


After that, the narrative techniques will be looked at more closely, leading to the question: In which aspects is The Magus postmodern? 2) InterpretationĪs The Magus contains a vast variety of elements which are worthy to interpret and this paper cannot do justice to all of them, it will concentrate on the ones which are most important to get an overall understanding of the novel. The first part of this paper will be an interpretation of the most important features of the story, concentrating principally on Nicholas’s hunt for freedom, the symbolism of the women in the masque as well as the masque itself and the end. Even though there is no ‘real meaning of’ or ‘right reaction to’ the novel as such, there are possibilities of interpretation. The organised chaos of the masque distracts as well as interests and fascinates the reader. Its complexity and its richness of stories, symbolism and metaphors gained The Magus not only a lot of criticism but just as much success. But only in 1977 after 12 years of revising did he publish the version he was finally satisfied with, which “is the one to see reprinted.” The Magus is John Fowles’s first written – though not first published – novel which he began to write in the 1950s. Over the portal of the new world, 'Be thyself' shall be written. 'Know thyself' was written over the portal of the antique world. 2.1) Nicholas’s Role-Playing and Hunt for Freedom
