The psycological thriller, "the collector", tells the story of a lonely young man who collects butterflies.After winning a substantial amount of money in the lottery, working class Frederick Clegg suddenly finds himself with the time and the money to pursue what he has wanted for some time. THis being in the form of an art student named Miranda Grey. But boring bland Clegg knows he doesnt have a chance with the pretty arts student due to social restrictions. After purchasing a quiet country villa he kidnaps Miranda and keeps her prisioner in the basement.
               But what precisely does he want with her? Sex? Love? Companionship? Or does he merely want to possess her, to collect her like a butterfly behind glass? These questions haunt Miranda -- and us as the reader -- as she struggles to find a way out of the situation. For London based author John Fowles, this was his first novel that shows a compelling psychological study between two very dfferent characters.
             There are only two main protagonists in this novel however there are others mentioned through Miranda's diary, which she maintains during her lonely days of imprisonment. Miranda's writing shows her inner self and the way she feels on many issues reguarding life and encounters with her mentor G.P.G.P is an artist who guides Miranda with her art and influences her way of life. She writes of long conversations with him and how that helped to brush away the cobwebs from her mind. As readers we seem to identify more with miranda because of these diary writings. She seems to be more human when juxtaposed agaisnt clegg. Readers are unable to identify with him as he treats Miranda as one more butterfly in his collection, a live butterfly, although it is obvious that he himself is forever trapped by human stupidity and ignorance, trying to escape. His father died when he was just two years old and his mother eloped with another man leaving him with his aunt ma...