The Shackles of Victorian Society (The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Arcadia)
The Victorian Era was unique.
Properness. Elegance. Extravagance. A period where adherence to the characterisations of a gentleman or lady were of the utmost importance; only for this expectation to be discarded in the today’s progressive society, where offense may to be taken to the use of these blasphemous terms! All these facets of the Victorian era were warped into a society of revolutionary change and advancements, exemplified by the prominent figures who etched their immortal contributions into the fabric of time itself: Charles Dickens and (Charles) Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Marie Curie and Emily Dickinson (to name a few). But above all, Victorian England was defined by social classes. The Victorian Era — dictated by archaic conventions and rigid social structures that primarily defined the social normalities — exists today as a mere remnant of the past: a microcosm underlying the significance of class dynamics on individuality and freedom. But how did the abandonment of social classes influence the manners in which societies of today function?
On one hand, there exists a principally progressively world exempt from social classes, whose closest resemblance to social structures materialises in the form of social media. And while it can be construed — based on our extensive knowledge of the dangers of social networking that galvanizes us into abstinence or refrainment from it — that we, ourselves, face a fundamental issue, our problems seemingly pale in comparison to those of Victorian England. That is, where there exists, on the other hand, an oppressive, patriarchal system that is inherently fascist in nature through its metaphorical imprisonment of its individuals, I think one could presume that the inauthenticity and conformity that is proliferated from the advent of social media would be welcomed with open arms by the Victorian people.
The influence of class dynamics on the conventions pervasive within society are evident, and are further epitomised in literature — existing, in my personal opinion, as one of the most platitudinous settings of all time with some of the most overused tropes and stereotypes employed in their depictions. The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles conforms to this stance, depicting this traditional, conservative Victorian society. In doing so, Fowles explores the destructive nature of social classes on the characters of Charles Smithson and Ernestina Freeman: conformists who adhere to the rigid social conventions, dichotomising the existentialist depiction of Sarah Woodruff. However, it was only after reading the script of Tom Stoppard’s award-winning play, Arcadia, that the differences in social conventions, that occurred as a direct consequence of the deconstruction of social classes, became apparent. Stoppard’s Arcadia was able to illustrate this through his construction of the play itself as a manifestation of this change, depicting intertwining between the past and the present. Ultimately, differences in class dynamics over time are fundamental to our understandings of Arcadia and The French Lieutenant’s Woman by elucidating the impact of class dynamics on freedom, sexuality and societal conventions.
1. Freedom in Victorian Lyme Regis
Of all the facets of today’s progressive, modernised societies, there exists one distinctive component that leaps out at you; one that underlies everything you do and essentially, every aspect of your life. Freedom. Fundamentally, at its very core level, the sort of freedom in terms of the autonomy that non-living structures lack. But above all, freedom of expression and opportunity. In today’s society, the strive towards achieving freedom and equality for everyone exists through the prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement — founded upon the fight for equality for formerly, and presently, disenfranchised and oppressed minorities and people of colour. The notion of freedom itself is one that has existed for centuries, and the exploration of this omnipresent theme in The French Lieutenant’s Woman highlights this, where freedom underlies the events that transpire to portray how the established social normalities are dictated by class dynamics. But, dialling back to the opening introduction, how do the societal conventions contribute to the encroaching hold of society on its individuals? The answer to this question is exemplified in the surreptitious nature of Sarah and Charles’ interactions; Charles displays an incessant paranoia that can be attributed to the disparity in their social classes which forbids any interaction. Hence, this illustrates how social classes take precedence over freedom and individuality, as Charles is inherently restricted in his self-expression by eyes of society.
