The Idea Of Self In The Collector

John Fowles is a famous contemporary English novelist. His masterpiece, The French Lieutenant's Woman, has widely and deeply been researched by a large number of people. However, there are less researchers making studies of his first work, The Collector, and most of them analyze the novel from the perspective of psychology, formalist, and Feminism. Therefore, it is a unique view that the author studies The Collector from the idea of self especially in Marxism Theory. The issue of the self has been the theme of discussion by thinkers of different ages in their respective fields since the beginning of human history. It has realistic significance to research the idea of self in The Collector.This thesis analyzes the male and female protagonists' characters and their changing process of the self in The Collector though applying the concerning idea of Marxism, which interprets the individual self is an ensemble of social relations and the form and development of self are tied to the familial, classical and social factors. In addition, the author also analyzes and discusses the tragic ending in the novel from the perspective of Maslow's self-actualization theory, which deepens the theme and connotation of the novel. Meanwhile, this novel reveals many problems concerning the reality. Clegg's retreat from society and slip into a state of claustrophilia involve the universal problem of social inequality and injustice that in the postwar British society. At the end of the novel, Clegg's self nearly loses, which draws our attention to thinking how to perfect the self. Accordingly, The Collector not only deeply reveals the present predicament, but also has the strong social critical significance.