John Fowles’s The Magus is a captivating novel focused on the development (or lack thereof) of a young Englishman by the name of Nicholas Urfe. Throughout the text, he struggles with his perceptions of reality and his own identity. In an attempt to escape the dull monotony of his English life, he accepts a teaching position on the remote Greek island of Phraxos. Although exotic journeys frequently expand an individual’s sense of freedom, in the case of this novel it is one such journey that ultimately extends the mental confinement of the protagonist.
Physically, islands are of a confining nature, and Phraxos is no different. In addition to this attribute, it is also mentally confining. The narrator describes it as a place where one’s thoughts become “magnified by solitude” (Fowles 51). It is this quality that proves to be counter-productive to Nicholas’s original goal of escaping the confinements of England and his relationship with Alison. Immediately after what was described as an emotionally harrowing experience, Nicholas “began to hum, and it was not a brave attempt to hide my grief, but a revolting unclouded desire to celebrate my release” (48). This confession of Nicholas’s inner thoughts provides the reader with new insight in which to view the novel’s protagonist. Although it had been alluded to earlier in the novel, at this point the reader is given a glimpse into the emotionally stunted state that the protagonist is in. Due to multiple factors (namely lack of development at an earlier age) Nicholas is incapable of developing any sort of tangible emotional attachment to another individual, and this is largely the reason for his long history of womanizing. Due to his inability to develop a healthy relationship, Nicholas views relationships as a type of confinement. The position on Phraxos is an opportunity to escape that confinement.
While initially it is the solitude of the island itself that confines the protagonist, it is ultimately the island’s inhabitants that hold him captive. Once incorporated into the rituals of Bourani, Mr. Urfe cannot think of anything else. Conchis’s deceptions are so effective that they have the ability to transcend the limits of physical confinement and enter the realm of mental confinement. The effects are so profound that Nicholas feels that it was “as if the world had suddenly, during those last three days, been re-invented, and for me alone” (157). After his first few visits to Bourani, Nicholas equates its allure to a “force, like a magnet, drawing me out of the classroom windows” (242). The narrator’s testaments illustrate the effectiveness that Conchis has accomplished in his deception. Ultimately, it is made apparent that the most convincing deception of all is made possible through the allure of female sexuality.
As the reader progresses through the text, it becomes obvious that the crowning achievement of Conchis’s deceptions on the island is the power that “Julie” holds over Nicholas. Throughout the novel, the character of “Lilly/Julie” undergoes several changes in both appearance and mentality, including which side she is on between Conchis and Nicholas. However, Nicholas is so captivated by Julie that he believes her every time she assumes a new role within the larger deception.
The very first time the narrator sees the island, he describes its beauty as being “simply and effortlessly beautiful” (50), “so all-present, so intense, so wild, that the relationship is immediately love-hatred, one of passion” (49). In a sense, the island can be metaphorically compared to the characteristics that the narrator thinks that he desires in a woman. Just like the island, Julie’s beauty is simple and classic. However, the turmoil through which she places Nicholas causes his relationship with her to be of love-hatred. In contrast, the beauty of Alison seems to be more common, quite like the dull life Nicholas left behind in England. In the sense of mental capacity, Julie is much more developed than Alison. The narrator describes Alison as being rather simple in nature and fascinated with the banalities of carnal love. Due to his self-reflected view of being an intellectual, Nicholas seems to think that he requires someone that will match his ability to appreciate what he views as a more metaphysical love.
Over the course of the novel Julie develops into what Nicholas believes will be the love of his life, but her final and greatest deception crushes that dream into the ground. The effect of the final conceit is so profound that it caused the unemotional narrator’s eyes to “fill with tears of frustrated rage and humiliation” (489). It is through this final lesson that Conchis attempts to show Nicholas the extent of the damage he has done to those involved in his past relationships. Through the character of “Julie”, he has essentially created what Nicholas views as the perfect woman, beautiful both physically and mentally. He is so obsessed with the narcissistic pursuit of perfection that he cannot see the value of what he already has.
Alison provided Nicholas with essentially unconditional love, to which he did not respond. She had the potential to satisfy his every need, yet he chose the possibilities of the unknown instead. He originally went to Greece as an attempt to escape what he viewed as his confinement, but it only furthered its contraction. The process of becoming part of “the elect” was allegedly supposed to help Nicholas expand his mind and accept his own faults, yet at the end of the novel his lack of development is made apparent to the reader. In the final scene, he treats Alison very poorly, and does not show any signs of emotional progress. In the beginning, Nicholas was confined by the dullness of London and his relationships. In the middle, he was confined by the allure of Bourani. Ultimately, it is Nicholas’s utter selfishness that confines him to the limits of his own expectations and limits his ability to share any true love.
I would like to share some thoughts on the ending of our class, but first I would like to explore some possibilities presented by my fellow students. Within their papers, both Zach and Sam explore how the most re-occurring term of this class (I don't think I need to say what that that is...), is what makes The Magus such an enthralling novel. The situations the protagonist finds himself in are disguised as mysterious events, yet we we have found ourselves in the exact same circumstances at one point or another. Metaphorically speaking, this book transforms into a mirror, and enables the reader to look at themselves for the first time.
