Major Themes
The novel can be seen as autobiographical. John Fowles states in an interview: "You are every character you write. In Daniel Martin, where I describe myself travelling all over America, I probably revealed more of myself than anywhere else."
In exploring the relationships between the main characters, Fowles takes the chance to expand upon such topics as aesthetics, philosophy of cinema, archeology, imperialism and the differences between Britain and the United States.
John Gardner calls upon Daniel Martin many times in the first half of On Moral Fiction; it is to him a reflection of John Fowles's valid opinion regarding art—namely, that true art ought to instruct. The same notion was Gardner's central thesis in On Moral Fiction.
Read more about this topic: Daniel Martin (novel)
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