However, this restriction of individuality ultimately constructs an inherently fascist system, where the authoritarian control manifests itself, arbitrarily, through the demanding expectations of one’s social class. It raises the question: is the strict adherence to social class expectations, which ultimately creates a society grounding the values of ethics and properness, worth the expense on freedom and individuality? Fowles addresses this dichotomy between existentialism and fascism through the characterisations of Sarah and Charles, where Charles represents the traditional conformist, despite his own protestations of maintaining individuality and authenticity. His actions are evidently moulded by supposed perceptions of him, which form on the basis of adherence to conventions expected of one’s social class. Ultimately, this results in his eventual fate as ‘… one of life’s victim, one more ammonite caught in the vast movements of history, stranded now for eternity, a potential turned to a fossil’. This characterisation is dichotomised by Sarah, who abstains from this conformity and hence, is portrayed as being anomalous to the ubiquitous regard for society’s perceptions: a condition that is particularly conspicuous within the lower classes. This is elucidated as Sarah, fashioned with the title of being the French Lieutenant’s Whore, ostracises herself from the remaining society by enigmatically refraining from adherence to societal conventions. In doing so, Sarah is free from the shackles of society and its social structures, serving as ‘the symbol around which had accreted all [Charles’] lost possibilities, his extinct freedoms, his never-to-be-taken journeys’. The influence of Sarah’s revolutionary and defiant stance is evident as Charles attempts to diverge from his conformist role by confronting his own inauthentic outward appearance that stems from the expectations of his social class — a struggle that is embodied today in the refrainment from conforming to the trends and normalities circulating on social media.
But how does Fowles create the distinction between the Victorian Era and the world today, given his predominant focus on the former? Contradicting the seemingly fictional nature of his novel, Fowles incorporates a metafictional aspect to The French Lieutenant’s Woman, which consists of narratorial interjections dispersed throughout. This serves as a reminder that the story itself is built upon fiction and falsities, thus inviting the reader to compare the restricted individuality within today’s society and the Victorian era. In the present, conformity continues to exist, and its effects are predominantly amplified through the advent of social networking platforms that promote inauthenticity and misleading representations for purposes of gaining recognition and acceptance. The contrasting conditions which foster the proliferation of this inauthenticity within today’s world and the Victorian Era depicted within The French Lieutenant’s Woman show how conformity is an inherent, fundamental condition of human nature, and how different catalysts, in form of social media and class dynamics, can facilitate its prominence. The progressive world today, exempt from social classes, is hinted at by Fowles through the fluidity with which social hierarchies are described when Charles encounters individuals who ‘had the pleasant lack of social pretension, that primeval classlessness of dawn populations: simple people setting about their day’s work’. Fowles then contextualises this by likening the situation to Pisanello’s painting where the saint’s ‘arrogance [is] dowsed by a sudden drench of nature’s profoundest secret; the universal parity of existence’. This depiction contrasts the perceived permanence of social classes, given its dramatic imposition on the lives on individuals within society. Thus, the instantiation is implicit of the fundamental equality — advocated for within today’s world — that was overridden by the fabricated classes and hierarchies of the Victorian era.
2. Hannah Jarvis: The Voice of the Oppressed
This omnipresent question of whether freedom should take precedence over the adherence to social class conventions is further explored by Stoppard’s Arcadia, where he depicts the differences in societal attitudes concerning freedom in the alternating timelines. The 1800s timeline depicts a conformity towards the societal expectations, particularly within the upper classes as Lady Croom establishes the expectation of Thomasina marrying. Therefore, this further reinforces the conventions — including early marriage, commitment to domestic duties and marrying of an older gentleman — that women of the upper class were expected to uphold. Furthermore, evidence of the class system exists through Jellaby, the butler and servant of aristocrats, including Lady Croom. Here, class dynamics are illustrated through the elegance and formalities of the butler’s remarks, which are contradicted by the abruptness of Septimus’ replies in Act 1 Scene 1. This can be interpreted as a perceived superiority, stemming from the differences in classes, materialising in the form of Septimus’ sanctimonious tone within the dialogue. Contrarily, in the present-day timeline, the effects of the abolition of the class system is evident through increased prominence and prioritisation of freedom, relative to the 1800s. This timeline involves the character of Hannah Jarvis, who embodies the feminist movement and whose willingness to maintain freedom and stray from conformity is representative of the modern societal attitudes present today. This is encapsulated when Hannah remarks that ‘chaps sometimes wanted to marry [her], and I don’t know a worse bargain. Available sex against not being allowed to fart in bed’. Hannah’s argument is predicated on the loss of freedom in relationships, which is implicit of women being shackled by their relationships as they lack control. This demonstrates her high regard for freedom, contrary to the central characters in The French Lieutenant’s Woman and those in Arcadia, including Lady Croom, who were complicit in a system that promoted inauthenticity and was inherently oppressive and patriarchal.
