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The French Lieutenants Woman


            In "The French Lieutenant's Woman" by John Fowles, there are three endings to the book. Fowles does this to prove that in life you choose the way your life turns out, you choose your actions that lead to your happiness or your misery. Some things occur in life that you can not control but the way that you react to them is how you make your life the way it is. In this novel Fowles shows this perspective on life by showing all the ways that Charles" life could turn out. In a way, he gives the reader a choice of how they want to see the story end, but in a contemporary view, it is obvious which ending is the "true" ending for Charles and Sarah.
             In the first ending, the fake ending, Fowles shows how everyone's life would be if Charles married Ernestina. It was a boring life without passion or true love. I think the author chooses to show this ending because it makes you realize that there is no possible way that Charles can marry her. If he did, we are shown how uneventful and humdrum it would be. When you are reading the book you think that maybe Charles should just marry Ernestina and forget about Sarah because there is too much of a risk involved with going after her. However, when Fowles writes that ending, you know that Charles can not do that. It is as if that choice is thrown out the window. It would make both of their lives miserable because they were not in love. Even if Ernestina thought she was, she really was not and would be unhappy when she realized that Charles did not truly love her. It also makes it easier for Charles and the reader to accept his love for Sarah. When we know that his life married to Ernestina would not be that great, we know that he must take the risk and be with Sarah. That is the only way that Charles can get out of the life that he is living.
             The ending I find the most amenable is the second ending. The reason for this is that it is the romantic ending.


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