowles’s pursuit for freedom and independence. 

From the perspective of existentialism, this thesis compares the two main characters’ loneliness and their different personal choices. In addition, through the discussion of plots, the thesis aims to reveal the existential themes of the novel including absurdity of the external world and freedom of choice. And it elaborates the effects of narrative strategies on the expression of the themes so as to conclude that existentialism is in harmony with every detail in The Collector. 

Key words: The Collector     Existentialism     Characters     Theme Narrative Strategies     

摘 要约翰·福尔斯是当代最著名的小说家之一。在他长达40多年的写作生涯中，他创作了六部小说和多部非小说作品，许多都获得了很大的成功。他的许多优秀作品，如《法国中尉的女人》以及《收藏家》更是脱颖而出，向我们展示了他独特的写作才能。

在牛津大学求学期间，约翰·福尔斯接触了许多法国文学作品，尤其被萨特的作品深深吸引，受到了其存在主义观点的影响，因而在作品中对存在主义青睐有加。他的处女作《收藏家》就是其存在主义思想的最好诠释，无论从人物形象，主题还是叙事技巧都将他的存在主义观点体现得淋漓尽致，向我们展示了一个荒诞、丑恶的现实世界，表达了他对自由和独立的追求。

本文从存在主义的角度分析比较小说的主人公的孤独和不同的行为选择，并通过对小说情节的讨论揭示小说表达的存在主义主题，包括外部世界的荒诞和个人的自由选择两方面。本文也阐述了小说所运用的独特的叙事策略对主题表达的作用，从而论证《收藏家》^751`文~论!文'网www.751com.cn是一部存在主义理论与小说细节完美统一的作品的观点。

毕业论文关键词：《收藏家》     存在主义     人物形象     主题     叙事结构

Contents

Abstract...i

摘要....ii

Contentsiii

Introduction....1

Chapter One An Existential Analysis of Characters.4

1.1 Clegg’s isolation and irresponsible choices......4

1.2 Miranda’s loneliness and pursuit for freedom..7

Chapter Two An Existential Analysis of the Theme..10

2.1 Absurdity of the external world..10

2.2 Freedom of choice..12

Chapter Three An Existential Analysis of Narrative Strategies...14

3.1 First-person narration of two characters.....14

3.2 Narrative structure..16

Conclusion19

Works Cited..21

A Study of Existentialism in John Robert Fowles’s The Collector

Introduction

John Fowles is one of the most famous contemporary novelists. Because of being exposed to many existentialists’ woks, he developed great interest in existentialism and then becomes a contemporary existentialist. In his many novels, he conveys his understanding of existentialism by different means. The Collector, the first novel by John Fowles, is one of the best examples. As his first published book, this novel embodies his existential opinions from the aspect of characters, narrative strategies and the theme. 福尔斯《收藏家》中的存在主义理论研究:http://www.751com.cn/yingyu/lunwen_44186.html