• Class division

This might be the most important and noticeable theme throughout the whole book. The protagonist Frederick grew up in a lower class family without a lot of money. Therefore he only knows and sees a limited view of society, since he and his family do not have access to everything they want. Miranda, on the other side, grew up in a upper-middle-class family which means she is highly educated and has a broader and more international view on the world. When Frederick wins the huge amount of money, it is obvious he does not really know how to act and what to do with so much money; he has never experienced such a situation like this.

The class division is clearly distinguishable in the communication. Miranda constantly corrects Fredericks grammar and even tries to educate him a little about how decent human being live. She does this because she knows, from her background, that her voice is heard and she can influence people with her voice and also because it bothers her that he is not interested in anything besides his own life. Frederick however, does not like this at all and he feels that even though he suddenly has a lot of money, people still treat him like someone from a lower class because of his accent. This way Fowles show people from a lower educated family or class are still judged and treated differently and with less respect.

 

• Power and control (physically vs. verbally)

Because of their different backgrounds and upbringings, there is a big difference between Miranda and Frederick when it comes to physical power and verbal power. Frederick has no wide range of difficult vocabulary or he does not know how to have a discussion with someone. However, he is very strong, much stronger than Miranda. This is why Miranda eventually will never escape, because he will always be stronger and thus pull her back, for example with the chloroform. He knows she might try to escape some time, so he is prepared for it. Miranda on the other hand is grown up with being taught basic knowledge and how to argue with people. because she uses her thoughts and knowledge so clever, she completely controls every conversation.

 

• Collecting

Collecting is a recurring theme in the novel. Fredericks is obsessed with collecting and preserving butterflies. The idea behind it is that he enjoys looking at that without any side issue with emotions. Miranda however constantly expresses her feelings and emotions, also about the collecting thing. When it comes to art, in her opinion, collecting is a shameful term. She thinks it is a shame to classify everything in the world. In her opinion it takes away the individual value. She totally disagrees with Fredericks butterfly collection, because he killed all the butterflies and so took their life and future. The different views on the collecting shows their differences in character, background and class.

 

• Captivity

Captivity is experienced in two completely different ways by the main characters in the novel. The most striking thing about the capture of Miranda, is that Frederick does not actually see it as kidnapping. He is, or at least he feels like he is, completely in love with her and he wants to make sure she loves him too so they can be together. Therefore, he does not see her as his prisoner, but as his guest. He takes everything like an every-day situation, like it is all supposed to be this way. Because he loves her so deeply, he wants this capture to look like their marriage in which he is the good and loving husband and she the beautiful, caring wife. Miranda sees this completely the other way, because the only thing she wants to accomplish is to escape. She is taken away from her ordinary life, and she often has conflicts with Frederick about this, since she does not get the reason of capturing her at first. She eventually never gets it why he captured her to make her love him, because for capturing her, she will never love him at all.