Examine the portrayal of the female characters in Tom Stoppard’s play Arcadia and in John Fowles’ novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman. To what extent can you admire them and how convincing do you find these characters?
The literacy pieces Arcadia and the French Lieutenant’s Woman both strongly use female characters. Women such as Hannah Jarvis, Thomasina Coverley, Sarah Woodruff are portrayed a strong, competent, individual and liberally willed, at least compared to other women, such as Ernestina. The contrast between Sarah and Ernestina is particularly interesting as they represent both sides of the coin of romantic partners to Charles, and Sarah’s victory for his heart can be seen as a metaphor for the rise of the modern woman. All these women have admirable qualities and are quite convincing characters.
Thomasina is presented to us as a very special character. She is shown to be a precocious teenager and way ahead of her peers. From the first scene of the play, her curiosity is made obvious as she inquires about what a “carnal embrace” is and states that she found it “odd” that jam mixed in rice pudding cannot be “stir[red] backwards.” The latter led to her theorising about determinism and using formulas “for all the future.” Thomasina, by age 13, had ideas about mathematics and science well ahead of her time period. Further evidence of her intelligence can be found later in the play when Hannah discovers her primer which contained ideas about iteration. Thomasina is a character who can easily be admired for her intelligence and curiosity well beyond her years. Stoppard portrays her quite convincingly as her dialogue captures her enthusiasm and curiosity about mathematics and science. Hannah Jarvis is also presented as a strong-willed and competent woman. In the events of the play, Hannah was researching the hermit of Sidley Park and already had written and published a best-selling book. In Scene 2, while Hannah was researching the house, Bernard Nightingale also arrived to research. Bernard is depicted as arrogant and condescending, especially when he talked down to Hannah and referred to her as “dear girl.” Hannah does not take any nonsense from Bernard. She had also turned down Bernard’s romantic advances which show her strong will and self-respect, in contrast to Chloe who was later caught in a compromising position with Bernard. Hannah was also very competent and committed to her work, as unlike Bernard, did not assume that Lord Byron shot and killed Chater in a duel. Hannah continued to research and eventually discovered the true cause of the death of Chater as well as the identity of the hermit of Sidley Park. Hannah Jarvis is an admirable character due to her strong will, self-respect and competency in her field. Hannah is also a convincing character as she represents the trope of an individualistic and work-focused modern woman, not distracted by other interests.
Fowles’ portrayal of Sarah Woodruff can be described as feminist. Sarah is the titled French Lieutenant’s Woman and a social outcast. She seems to be modelled after the trope of the dark and mysterious yet alluring woman who often tempts the male protagonists of Victorian Novels. Sarah is portrayed as an incredibly lonely woman and disgraced by society. This came from her supposed affair with a French Lieutenant who abandoned her and returned to France to be married. Although she was an outcast, the book reveals that Sarah created this perception of her purposely to be an outcast, as it gives her the sense of freedom that Victorian women did not enjoy. For example, Sarah’s supposed to rendezvous with the French lieutenant was not kept secret and she made a conscious decision to become a social outcast. She stated that “I could not marry that man. So I married shame.” She moulded her own destiny and by marrying “shame,” she broke from the traditional view of Victorian women, like Ernestina. Sarah was a modern woman and was not compelled to act how Victorian society wanted her to act. This is an admirable quality of Sarah as she is not concerned with Victorian Society’s rules and traditions, but wants to live on her own terms and was willing to make herself an outcast to achieve it. She is a convincing character as she is clearly strong-willed and independent and self-reliant.
The relatively strong-willed, independent, and “unconventional” female characters of Thomasina, Hannah, and Sarah are a contrast to more “traditional” female characters such as Ernestina. Ernestina is modelled after the young daughter of an upper-class family. She is engaged to Charles Smithson, a member of the aristocracy. Ernestina herself is not an aristocrat but lived in extreme comfort. She was also an only child which made her somewhat spoiled and selfish. Her status as an only child also meant that her parents were rather overprotective of her, for example frequently shipping her off to Lyme Regis to keep her away from the ‘impurities’ of society. As a result, Ernestina was a very sheltered and innocent young woman. Her innocence can be seen throughout the book. For example, Ernestina’s goal in life was to be married and have children, but was terrified by the prospect of sex which she describes as “the payment.” Ernestina however, is slightly more wilful than her peers. Her wilfulness is described as “more than the age allowed for” implying that she was less obedient and more determined than the majority of women in Victorian society. Ernestina also had a “superiority of intelligence.” This stopped her from merely being “a horrid spoiled child.” However, she did not share many similarities with Charles. She is very much a product of her environment and her sheltered lifestyle. Her apparent shallowness shocked Charles and was a reason for him falling for Sarah rather than Ernestina. Ernestina in this novel represents convention and tradition, a contrast to the modernity and strong-will of Sarah Woodruff. Charles’ falling in love with Sarah could represent the decline of the conventional innocent and feminine Victorian woman and the emergence of the independent and strong-willed modern woman. Although Ernestina was sheltered and innocent, this is a product of her upbringing, she shows self-awareness later in the novel and is very kind to Charles. These are admirable qualities. Ernestina is a very convincing character and perhaps the most realistic character in both books as she represents the innocent and delicate Victorian woman.
Stoppard and Fowles both used a variety of different types of female characters in their literary works. Thomasina was a child genius and far beyond her years and was interested in science and mathematics. These things were not typical for women in her period, let alone a teenager. Hannah Jarvis was a strong-willed and competent woman who was dedicated to her work and research and worked hard to find the truth, unlike Bernard. Sarah was an interesting representation of the rise of the independent modern woman, which contrasted Ernestina’s innocence and sheltered lifestyle. All of these female characters had admirable qualities and were very convincing characters.
