John Fowles's theory of The Garden of Eden

The essay undertakes to investigate and analyse Fowles's theory of The Garden of Eden and how it is used in his novels. The Fowlesian theory of The Garden of Eden is presented in The Aristos, a philosophical work, published at the beginning of the writer John Fowles's career. In The Aristos John Fowles undertakes to explain some of the philosophical ideas that operate at the basis of his writings. Fowles's philosophical theory of the Garden of Eden is an elaborate theory in sexual contrasts. It is also a feminist proclamation and a criticism of Christianity. The thesis of the essay is that Fowles, throughout his novels, applies his theory of The Garden of Eden to the characters and themes of his novels. The essay further suggests that his criticism of Christianity is so thorough and consistent and interweaved in his ideas of masculinity and femininity that it is possible to regard the theory and his appliance of it towards the characters in his novels more as a criticism of conventional religion then as feminism. The study is based on the novels Daniel Martin, The Collector and A Maggot, but includes to some extent also the novels The Magus, The French Lieutenant's Woman, the short story collection The Ebony Tower and his self biographical book The Tree.Validerat; 20101217 (root