The Fraud

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Parts 1-2

Parts 3-4

Parts 5-6

Parts 7-8

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Jamaica

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses enslavement.

In this novel, the only authentic depiction of Jamaica is told through Andrew Bogle’s point-of-view, as he was born and raised there. However, Jamaica has a symbolic hold over all the characters in the novel. English people who live far away from Jamaica romanticize the island for its natural beauty, ignoring its dangerous weather and the plantations built upon the enslaved labor of unhappy Black people. Jamaica has both a magical and sinister representation in the English mind. In this way, the average English person’s perspective of Jamaica is a subconscious byproduct of the guilt of colonialism. In an effort to make a distant colony in their own image, the English have actually achieved the opposite: creating Jamaica as the setting of the Other.

Writing

Writing is an important motif in this novel because it reflects the thematic preoccupation with The Complexities of Authenticity and Narrative. Writing can be overwrought and disingenuous—as it is in William’s works—but it can also illuminate the human experience. Charles Dickens achieves fame and respect because his English readers see their real lives reflected back at them, creating a meaningful and deep connection. In William’s writing, stylistic flourishes and inauthentic approaches to his subject result in chaotic writing that doesn’t resonate with readers.

Most important of all, Eliza uses writing to try to assert herself in a patriarchal society, musing upon male pseudonyms at the novel’s close as she considers publishing her book The Fraud. However, her novel is actually Andrew Bogle’s life story—a story he was denied the opportunity of writing and benefitting from himself. In this way, the motif of writing also exposes how literacy and opportunities to craft and share stories also reflect the social hierarchies that determine who can and cannot be heard.

The Tichborne Claimant

The Tichborne Claimant is a symbol of English oppression and exclusivity. Arthur Orton claims to be Sir Roger Tichborne, and the ensuing court case galvanizes the nation because Arthur Orton’s claim (or Sir Roger’s claim, depending on who is asked) represents the vast divide between the rich and poor in 19th-century England.

The claimant is a threat to the well-established order of nobility and family legacy in England’s strict caste system of inherited wealth, because if the claimant is a fraud but somehow manages to trick people into believing he is a nobleman, then possibly anyone can infiltrate the upper class. This would destroy the carefully- curated order of British society. What is more, supporters of the claimant see him as an example of how they, too, are constantly oppressed by institutions such as the government and the aristocracy. Conspiracy theories abound amongst the claimant’s fans because they see everything and everyone as against them. People of the lower classes thus regard the claimant as a symbol of their own oppression in what they see as an unjust court system.