Conflicts Between Miranda and Clegg in "The Collector"

By whyetatt foong, Student

Long Analysis of the Character Conflicts in "The Collector"

An essay hosted at LiteratureClassics.com

In "The Collector" by John Fowles, characters Clegg and Mirnada are frequently in conflict with each other. Distanced by their opposing views of gender, class, culture and choice and responsibility, the two shall never understand each other or resolve their differences. Both suffer tremendously as a result of each other's actions.

The complex gender representation of Clegg establishes a character determined by his past through his inherent sense of inferiority with regard to women, which ensures he remains in perpetual conflict with himself. The construction of Clegg illustrates a man with warped, sexist views, constantly in conflict with those of Miranda. He views women as either pure (having no sexual desires) or as being "vulgar" sexual creatures, not worthy of respect, and as such objectifies women, "not many people would have kept control of themselves, just taken photos" (p. 64). This causes him to suffer from feelings of lovelessness, alienation and lack of intimacy, that he is never able to overcome. Clegg further shows disrespect towards the females of his family, "I think people like Mable should be put out painlessly" (p. 16). Initially possessing conventional Romantic fantasies about Miranda where he "did things she admired, married her and all that" (p. 10), these dreams turn "nasty" wher!
e he abuses her physically, "I let myself dream I hit her across the face" (p. 11). His preconceived notion of love meaning possession, stems from his life collecting butterflies and sense of inferiority, "the still treated me behind the scenes for what I was - a clerk" (p. 14), requiring him to have complete power over females. Miranda does fulfil his idealised preconception of her as a superior, non-sexual object of adoration, but he fears intimacy, "it meant touching her" (p. 66). Conflict occurs when she tries seducing him, causing Clegg to lose his initial genderised image of her, "she was like all women, she had a one track mind" (p. 102). He is a voyeur in nature, "I could sit there all night watching her" (p. 64), causing further conflict through pornographic photos, "I took her till I had no more bulbs left" (p. 110). Clegg is a horrific character with an aberrant sexuality who shall never resolve his differences with Miranda, clearly established through his misconc!
eptions about gender.

Imprisoned by her captor Clegg, Fowles constructs Miranda as a victim of patriarchal society, who suffers after conforming to female stereotypes. Miranda is open, honest and educated but totally lacks autonomy as his prisoner, with no control over her destiny in a male dominated society. She understands that she is beautiful, "I know I am pretty" (p. 145) and that she has a sexual presence. She uses these sexual wiles on a daily basis, "I smiled and wheedled" (p. 155), and fantasises about a future relationship with GP. Unfortunately, she fails to understand Clegg's mentality under the impression that he truly wants to rape her and will gain freedom through his seduction. This proves to be a fatal error causing much suffering due to his fear of physical intimacy, resulting in her fall from her idolised position, "she didn't know how to lover me in the right way" (p. 102). Because neither Clegg nor Miranda have any real understanding of each other's mentality, it is clear tha!
t they cannot begin to emerge as equals in the narrative. Right to the end, they remain in conflict and they each suffer enormously as Miranda moves towards a painful death and Clegg endeavours to rationalise his inability to save her life.


Plagued by his class prejudice, Clegg finds he is constantly in conflict with Miranda and society as a whole, which causes him to suffer from an inferiority complex. He has deterministic attitudes towards class, believing that it is immutable, with London "arranged for people who can act like public school boys" with "the right la-di-da voice" (p. 14). Although he has much more money than Miranda, he further believes that "its not money you go by" (p. 52) with respect to class, but "money is power" (p. 24).. Under the impression that people from higher classes are constantly looking down on him, "I'm not clever and all that. Not your class" (p.39), Clegg is in many ways an inverted snob, making equally harsh judgements about people of the upper classes, "I never had your advantages"(p. 76). Clegg's firm views on class establish a gulf between him and Miranda, "I'm not clever and all that. Not your class (p. 39), causing great suffering for him, as he never feels confident eno!
ugh to bridge this gap between them.

