In general, we humans like a sense of closure towards literature; ambiguous endings are usually seen as an easy way out of a novel. However, in John Fowles' novel The French Lieutenant's Woman, the ambiguity does not arise from the lack of an ending, but rather from two endings for the same plot. At first it would seem that Fowles simply couldn't make up his mind and decide on an ending, and the simplest solution seemed to be to add yet another. Upon further examination, however, one cannot help but wonder why, seemingly out of nowhere, he added another ending when the first is perfectly adequate and would have been more than enough to satisfy a reader. It is clear, however, that Fowles obviously does not approve of this overly clichéd and stereotypical Victorian ending to his novel, and therefore feels the need to add a second outcome to the lives of Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, the "French Lieutenant... Woman" ( 9) This somewhat unnecessarily inserted ending poses a question to the reader: Does Fowles really believe in the possibility of his first ending, then what's the point of adding the second one? complete juxtaposition to the first makes it clear that Fowles prefers the second conclusion over the first, he clearly “adjusts the fight” between the two endings in favor of the more existential one "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Throughout the novel, Charles faces several difficult choices regarding his personal life. After that first fateful sighting of Sarah at the end of the Cobb, Charles must deal with the conflicting feelings that emerge within him regarding his current situation with his girlfriend, Ernestina Freeman. However, it is clear that all is not well between him and his future wife when he tells his uncle: “I was looking for the right girl too. And I didn't find it” (17). Why does Sarah, a woman he doesn't even know, seem to have such a profound effect on his emotional state? Charles feels a strong attraction to her, and through some casual (and some not-so-casual) encounters, the two seem to develop even stronger feelings for each other. Eventually, however, their infidelity is discovered and Charles feels that he and Sarah should never see each other again. It is through this separation that the two different endings come into play. The narrator, portrayed as a passenger in the same train car as Charles, reveals that there are two possibilities that could occur, and we as readers must therefore deal with both. The first ending is presented as a very Victorian depiction of lost love that has resurfaced thanks to Charles' dedication to finding Sarah. Her lawyer and friend, Montague, passes on the message that Sarah has been found in London and Charles, having received her apparent address in the post, immediately makes every effort to go and look for her. She is now called Mrs. Roughwood and lives in "A respectable family residence" where "She is presumably the housekeeper there" (439). He ventures towards the house and his recognition of Sarah is unmistakable: “Charles was stunned. For this was the face he knew; a face he had listened to even once for an hour or more with Ernestina beside him” (442). The two begin to converse about their past selves and the progress they've made in each other's absence. Charles fears that Sarah has grown distant from him, but she unorthodoxly reveals that this is not the case when she introduces him to their daughter, a girl named Lalage. When Charles realizes that the baby is his and that Sarah is left behind.