The Collector

John Fowles
John Fowles
an English novelist
named by the Times
newspaper as one of the 50
greatest British writers
since 1945.
he admired Albert Camus
and Jean-Paul Sartre
died on November 5, 2005
after a long illness
Summary
The Collector is the story of the abduction of Miranda
Gray by Frederick Clegg, a clerk in a city hall and a
collector of butterflies in his spare time. The story is
told first from his point of view and then from hers.
In the last few pages, Clegg is talking about
Mirandas illness.
Symbolism of butterflies
a key symbol in
revealing his sadistic
nature;
they are a direct
reflection of Miranda;
a symbol of class
distinction between
Fred and Miranda;


Quotes
I love making, I love doing. I love being to the full, I
love everything which is not sitting and watching
and copying and dead at heart.
We all want things we can't have. Being a decent
human being is accepting that.
The power of women! I've never felt so full of
mysterious power. Men are a joke.
We're so weak physically, so helpless with things.
Still, even today. But we're stronger than they are.
We can stand their cruelty. They can't stand ours.
Associations with
serial killers
Leonard Lake and Charles Ng
Christopher Wilder
Robert Berdella

Film version
The novel was made
into a film in 1965. It
was adapted by Stanley
Mann and John Kohn
and was directed by
William Wyler;
It starred Terence
Stamp and Samantha
Eggar;