The role of historical and religious components in john fowles's novel a maggot

Abstract

© Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.This article is devoted to the analysis of main components of a national myth in John Fowles' novel A Maggot. Religion plays an important role in this regard. The writer creates his own national myth based on a synthesis of images of Celtic mythology and basic Christian tenets. In A Maggot, Fowles also presents the "feminist" variation of Christianity through the image of Rebecca. It is she who connects national myth with universal mythology in the novel. In this respect. there is a mythologising of space and history. The space is represented by the road (path) motif and by the opposition capital/provinces. The author focuses on Stonehenge, one of the main objects of cultural and English national mythologisation today. The action of the novel takes place in 18th century. This epoch was important in the shaping of the historical development of England. Fowles shows two development paths for the English nation: "offiial" and "religious". That is why this epoch is very important for the author.