Linguistic maps and social fictions : a comparative analysis of the Fowles novel and the Reisz/Pinter film adaptation of The French lieutenant's woman

This thesis analyzes and compares the film adaptation of The French Lieutenant's Woman to its source novel. Criteria for evaluating how well the film represents the concerns of the novel is established, and the critical response to both works is discussed. Drawing in part upon this research, this thesis argues that both works develop a central, metafictional theme similar to Korzybski's map-territory linguistic analogy. This theme is developed in both works primarily through the role-playing of the characters. Both works also employ metafictional devices to foster in their audiences the ability to discern linguistic maps from the territories they represent. Because the film applies the central theme of the novel to the medium of film and analogizes the novel's most distinctive metafictional device, it succeeds in distilling the essence of the novel and transferring it to the medium of film. Reisz and Pinter’s transformation of the theme and style of this problematic novel into film form is laudable both for its originality and for its relevance to its audience.