The Collector

Some critics see Shakespeare’s The Tempest as an allegory of colonialism: In this reading, Caliban is the Indigenous inhabitant of the island Miranda and her father conquer and subjugate. How would this interpretation change how we see Fowles’s middle-class Miranda and low-class Frederick?

How does Frederick treat beauty? Why does Frederick catch butterflies? Does he want the same thing from Miranda? Why or why not?

Frederick’s portions of the novel are written in a reportorial first-person, while Miranda’s section is written in a confessional epistolary form. How do these differences in form and style affect readers’ understanding of the narrative? Does one form seem more reliable than the other? Why or why not?

Frederick’s bad taste makes him the object of Miranda’s scorn. His kitschy decorations become a point of tension, microcosmic of a greater class conflict. Despite his apparent desire to please Miranda, Frederick is fairly obstinate about keeping his decorations. What do these decorations mean to Frederick and how do they represent his class background?

The Collector is set primarily in Frederick’s secluded cottage, but there are also scenes in the nearby town of Lewes and London. What does each location represent to Frederick and how does each affect his behavior? Why?

Frederick’s two hobbies—lepidoptery and photography—overlap practically and thematically. What purpose do these interests serve for Frederick? What role does photography play in his imprisonment of Miranda?

George derogatorily refers to Miranda as a princesse lointaine—a stock unattainable woman in chivalric romances. In what ways does Miranda conform to this insulting archetype? In what ways does she subvert it?

Miranda values drawing above photography. How does opinion reflect the larger conflict between Frederick and Miranda? What does photography say about Frederick and what does drawing say about Miranda?