3. Non-Random Randomness
Randomness is supposedly present in every aspect of life; the creation of the Earth itself from the Big Bang was supposedly an unexpected and unpredictable event that, coincidentally, unfolded perfectly in every possible way. Hence, there exists, at a fundamental level, a perceived, inherent determinism that dictates this randomness — if such a concept exists, given its contradictory nature — and, at a deeper level, a determinism that arises from, in the Victorian era, the accession of particular social classes. The French Lieutenant’s Woman depicts individuals of all classes conforming to the expectations and adhering to their supposed duties within society. This expectation is encapsulated in an epigraph by Marx, where he states that ‘he does not fulfill himself in his work but denies himself, has a feeling of misery, not of well-being… The worker, therefore, feels himself at home only during his leisure, whereas at work he feels homeless’. This is further compounded in Matthew Arnold’s epigraph, where it is postulated that ‘it is part of special prudence never to do anything because one has an inclination to do it; but because it is one’s duty or is reasonable’. Consequently, these epigraphs establish a fundamental and universal expectation to fulfill one’s duties and thus, is indicative of the deterministic nature of life. This intrinsic duty is interconnected with the notion of social structures as Fowles explores the philosophy of the prostitute whom Charles encounters, who ‘spoke without much sign of shame or regret. Her fate was determined, and she lacked the imagination to see it’. Her additional remark that one’s situation ‘… can’t be mended, so you have to make out as best you can’ exemplifies the notion that the class into which an individual is born determines the quality of their life, further establishing the rigidity of the class system and symbolising the restrictive nature of Victorian social classes.
Contrarily, Stoppard explores an alternative outlook on determinism through the lens of Chaos Theory — which concerns the interconnectedness and underlying patterns behind perceived randomness — to show the universal impact of determinism and how it disproportionately affects the lower classes negatively. Within Arcadia, the philosophy of determinism is explained as the ‘unpredictable and the predetermined unfold together to make everything the way it is. It’s how nature creates itself, on every scale, the snowflake and the snowstorm’. This notion is shown in Noakes’ garden, which incorporates irregularity and unpredictability that adheres to ‘the […] principles of the picturesque style’, thus implying the presence of order within the perceived chaos. Furthermore, this philosophy is further indicated through Thomasina, who was limited by the time in which she lived, where the absence of the necessary advancements and knowledge required to develop her theories regarding iteration restricted her. This is juxtaposed with Valentine in the present-day timeline, who is able to complete his iterations due to the technological advancements present. Hence, the outcome of Thomasina’s research was determined by the time in which she lived, as opposed to her social class. When placed in comparison with The French Lieutenant’s Woman, this illustrates how social structures disproportionately restrict the lower classes — evident in the prostitute’s situation — while the upper class are merely limited by the fundamental determinism that universally impacts life itself, as opposed to their social ranking.
