3. Understanding Sarah
The novel grew out of a dream the author had of a woman standing at the edge of a quay, looking out to sea. She was the central character, the soul of the Fowles's work from the very beginning.
John Fowles: That was a deliberate intention in the book, that her motives should not be explained. That may well be because I began to realize that I didn't understand her myself. And therefore you make a virtue of your own defects. But you do have to feel how your characters would feel, and that you don't do rationally.
John Fowles: Everything that is in the film certainly was arrived at by following certain logics. For instance, although Sarah acts in ways which are pretty inscrutable, we found an internal logic in her which we feel quite secure about.
Karel Reisz: ''John was a sort of uncle to the project. When we had a draft, we showed it to him, and he made suggestions, mainly about the Victorian dialogue. He was like a professor supervising his research students. He came in when asked and not when not asked. He told me, 'You and Harold go off and do what you like ... but just don't explain Sarah.'
Could you guess the motives of the heroine? Who do you understand better, the Sarah of the book, the Sarah of the movie, or maybe Anna? Are the two Sarahs equally mysterious?
4. What is in the end?
How many endings are there in the novel? In the movie? To your mind, which is the most probable one? Which would be the best variant for Charles?
Библиография
Фаулз Дж. Экранизация «Женщины французского лейтенанта»// Кротовые норы. – М.: Махаон, 2002. – С.65 – 76.
Biography of John Fowles. – http://www.fowlesbooks.com/biography.htm
Fowles, J. The French Lieutenant’s Woman. – www.artefact.ru
Garis, Leslie. Translating Fowles Into Film – http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/31/specials/fowles-translating.html
John Fowles. – http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jfowles.htm
The French Lieutenant’s Woman (movie)
The French Lieutenant’s Woman (Audible audio book)