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Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Collector, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
In The Collector, gender roles shape the dynamics between Frederick Clegg and Miranda, revealing the power imbalances and societal expectations imposed on both characters. For his part, Clegg embodies a patriarchal mindset, where his perception of masculinity is intertwined with possession. His kidnapping of Miranda is both an act of obsession and a manifestation of his desire to assert ownership over her. This reflects a broader societal tendency to objectify and subordinate women, albeit taken to an extreme. Miranda, on the other hand, projects a progressive and liberated femininity, or at least she tries to. She is independent and assertive, qualities that clash with Clegg’s traditionalist views. Throughout her captivity, Miranda resists the passive role Clegg attempts to impose on her. She continually challenges his authority, regularly trying to escape through all means available to her, including her sexuality.
However, to some extent, both Miranda and Clegg misjudge each other. Miranda assumes that Clegg captured her because he is interested in sex, a quality she associates with men. However, although Clegg certainly has repressed desires, sex is not his primary motivator. Rather, it is love that motivates Clegg, however misguided that might seem. For his part, whenever Clegg does not understand Miranda’s behavior, he assumes she is doing something irrational because she is a woman. Often, Miranda will rapidly and deliberately change her mood because she wants to provoke Clegg or get him to leave her alone. Clegg’s inability to respect Miranda’s intelligence leaves him vulnerable to her emotional manipulations and escape attempts. Clegg suffers because he does not understand Miranda, a person he claims to love. However, it is Miranda who suffers far more for Clegg’s mistake. After she offers Clegg sex, he no longer thinks she is special and feels less inclined to take proper care of her. This neglect is the catalyst for Miranda’s subsequent illness, which in turn results in her death. Through this disturbing ending, the novel suggests that while both men and women suffer due to rigid gender roles, it is women who bear the greater burden.
Related Themes from Other Texts
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Gender Roles ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Gender Roles appears in each chapter of The Collector. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Gender Roles Quotes in The Collector
Below you will find the important quotes in The Collector related to the theme of Gender Roles.
Part 1
Quotes
That was the day I first gave myself the dream that came true. It began where she was being attacked by a man and I ran up and rescued her. Then somehow I was the man that attacked her, only I didn’t hurt her; I captured her and drove her off in the van to a remote house and there I kept her captive in a nice way. Gradually she came to know me and like me and the dream grew into the one about our living in a nice modern house, married, with kids and everything. It haunted me.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
“You know who I am. You must know my father’s not rich or anything. So it can’t be ransom.”
It was uncanny, hearing her think it out.
“The only other thing is sex. You want to do something to me.”
She was watching me. It was a question. It shocked me.
“It’s not a little thing. It’s terrible that you can’t treat me as a friend. Forget my sex. Just relax.”
I’ll try, I said. But then she wouldn’t sit by me again.
I know what some would think, they would think my behaviour peculiar. I know most men would only have thought of taking an unfair advantage and there were plenty of opportunities. I could have used the pad. Done what I liked, but I am not that sort, definitely not that sort at all. She was like some caterpillar that takes three months to feed up trying to do it in a few days. I knew nothing good would come of it, she was always in such a hurry. People today always want to get things, they no sooner think of it they want to get it in their hands, but I am different, old-fashioned, I enjoy thinking about the future and letting things develop all in good time.
She made me look a proper fool. I knew what she was thinking, she was thinking this was why I was always so respectful. I wanted to do it, I wanted to show her I could do it so I could prove I was really respectful. I wanted her to see I could do it, then I would tell her I wasn’t going to, it was below me, and below her, it was disgusting.
It was no good, she had killed all the romance, she had made herself like any other woman, I didn’t respect her anymore, there was nothing left to respect.
Part 2
Quotes
People like your bloody aunt think I’m a cynic, a wrecker of homes. A rake. I’ve never seduced a woman in my life. I like bed, I like the female body, I like the way even the shallowest of women become beautiful when their clothes are off and they think they’re taking a profound and wicked step. They always do, the first time. Do you know what is almost extinct in your sex?
He looked sideways at me, so I shook my head.
Innocence.
Part 4
Quotes
I have not made up my mind about Marian (another M! I heard the supervisor call her name), this time it won’t be love, it would just be for the interest of the thing and to compare them and also the other thing, which as I say I would like to go into in more detail and I could teach her how. And the clothes would fit. Of course I would make it clear from the start who’s boss and what I expect.
But it is still just an idea. I only put the stove down there today because the room needs drying out anyway.
