The Magus

One of the literary devices used most often in the text is literary allusion. How do these illusions function? How do they illustrate the text’s key themes and ideas?

Closely analyze Alison. How is she characterized? What is her role and wider significance in the text? How is her character arc different or similar to Nick’s?

Following Nick’s trial, he discovers a fairy story titled “The Prince and the Magician” (569) in the German spy hole. How does the story act as a potential parable or commentary on The Magus itself?

“Utram bibis? Aquam an undam? Which are you drinking? The water or the wave?” (186). Conchis poses De Deukans’s question to Nick, telling him the question is not a lesson, but “a mirror” (186). In what ways does this “water or the wave” question reflect the nature and development of Nick’s own experiences on Phraxos?

Conchis constantly toys with the ideas of narrative and reality in staging his “plays.” How does the novel explore the tensions between appearances versus reality, and truth versus fiction?

Compare The Magus to another one of John Fowles’s novels, such as The French Lieutenant’s Woman or The Collector. What key themes and ideas do these works share?

Examine the novel’s gender dynamics. How are gender dynamics portrayed in the text? How does the text reinforce, or subvert, stereotypical ideas about femininity and masculinity?

Analyze how Greece functions both as a setting in the text and as a representation of Nick’s inner state. How is it described? How do Nick’s impressions of the country change, depending on his mood, situation, and/or experiences?