4. The Condition of the Upper Class
The question of whether freedom and individuality should take precedence of the encroaching hold by one’s social classes invariably enters a new domain: the field of sex. The distinction between the social classes in The French Lieutenant’s Woman is encapsulated by the dichotomy between the sexually repressed Charles and Ernestina in their abstinence from pre-marital sex, and Sam and Mary. Fowles characterises the upper class as those readily adopting the conservative, traditional outlooks towards sex that were entrenched into Victorian society. The effects of sexual repression are exemplified in Chapter 5, where Ernestina’s confrontation with her sexuality causes her own consciousness to construct the image of ‘pain and brutality that the act seemed to require, which seemed to deny all that gentleness of gesture and discreetness of permitted caress that so attracted her in Charles’. This, compounded by the vividness of Fowles’ description regarding animals reproducing, creates a juxtaposition and establishes an animalistic image of sex which is representative of mentalities ubiquitous within the Victorian era, particularly with the abstinence from pre-marital sex in the upper classes. Contrarily, Fowles depicts the lower class as being open regarding their sexuality, and this is evident through the commonplace practice of prostitution in the Victorian era, associated with those in the lower classes. The daughter of the prostitute Charles encounters serves as a reminder by Fowles of the desperation and necessity of her actions, and dissociates her from the pervasive dehumanising societal views of prostitutes that ostracise and disenfranchise them from society. Overall, this shows the gap in the social classes through the different behaviours and adherence to societal conventions, with those in the upper class subscribing to the social normalities, while those in the lower class abstaining from them.
This traditional, conservative stance towards sex in The French Lieutenant’s Woman is contradicted in Arcadia, where the characters of Bernard and Chloe are openly expressive with regards to sex when exempt from the strict social structures in the present-day. This is demonstrated through Bernard’s willingness to sleep with Hannah, despite his relationship with Chloe, as well as Chloe’s proclamation that events in life are ‘all because of sex. The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it’s trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people fancying people who aren’t supposed to be in that part of the plan’. This is indicative of the freedom of expression that accompanies the abandonment of stigmatisations towards sex in the present-day. However, Stoppard suggests that this fluidity of relationships and openness around sex cannot solely be attributed to the destruction of social classes over time, because Septimus, of the 1800s, also conforms to this freedom. This is depicted through the incident between Septimus and Mrs Chater, which seemingly contrasts the initial portrayal of the former as a witty and clever character (that likens him to Charles in The French Lieutenant’s Woman), as well as the opening line of the play which is a pun utilising the denotations and connotations of ‘carnal embrace’. Hence, this contradicts the hypothesis that the presence of social classes solely impacts societal perceptions towards sex. This contradictory depiction of the upper class within Arcadia can likely be attributed to the hypocritical nature of the upper class, which was addressed in The French Lieutenant’s Woman, where there existed the normalisation of rape and the commonplace nature of pornography, despite the taboo nature of sex. Hence, in an era when ‘there was not a single novel, play or poem of literary distinction that ever goes beyond the sensuality of a kiss… where the output of pornography has never been exceeded’, Arcadia serves to encapsulate this hypocrisy within the Victorian upper class and ultimately, how class dynamics influence perceptions and behaviours towards sex.
5. The End
Overall, both The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Arcadia exemplify the significance of social structures on life in the Victorian era through the exploration of freedom, determinism and perceptions towards sex. Fowles accomplishes this through the construction of the novel’s setting in a society which dramatically contrasts the world of today and through the metafictional nature of his piece. Both these aspects contribute to inviting the reader to reflect upon the differences in life and how these distinctions can be attributed to the presence of social structures, which act as the underlying cause governing social conventions and expectations. Contrarily, Stoppard utilises two alternating timelines to juxtapose the two eras, embodying these differences through the meticulous constructions of the characters themselves. Ultimately, both The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Arcadia captivate readers and audience members, respectively, with a seemingly suffocating embrace as they delve into two contrasting timelines, inviting all on walk down the quay of Lyme Regis or through the garden of Sidley Park, reflecting on the world that once was.
Bibliography
The Conversation. 2020. Explainer: What Is Chaos Theory?. [online] Available at: <https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-chaos-theory-10620> [Accessed 19 October 2020].
Thomas C. Foster, “The French Lieutenant’s Woman: Postmodern Victorian,” in Understanding John Fowles, University of South Carolina Press, 1994, pp. 72–85.
