In this novel, Fowles is interested in the genre of the nineteenth-century romantic or gothic novel and successfully recreates typical characters, situations and even dialogue. Yet his perspective is that of the twentieth century as can be noted in the authorial intrusions and opening quotations drawn from the works of Victorian writers whose observations were uniquely different from the assumptions that most Victorians held about their world. In this way, he attempts to critique those …showed first 75 words of 797 total…

…showed last 75 words of 797 total…to societal pressure to conform to a particular behavior. His characters often act and react to how they are supposed to be behaving rather than to any individual agency. Fowles is also interested in twentieth century novel conventions and the Victorian romantic novel conditions and their treatment of realism. The Victorians were trying to write in a realistic manner whereas their modern counterparts were attempting to clearly define the meaning of realism through their writings.