Miranda's class background also ensures that she and Clegg will never emerge as equals. The class differences between them cause both to suffer a sense of alienation from each other. Clegg tries to bind her to him by making her feel sorry from him by emphasizing that he has not had her advantages, "he uses my heart. Then turns and tramples on it" (p. 263). Miranda is constantly aware of the social gap, that "she would always be 'above' him" (p. 122). By being "very clever at looking hurt" (p. 123), Clegg tries to get her to acquiesce in being a captive. She is aware of his suffering and "feel(s) the sadness of his life" (p. 187) as his inferiority complex related to his class shapes and controls his responses. Miranda sees that "he's a victim of a miserable non-conformist suburban world and a miserable social class" (p. 161). The issue of class deepens in complexity as Miranda experiences conflict in the awareness of deficiencies in her own social class, "so ghastly, that ar!
rogance that insensitivity of boys who've been to public schools" (p. 198). She hates vulgar, "new class" people who have material possessions and nothing else, "their cars and their money and their tellies and their stupid vulgarities and their stupid crawling imitation of the bourgeoisie"(p. 207). Miranda endures inner conflict about her class but loathes what Clegg represents. An unbridgeable gap exists between Miranda and Clegg with both suffering because their class conflict can never be resolved.

It is impossible for Clegg to become Miranda's equal in the cultural domain because of the very class that separates them. His attitudes towards are greatly influenced by his past and class background, choosing paintings that are most life-like rather than artistic, "the one that was so good only looked half-finished to me" (p. 60). Clearly Clegg is unable to identify the connection between art and feeling. He decorates his house with objects that are stale and lacking in life, causing Miranda to insult him both an external and psychologically. She refers to his "hideous tangerine carpet" (p. 122) and "china wild ducks" which she manages to "smash on the hearth" (p. 127). She sees the house as being "massacred.by the furniture" (p. 127). Miranda views Clegg as "anti-life, anti-art" and her reactions cause him to suffer "tentacles of hurt". Clegg does not succeed in impressing Miranda with money and wealth and he experiences internal conflict, as he knows he lacks a real appr!
eciation of literature and art. By judging everything by his own standards and his limited construction of reality, Clegg ensures that a state of conflict constantly exists between himself and Miranda.


Miranda's conflicting views of art, establishes a unbridgeable void between herself and Clegg. She believes that the soul is expressed through art, "if you are a real artist, you give your whole being to your art" (p. 143). She asserts that literature is written by people who love life, who "(try) to construct some sort of reality" (p. 205). Unlike Clegg, Miranda takes literature seriously, viewing it as an art form from which to learn, whereas Clegg states that "light novels are more my line" (p. 148), further widening the gulf between them. Similarly, Miranda sees music as one of the highest forms of emotion and artistic expression. Referring to Bach's music, she asserts, "now he overwhelms me, he is so human, so full of moods and gentleness" (p. 240). Although Clegg buys her classical music, he lacks the artistic sensibility to appreciate it, "I didn't know anything about music" (p. 49). Miranda's deeply personal and highly imaginative response to art and music establishe!
s a continual state of conflict and related suffering between herself and Clegg.

Conflict between Clegg and Miranda is further intensified in their respective beliefs related to choice and responsibility. Clegg believes in a mechanical determinism, bound by gender and social values, he firmly believes his life is determined by his place in society. Clegg's unfortunate upbringing, with the death of both father and uncle, raised him to believe that he has no real choices, "having her as my guest happened suddenly, it wasn't something I planned (p. 16). In fact his kidnapping of Miranda is the greatest responsibility he has ever taken, "I would like to see Crutchley organise what I organised last summer" (p. 22). Miranda on the other hand believes that you should not compromise with your background or be bound by your past, making choices to "cut of all the old you that gets in the way" (p. 144). While Clegg believes that his life is completely predetermined, "perhaps I was giving fate a chance to stop me" (p. 27), Miranda actively decides her own future. !
Unable to reach a central understanding, their conflicting opinions towards fate create infinite suffering.

Fowles has carefully constructed Clegg and Miranda as characters that are forever in conflict, in his novel, "The Collector". The two shall never emerge as equals, "there is nothing between us except meanness and suspicion and hate" (p. 106), however it is Clegg who succeeds in breaking and ultimately destroying Miranda.