Rebecca Davidson =]

''The Collector,'' by John Fowles includes two main themes which are of love and obsession which are influenced by the overbearing mind of the character Ferdinand. This essay will explain how his love and obsession led him from collecting something simple such as a butterfly to something much more sinister, while also looking closely at characterisation and structure.

From the beginning of the novel Ferdinand's obsession which a young, beautiful art student named Miranda is very clear to the reader. His love for her grows to be an obsession. He begins to stalk her, recording the days he sees her and admiring her from a distance, ''I marked it in my observation diary, at first with X, and then when I knew her name with M.'' Ferdinand dreams or her as if they are lovers and sees her as the perfect women, even though they have never truly met and she does not know him at all, ''It seemed like we became more intimate, although of course we still did not know each other in the ordinary way.'' He has such high hopes for the life they could have together.

A chance pools win allows Ferdinand to collect and buy all the items he would need if himself and Miranda were together. He buys a house in a quiet area which contained a secluded that he seen as perfect to keep her in. Some of the plans he makes seem to happen without him fully realising what he is planning to do as if they are in his subconscious. He does not realise what he shall eventually be capable of, ''Of course, I thought it was only pretending''.

The novel is separated into two main chapters. Chapter one is told from Ferdinand's point of view, detailing all his deep and loving feelings for Miranda and his hopes for their relationship, ''The very first time I saw her, I knew she was the only one.'' Chapter two gives the reader and insight into Miranda's struggles as a captured woman in a diary which she kept secretly during her captivity, revealing also her past.

This structure is very important to the story and to the characterisation in the novel as it allows the reader to look closely into both character's and understand Ferdinand's obsessive behaviour, which helps the reader to see properly into the shocking ending.

One night Ferdinand follows Miranda and covers her mouth with a rag soaked in chloroform which knocks her unconscious. Ferdinand places her in the back of a van, whilst still being careful not to cause her any more harm, ''I heard her say under the cloth, no, no, it was horrible, but I made myself do it.''

Characterisation is also a key factor of the novel. Ferdinand does not treat Miranda as his prisoner many times throughout the story. He treats her like a queen or his wife by buying her everything she could have wanted, except her freedom which is what she wanted most, whilst hoping that she would like him more because of it, ''She liked it and so me for buying it''.

Ferdinand is the opposite of the stereotypical kidnapper, his love for her is clear throughout. Miranda is ironically the strongest character. She refuses to call Ferdinand, Ferdinand and instead refers to him as the much more sinister name,''Caliban''. Miranda wishes to be seen by, ''Caliban'', as strong minded but desperately needs him company to protect her state of mind. She begins to downgrade him by harshly analysing their conversations, describing him as being, ''pathetic''.

She tries to regain her freedom by making several escape attempts all of which are unsuccessful. These attempts reach their climax when she resorts to trying to seduce Ferdinand in the hope that he would then set her free, ''I will not give in, I will not give in''. Towards the end of the second chapter Miranda becomes sick, her diary entries begin to get shorter and her sentences a lot blunter, until they stop altogether.

Ferdinand sees Miranda to be very similar to the butterflies which he collects, ''And her hair in a long pigtail. It was very pale, silky like burnet cocoons.'' He sees her as a beautiful object which he can keep for his own pleasure. When Miranda dies Ferdinand quickly erases her memory and moves on to admire another girl from a distance and making plans, just like Miranda. Miranda was once his whole world and now she has became as insignificant to Ferdinand as one of his bad butterflies.