Marxism

On the first page (The Collector by John Fowles) Clegg reveals himself to possess the mind-set of a collector, one whose attitude leads him to regard Miranda as he would a beautiful butterfly, as an object from which he may derive pleasurable control, even if "collecting" her will remove her from freedom and life. After Clegg (Frederick) won money he begins to fantasize about how Miranda would like him if only she knew him. I think this is the turning point in the novel. With the money that he won he buys a van and a house in the country with an enclosed room in its basement that he remodels to make securable and well hidden. Later in the novel we read that Clegg captures Miranda, using a rag soaked in chloroform, ties her up in his van, takes her to his "new' house, and locks her in the basement room. Obviously, Clegg took away all the physical freedom from Miranda. Miranda feels more and more alone as time and more desperate as time goes on.

There is the difference in Miranda's and Clegg's social background ("there was always class between us"). Miranda comes from "knowledgeable" upper class and Clegg is just a middle class man that is obsessed with Miranda. However, this obsession at the beginning of the novel was just observing Miranda. Clegg never acted wrong before he won the money. So, as mentioned above winning the money changed him dramatically. He knew that she was a girl he could never have (because of the social class difference). He thought that winning the money gave him some power that he always wanted to have. By gaining power, he suddenly felt all the freedom to do what ever he wanted to do (gets the opportunity to live out his fantasy).That is one notion of freedom (other than physical freedom) that I got in the novel.

I think that freedom is expressed through the knowledge as well. Clegg, the kidnapper, committed the evil. His evil was largely, perhaps wholly, the result of a