This thesis examines John Fowles's The Collector, The
Magus, and The French Lieutenant's Woman as commentaries on "calibanity,"
a source of male dominance in gender relationships. The first novel investigates
patriarchy in society as a non-progressive structure smothering the creative
feminine element. The Magus presents a series of lessons by which masculine
ideology can be combatted and exorcized. The final book explores this novelist's
political goal, the self-liberation of women in a society entrenched in
conservatism. By investigating the roles scripted for men and women in
society, Fowles examines the social conditioning that forms an "Adamic"
ideology and presents a vision of liberty for both men and women.