Plot summary & analysis
Plot summary:
In The Collector you read about Fredrick Clegg, he is a man in his mid-twenties, who is obsessed with a teenager from his neighborhood called Miranda Grey. In the novel Clegg wins a lot of money in a football pool and quits his job, before he had the money he was an amateur entomologist. Clegg is also really devoted to collecting butterflies. After he wins all that money he takes steps to kidnap Miranda, however while doing this he keeps telling himself that he is not necessarily preparing for an abduction. At this point in the novel Miranda is a twenty year old art student in London. Clegg follows her around, studying her habits and eventually after she walks home alone after the movies he snatches her.
The novel is divided into four parts, the first part is told from Clegg’s perspective. You read about the preparations for and the abduction itself. After that you read about how he forces her into his basement and for the month following that part you read how Miranda and he fight. During this time Miranda tries to escape several times. To keep her calm Clegg tells her that he will free her after one month, so he can show her how much he loves her and that they are meant to be together. Eventually Miranda tells him she does not love him and Clegg comes back on his promise. She tries to escape again however Clegg chloroforms her and she is back in his grasp. When all her attempts fail Miranda resorts to seducing Clegg to get her freedom back. After a disastrous sexual encounter Clegg loses all his respect for her. However he does begin to photograph her naked. Than Miranda develops a cold that will develop into a severe chest infection. Clegg refuses to get a doctor, fearing discovery. This leads to Miranda dying, Clegg keeps repeating to himself that what happened was not his fault.
Than the novel starts with part two and we change perspective, we now read from Miranda’s point of view, written in a journal. It mirrors a lot of what is written in part one however it includes some new details about Miranda’s life back in London and her love for an older artist she calls G.P. She also thinks about how G.P. has influenced her and how the time in Clegg’s basement changed her for the better.
Part three switches back to Clegg’s narration. In this part he reveals he never got a doctor for Miranda and that Miranda has died. He contemplates killing himself. In part four however, Clegg has a change of heart. He buries Miranda without much emotion and he sets his sights on a new victim. One, he believes, fits better to his mental capacity.
Plot analysis:
At the beginning of the novel the writer lets the reader foreshadow that something bad is about to happen, which immediately gives you an uncomfortable feeling. Clegg reflects on the things he does and he uses very clinical and straight forward language to describe it. The foreshadowing continuous through the next pages for example on page 64: “There were just all those evenings we sat together and it doesn't seem possible that it will never be again. It was like we were the only two people in the world."
One thing that also stands out are the similarities with The Tempest by Shakespeare. For example Clegg calls himself Ferdinand, in The Tempest Ferdinand is a kind prince with whom Miranda falls in love. However in The Collector Miranda calls Clegg Caliban, which in The Tempest is a monstrous man who lives on the island where Miranda is stranded and tries to rape Miranda. Caliban is violent, uncivilized and undesirable and in The Collector this is precisely how Miranda views Clegg.
When reading on the difference in class between Miranda and Clegg becomes more clear too. Clegg is from a lower class than Miranda and this made him, according to Miranda less able to speak up for himself and opinion less. At the end of the first part there is immense foreshadowing on Miranda’s faith. This gives the reader an unpleasant feeling.
In part two the language changes, there is more use of adverbs and adjectives. This gives the reader the option to relate more. While both part one and part two cover the same evens the novel, at this point, is no longer about finding out about what will happen. But on finding out and exploring what the effects of captivity are on Miranda.
In part three it is clearly illustrated that Clegg has no normal human emotions. His reaction to Miranda’s death is emotionless he describes the events leading up to her death with facts and does not let his emotions show. However in the last few pages of this part he shows some emotions, “We would be buried together. Like Romeo and Juliet.” This shows that Clegg is about to kill himself, he made plans for it and this way their story is not a crime but a tragedy.
In part four however we see the clinical Clegg again. He has changed his mind and is plotting another abduction. The last two sentences of the novel give the reader chills since the author makes great use of foreshadowing, like in the beginning, again. "But it is still just an idea. I only put the stove down there today because the room needs drying out anyway."
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