earticle

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While vigorously searching for a new novel form to accommodate the contemporary theoretical insight into the nature of language and novel, John Fowles pays great, though not devoid of irony, homage to the tradition of realism novel. His novels are permeated with his firm belief in the moral, didactic power of art to bring changes to life. This essay tries to show how his didactic intention informs the whole narrative of The Magus, one of his most comprehensive and compelling works. The Magus is a peculiar sort of Bildungsroman, a novel of education and growth, replete with metafictional elements, which also serve to enhance the aesthetic education of the reader. Nicholas, the protagonist of the novel, whose logical and cautiously sceptical attitude invites the reader to identify with him, plays the role of reader as he is induced into an active participation in and interpretation of the metatheatrical ‘godgame’ of Conchis who stands for the metaphorical fictional world. Going through it under the enigmatic direction of Conchis, Nicholas gradually gets over his evasive attitude towards reality as well as his escapist aesthetics. Also his self-centered, life-denying cynicism gives way to a new perception of the mysterious reality of life itself, combined with his growing understanding of the existential human condition. The concluding section of this essay thinks over a few problems regarding the author's overt didacticism in this novel, casting a last short glance at the ironical fact that, over the whole period of his writing, he failed to make much progress in his own existential ideas in spite of his unremitting passion for education.