Miranda Grey and Frederick Clegg from The Collector by...

Miranda Grey and Frederick Clegg from The Collector by John Fowles Miranda Grey and Frederick Clegg are the main characters that are interpreted in the text The Collector, by John Fowles. Both characters correspond to different classes in society. John Fowles uses the concept of the implied reader, in which he speaks to a specific reader in mind in an attempt to have the story interpreted in a particular way. Fowles expects us to read Miranda as an intelligent, mentally independent being part of the upper class, but at the same time, an arrogant liberal humanist snob (Radhakrishna Rao, www.freshlimesoda.com/reviews/thecollector.html). The use and lack of several literary techniques, point of view, allusion, and Heraclitian†¦show more content†¦9). He fails to use quotations around his dialogue, however he punctuates Mirandas speech. Perhaps this is meant to signify that he lives so much in his head that his thoughts are inseparable from his speech. (Craig Clarke, www.greenmanreview.com) This style of writing represents the lack of education in his life. As a result of this dispossession, he finds it difficult to explain himself. He is so limited to seeing beyond his own world that it is challenging for him to understand that his actions are morally wrong, as Miranda states, he ... spends all and every day staring at me. He doesnt care what I say or how I feel - my feelings are meaningless to him - its the fact that hes got me. (Pg. 161) Due to this, he writes in past tense, as opposed to writing it as the events take place, in which case his final and true justifications (of his actions) would not be as prominent as they are. These justifications would not exist, or be as believable if it was not Clegg himself revealing them to the reader. Being exposed to the reasoning behind his actions puts forward a base to my interpretation of him, that his mental capacity is restricted due to his lack of education and deprivation of love (this information being conveyed through Clegg himself). This is why he sees himself as morally superior: Im not the pushing sort I always had higher aspirations (pg. 19) (The Collector: