The Collector by John Fowles follows Frederick Clegg, a butterfly collector, and his obsession with Miranda, an art student. Clegg’s obsession with Miranda quickly takes a dark turn and leads to him abducting or “collecting” her and forcing Miranda into his cellar. There, Clegg narrates his attempts to get Miranda to fall in love and grow comfortable with him. However, Clegg’s love is based on a compulsive urge to own or control adoration. Miranda, because of this reason, mostly refuses his fixated attempts of twisted affection and instead tries to teach him her worldview by painting him artworks and pressuring him into literature. Clegg, however, remains adamant in his practical beliefs, dismissing the ideas of beauty and philosophy that follow Miranda’s art. The narration of the book is switched from Clegg to Miranda, in turn, showing Miranda’s inner turmoil as a prisoner in Clegg’s cellar without freedom. The story eventually comes to a tragic close as Miranda becomes gravely ill and dies due to Clegg’s incompetence and hesitation to fetch a doctor.

The change of perspective from Clegg to Miranda sharply contrasts the two differing perspectives of the characters of humanity in general. Clegg’s monotone and practical narrative is juxtaposed with Miranda’s introspective and vibrant thoughts, reinforcing just how different the two leads are. Clegg’s narration is intricately written to perfectly portray who he is: the lack of quotation marks and proper grammar reinforces his simple and practical perspective on the world. This rudimentary and nonstandard monologue is also what makes the novel so terrifying: Clegg has no idea that what he is doing is wrong. Imprisoning Miranda isn’t beyond obsessive or strange to Clegg; it's normal. And the straightforward, yet masterful diction establishes this. The horror and tension are further highlighted when the story is told from Miranda’s point of view.

Contrary to Clegg, Miranda’s elaborate writing screams and begs for freedom. Miranda sees Clegg’s “love” for what it truly is: another variable in Clegg’s compulsive collection. Miranda’s narration also reveals the reversion she feels from Clegg–to her, Clegg is the very definition of antihumanity, rejecting art, philosophy, and love. Neither the victim nor the captor can understand the other. Clegg is an empty human, seeking only to add to his collection, while Miranda is overly idealistic and condescending, stumping any attempts Clegg makes to understand her world and art. Overall, The Collector effectively conveys tension and dread through the use of contrasting diction. 

The novel touches on two main themes: love and social class. Miranda views love idealistically, seeing it as a mutual and genuine connection. Meanwhile, Clegg seeks not to experience love, but to contain or collect it. While the two try to understand each other’s definitions of love, there is a dividing class between them, precluding their efforts. Clegg is the result of resentment over social class, seeking to remedy the wide class gap between Miranda and him by reducing her to part of his collection. Miranda isn’t any better either, immediately forcing the stereotype of the uneducated and “simple” lower class on Clegg. While she claims to want to understand Clegg on even footing, she doesn’t view him as her equal, constantly belittling him. The two nearly spend an entire year together, yet they don’t even cross the threshold of beginning to understand their contrasting worldviews. Their failure to bridge this divide shows how resentment and condescension prevent empathy and understanding. Fowles’ novel serves as a reminder that excluding these barriers is essential if humanity is to truly connect with itself.